The HP Mini1151NR has an elegant, simple design that blends functionality with an attractive appearance. The upper portion of the netbook is glossy black with a barely noticeable silver swirl pattern on the lid. The bottom half of the device is a more basic matte black that I’ve already noted (ahem) is fairly scruff and scratch resistant. (Yes, I somehow managed to clumsily drop the machine several times within hours of first receiving it.)
The keyboard on the HP Mini 1151NR is a real treat. One of the problems that I have with most netbooks, and all laptops for that matter, is the keyboard. I spend most of my time working on a desktop PC so I’m used to a full size keyboard. When I have to switch to using one that’s much smaller in size, I feel clumsy and inefficient when typing. Since the 1151NR is a wider netbook, it was able to incorporate an “almost” full-sized keyboard into its design with large, flat and easily accessible keys. This should be a definite plus to those who prefer fuller keyboards.
While I still prefer to hook up a mouse to the netbook to use as a pointing device, I am not entirely dismissive of the 1151NR’s touch pad. The touch pad has a central dedicated scrolling pad with clickable selection buttons on either side of the pad. This diminishes the number of times that I accidentally “click” while scrolling – something that I have found very frustrating in other portable PCs. Above the touch pad is a small button that you click to turn the touch pad completely off if you prefer to work without it and don’t want to chance accidentally brushing it while typing.
Continue on to the next page for the rest of our review of the HP Mini 1151NR netbook, including some of the not-so-hot features of the device.
