TechRadar Verdict
A thouroughbred business tool that is readily enhanced by the addition of 3G
Pros
- +
Strong all-round performance
Excellent security
Waterproof
Cons
- -
Drab styling
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HP was one of the first companies in this country to embrace the idea of 3G in laptops, adding the technology to its Compaq range. The HP Compaq 6910p (£1468 inc. VAT) may not look like the most stylish of laptops, but this business tool has been designed for a life on the move.
The 2.4kg chassis is made from tough plastic and magnesium-alloy and is surprisingly firm. Open the lid and you'll find HP has added plenty of rubber buffers to stop screen-rub.
The keyboard sits in a dip in the main body, which also prevents screen-rub when on the move and you needn't worry about spilt drinks, as it's waterproof and liquid will easily run out of the side of the machine. The keys are well spaced with a decent amount of travel.
There is a biometric fingerprint scanner built in and HP ships the machine with a host of security and maintenance tools, which help keep the cost of maintenance down. A final layer of security is the addition of a smartcard reader, located on the right-hand side above the DVD rewriter.
The HP is a heavyweight when it comes to performance. Built around Intel's latest Core 2 Duo chip, the 2.2GHz variant offers dual-core power. Coupled with 2048MB of memory, this laptop easily scored a decent benchmark.
In day-to-day use, we found it competent, handling all tasks with ease. If you need your new laptop to be your sole machine capable of handling anything, the HP is worth considering. The 120GB hard drive is impressive too.
Instead of opting for Intel's integrated graphics chip, HP has added the ATi Mobility Radeon X2300, which is an entry-level GPU offering twice the power of Intel's latest GMA X3100 chip, so is ideal if you're thinking of using this machine for multimedia as well as standard office tasks.
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The main advantage, though, is the inclusion of 3G, which allows you to check email and surf the net while on the move. HP has teamed up with Vodafone to deliver data services. With a battery life of 227 minutes, under test, we found this was hampered by as much as 20 per cent when running 3G.
The HP Compaq 6910p is a great all-round laptop, with the inclusion of 3G only making it a better machine for the business user. We liked the amount of performance it delivered and, while it didn't have the best battery life, it was more than acceptable.
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