I got in the box with a three day express DHL delivery which was perfectly on time. For 60 KD I got it the fastest way possible, and I got it out of the shipping box to find this nice HP Box inside. HP 5101 is a nicer then I expected, I think HP learned from their previous editions and improved on it. The laptop feels extremely well built and clean, the keyboard is spacious and the 10.1 inch screen is very nice. At low screen brightness I can get about 6 hours and 23 minutes out of the 6 cell battery and it doesn’t protrude out of the laptop. I went ahead and replaced the ram from a 1GB chip to a 2GB chip which was shipped separately, that was extremely simple with a small panel in the back and its easily replaceable. I currently have XP Home on this little machine, I installed the usual applications to start off with, my intent is to format it and install XP Pro which has a few extra networking features that I usually use but for now I’m going to use it as is and see how it goes.

I have the mobile broadband module installed in the 5101, and I inserted my MTC/Zain chip, I just have to see if it can work with it. I don’t have an Ego subscription and its asking me for a username and password which I do not have, so I’m going to take a sim card from my friend who has an ego subscription and try it out, if not Zain, then wataniya, and if not them then Viva to see if it works. Having a built-in broadband internet into the laptop with access to 3G services of one our providers in Kuwait would be fantastic so thats something I just have to work out. The quality of the laptop is great, a glossy black behind the screen looks very nice but pron to finger print smudges, and the whole laptop is built from a nice rubbery plastic which has a nice feeling to it when you have your hands on it or when your carrying it, just the right amount of friction. It has ports galore, 3 USB, VGA, and SD/MMC slot. Overall I think that HP has built a quality netbook laptop which is on the more powerful side of the netbooks, after using it for a few days now I managed to get a decent 6 hours and 35 minutes out of the laptop which is pretty good for a 6 cell battery that doesn’t protrude. My first impressions is that this is a very good netbook and I’m going to enjoy using it, but I’m going to it through its paces for a longer review.