Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion DM3-1030US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a beautiful machine. Check it out -- 4.2 lbs, 1" thick, Magnesium case, 7200 rpm HDD, spectacular HD display, 4 GB memory, 320 GB Hard Drive, Iconic keyboard Windows 7, 4 USB ports, HDMI port, great WiFi,etc. etc. All for under $600! It's astonishing. One begins to wonder what truck they steal these off of. Yes, my title is correct, "Macbook Killer." Look at the two machines side by side -- they are pretty much the same thing. Yes, the Macbook Pro has a backlit keyboard, ok. But the DM3 has an HDMI port, which means I can attach it to my HDTV and play Neflix or Itunes movies, or youtube, etc. in High Definition. Sure, it has no optical drive, but folks, cd's and dvd's are becoming old technology, and being replaced by thumb/jump drives. Even software will be coming on these. Actually, the DM3 weighs almsot a pound less than a Macbook by eliminating the optical drive, and the advantages of using an external drive are many. Keyboards are almost identical, case is a toss up, display's are similar, windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard has its plusses and minuses going both ways. Yes, the Macbook is more powerful for high intensity graphics, but if you are using your computer as most people do, you will not notice the difference. But the knockout comes at checkout: It is less than 1/2 the price of a similarly configured 13" Macbook Pro!

It is so far superior to any netbook that there is no comparison there. Yes, it's not perfect. It does re-charge slowly, and the trackpad takes some getting used to. But it has so many fantastic features, when you factor in the price, it is the best value out there in ultraportable computing.

I have been using portable computers since the mid-eighties when they were 25 pounds with tiny monochrome screens floppy drives and cost $3000. Now for under $600, they are 1/6th the weight, yet 100 times as fast with 3000 times the storage and much more functionality. Think about how amazing this is! You will love this little machine.

This laptop is a winner! I'd rather have a fully functioning laptop than a Netbook that can't keep up. I've had it for a week and don't regret buying it.

Pros:

HDMI works well for watching Hulu on my HDTV.
Brushed metal case means fingerprints aren't a problem.
Quiet fan and hard-drive.
Wi-Fi is easy to set up (Windows 7 is rock solid).
Light-weight and easy to carry or stick into a travel bag.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.
Keyboard is easy to use.
4 Gig of RAM is snappy.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.

Cons:

Battery slowly drains if not plugged in.
Mouse pad wants to start Sticky Keys at times. Fixed by disabling Sticky Keys. Occasionally the mouse pad is briefly unresponsive.

Notes:

Although the battery lost 10% of its charge in 30 minutes while surfing the Web in normal mode, it recharged to 100% very quickly.

A CD drive would sap energy, which is why it's not included (you can buy an external one if you need it).

Overall, this is a great buy for the price. I really enjoy using it.

I've only had this machine for a couple days but it's very nice so far.

Pros: sleek, widows 7, plenty powerful, lots of ram and drive space, battery life, graphics card is decent, weight

Cons: power plug sticks out pretty far when plugged in, but not a big deal. Updated the track pad driver after one freeze and it hasn't locked up again since. No gigabit lan. Memory card reader won't read MS Duo without an adapter, not a deal breaker. Small up/down arrows, again not a killer, I'm already used to it. Track pad is a little sticky.

The biggest problem I've had so far isn't a ding against this computer, it's a windows 7 issue. Games for Windows Live wouldn't update, couldn't uninstall, couldn't reinstall. Finally got it working, but don't ask me to repeat the process.

I saw a guy on the interwebs frantically searching about how to change the DM3 Function Keys back to the standard F1, F2, F3 etc. It's in the bios. Hit Esc during startup, then F10 to enter the bios, configure from there, it's on the third tab or thereabouts. I may keep them as the media keys, don't know yet.

Games: Runs Halo 1 very well, runs Team Fortress 2 pretty decently, Dawn of War II is playable with everything turned way down. So that's a pass for the graphics and processor as far as I'm concerned.

My favorite thing about windows 7: You can select a group of files, right click and change their meta data! So awesome! Updating mp3 tags is a breeze!

I didn't want a desktop replacement, I wanted a laptop replacement and this fits the bill. I'm coming from an old Sony PCG-SRX99 so I'm used to not having an optical drive. Windows 7 lets you mount one on the network anyway.

Very good overall. I'll update if anything changes.



EDIT 11/29/2009

The touchpad is still unresponsive after coming out of sleep. It's turning into a major issue. Hopefully a firmware update comes out.


EDIT 12/14/2009

Now I have a bad pixel, right in the middle of the screen. Always on green. I've knocked down the rating to 3 stars, and thinking about sending it back.

What comes in the box?

User manual
AC Adapter
6 cell rechargeable battery
Notebook

Construction

The notebook is compact and light which makes this highly portable for traveling. This is a compact device that fits nicely on my lap or an airplane tray table. The screen is a glossy 13.3" Widescreen and reflects glare in areas of bright light. There is no wrist pad flex but quite a bit of screen flex. The lid is a brushed Magnesium alloy that easy to wipe clean. The integrated camera is positioned above the screen.

The keyboard layout is well positioned and intuitive. No dedicated keys are present, except for the power switch and WiFi Radio button. Function key allows control of volume, brightness, sleep, lock, fast forward, reverse and play. The function key allows you to use the keys as a numeric keypad.

The touchpad is metallic in color and uses gestures to scroll, zoom and rotate. The mouse buttons take a touch too much pressure to depress and there is no integrated mouse stick, like you see on IBMs or other business machines.

Indicator lights in the front right edge are present for charging status and when the hard drive is being accessed.

This laptop is very quiet and I barely hear the fan. The bottom of the notebook (right where the Windows License sticker is located) is warm but not hot/uncomfortable.

In addition to WiFi, this has Bluetooth capability.

The left side of this notebook has the power Jack, network port, HDMI, 2 USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks. A card reader accepts SD, Memory stick pro, Multimedia cards and XD Cards. The right side of the notebook has lighted power buttons for the WiFi radio and Power for the notebook. 2 additional USB ports and a port for a laptop lock are also present.

This laptop is supplied with Windows 7. There is an MS Office 60 Day Trial and a trial of Norton Internet Security.

Operation

Use of this notebook, given the size and very good battery life make this a practical company for someone always on the go. The keyboard is comfortable and the features make this a great multimedia machine for traveler.

Screen quality is good but a touch too dim for my personal preference. The maximum screen resolution us 1366x768.

Sound quality is average but not powerful. Speakers are in the front edge of the notebook made by Altec Lansing. Dynamic range is limited and has high and midrange frequencies with a weak base.

Battery life in real time applications (WiFi, Bluetooth off, screen brightness on high, and running the Internet is about 4.5 to 5 hours. Only with Bluetooth and WiFi off, and screen brightness to 75%, Power Saver mode, can you approach the 6 hour mark. High Performance mode cuts battery life by about 20%.

Pros

Cost
Quiet
Lightweight
HDMI
Card reader
4 USB ports
Bluetooth
Fit, Finish and construction

Cons

No optical drive
Weak speakers
Slightly dim display

Conclusion

Given the size, cost and capabilities, this notebook rivals the larger laptops for its more than capable processing power and rivals netbooks for the size and price point. This laptop is worthy of consideration!

I bought this item to replace a three year old 14 inch eMachines laptop that I spilled coffee on (yeah yeah I know). I looked at netbooks for a while because I liked the portability and lower price but realized that for $100-$150 more I could get this nice 13 inch laptop which fell right where I was looking to be. Netbooks are restricted with processor speed, ram, size (if you're looking for something slightly larger) and functionality (you can only get it with Windows Starter Edition).

So when compared to a typical laptop, is this a great machine? Well that depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a small laptop with very reasonable performance all around that won't break the bank, then yes this is a great machine. On sale this unit can be found for around $500-$550 right now (if you are patient and keep an eye on prices) making it a steal in my book. I won't go into all the details since the other reviews pretty much addresses them all but here are a few others and thoughts:

- Yes the track-pad is awful. It is fairly slow even with the settings set as fast as they can go. The clicking of the mouse button requires a "click" which I personally like over ones that seem to click every time I brush up against it but once again this may frustrate some people. I use a mouse 90% of the time so the track-pad hasn't been a deterring factor (although it does leave crazy amounts of fingerprints).

- The keyboard is great if you ask me but if you use many shortcuts like some people tend to do, you'll find having to use the function key a bit of a hassle. I've read in another review that for example the F keys can be programmed in the bios to be just that without the use of the function key, so that may be an option worth changing for some. I am a bit surprised though that the keyboard does tend to imprint fingerprints too, but once again not a deal-breaker.

- The fan is not very loud (at least not mine although I read a couple people complain about it) but I found the bottom of the computer does tend to get a bit hot and sometimes the top where you rest on the keyboard. This isn't unlike many computers and this thing is very slim yet fairly powerful so I suppose it's to be expected. If you're the type that feels any heat is bad, then you may want to look elsewhere.

- The lack of a CD drive is worth noting. Through the use of things like Nero to burn images of programs you only have on CD, Daemon Tools to read them, and Bit Torrent to get programs in digital form this is fairly easy to deal with but if you have limited knowledge of computers you may find that just installing your old version of MS Office that is on CD will be a challenge. On a netbook the lack of a CD drive wouldn't even be worth mentioning but because this unit falls under the laptop category in every way then it's worth noting as a negative.

- Lastly, the battery life while I haven't extensively tested seems to be a bit poorer than I thought it would be. I however don't give it much of a chance since I always have the brightness as high as it goes, wireless on, etc etc. Using the item in lo-fi to gain some extra battery life isn't worth it to me but should I be without the accessibility of an outlet it's good to know that I can get by when changing the settings.

So if you can get over these setbacks (like I have) and can get this laptop for the $500-$550 range, then I highly recommend it. If paying more, then the ASUS UL30A should seriously be considered. It's got very similar specs except double the battery life plus some of the cons of this laptop such as the track-pad and such seems to not be present with the ASUS. Choosing between the two basically boiled down to price for me and I've been very happy so far. As far as choosing between a small laptop like this or a netbook, all I can say is that current netbooks don't have the processor speed, included and expandable ram, and video playback capabilities that this laptop has. I can run multiple programs, including my accounting software, along with antivirus software, all at once without it skipping a beat.

I was looking for a laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and had no real clear idea of what I might end up with. What I did know is that I didn't want to spend more than $500. I spent quite a few days looking at laptops... HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Acer, Asus, Lenovo and I settled on the HP dm3-1030US. It was love at first sight really. The price was right at my upper limit... 499 at Staples after rebate.

In my research I read quite a few "professional" reviews... like on Wired, cnet, ZDnet and a few others. I was a little hesitant to buy this because quite a few of the reviews characterized the laptop as not being a good value, having a lousy touchpad, not having a good video card and a bunch of other hooey. I can tell you that had I listened to those other reviews, I wouldn't be enjoying what has turned out to be one of the nicest laptops I've ever owned.

I really like the heft and quality of the case in this laptop. It's not a "heavy" heft, but the kind of heft that makes you realize you've got a well-built computer in your hands. If you've ever picked up a cheap, under $400 laptop you should know what I mean. Those cheap computers are creaky when you pick them up by one corner. You actually don't pick them up by one corner for fear that the thing will crack in half. This has an aluminum/magnesium case that is just about one of the most attractive laptops I've seen. Sort of a brushed aluminum look on the top of the case that totally resists fingerprints and smudges... well except for the touchapd which is smooth and shiny and can be used as a mirror in a pinch. I'll spend more time on the touchpad a bit later on.

I've never had a laptop with a chiclet style keyboard but I've quickly grown to like how it feels and works. One minor quibble is with the function keys. The actual writing of the "F1, F2, F3, etc" is very faint and difficult to see in dim light. So if you don't know exactly where each funciton key is, you'll be groping a little bit.

I also was strongly attracted to this laptop because of its features and abundance of ports...4-USB ports, monitor port, HDMI port, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone and microphone jacks. The display is gorgeous... bright from edge to edge and sharp. I like that it uses LED backlighting as this helps with battery life and doesn't tend to dim in older age as florescent bulbs tend to do. The HDMI port is amazing because I can now watch Netflix streaming movies on my flat-screen TV and I can also use the TV as a gigantic desktop if I want to... and I do want to...it's amazing.

The battery life is not as good as advertised. I get no more than 4 hours with WIFI on and screen at 3-steps below full-brightness. Although that is at least 2 hours more than I used to get with my old Acer laptop, it's not nearly as good as the "up to 5.5 hours" that is advertised for this laptop. Maybe you'll get 5.5 hours if your hooked up via ethernet and aren't actually doing anything, But don't buy this thinking you are going to get 5.5 hours, you won't. But I'm not complaining... 4 hours is good for me. Another minor quibble has to do with the power adaptor plug. Apple has the best power adaptor, hands down. The power adaptor on this computer sticks out and could easily be snapped off if you weren't careful. If used on a desk, this becomes less of a problem, but if you're always plugging in at coffee shops or wherever, you'll need to be sure your power cord isn't in a position of getting side-swipped by a passing humanoid.

The speakers sound a little better than OK but aren't very loud. I've heard much louder on laptops. That's not a huge deal for me because I'm either wearing headphones, earbuds or am hooked up to an external speaker system. Their sufficient I guess but not stellar. It doesn't help that they are sort of on the underside of the computer. But it's not a deal-breaker.

The touchpad is probably the weakest link on this computer. I hate the touchpad. But I hate most touchpads. The best touchpad I've used was on a Toshiba Satellite... it had a subtle textures lines on it and it was really responsive and had good buttons at the bottom. The HP touchpad is shiny and looks quite smooth but yet my fingers sort of drag on it and the buttons are mushy and too narrow for my tastes. I usually use a trackball anyway so this isn't really deal-breaker for me either, but if you mainly use the touchpad, be sure to check it out in a store before purchase lest you regret your decision because of the touchpad.

The webcam works well and so does the built-in mic. No complaints about either. 4GB of RAM is pretty generous and 320GB hard drive is also plenty for a laptop that is not my primary computer. I'm not a gamer, so the lack of a high end graphics card doesn't phase me in the least. I've not had any problems watching movies, youtube videos, or anything else. It works for me. And the 13.3" screen is beautiful with a high resolution of 1366 x 768 that is razor sharp and so bright you won't believe it. I've never had a screen with such brightness. In my daily use I have the brightness set 2 or 3 "clicks" below maximum brightness.

It's quite a package for just under 500 bucks. Would it be a good value at 650? You'll have to decide that for yourself. Since I was almost ready to spend almost 400 on a netbook, I'm so happy that I spent a bit more and got so much more computer than what a netbook could have provided.

I did notice that a BIOS update is available on the HP website for this laptop and I have upgraded as a result. Other than that, everything has been smooth sailing. A few people have been complaining about the touchpad not waking up properly from sleep and I too have experienced this. What I've discovered is that the problem can be mitigated using either one of these three methods...

1. Before you put your laptop to sleep, depress the little button between the space bar and the touchpad to disengage the touchpad. Then put your laptop to sleep. When you wake the laptop, just push the button again so that it turns from amber to white and you should be good to go.

2. You can go to the Start menu, click on "Devices and printers" and right click on the laptop icon and choose Mouse Settings then select the "Multitouch gestures" tab and deselect the three checkboxes.

3. Just let the computer wake up for about 10-15 seconds before you touch the touchpad. That might be all you need to do.


I love my new dm3-1030US and can't bring myself to dock it a point for the touchpad or battery life. Overall I think it is a solid, feature rich, good performing and very attractive laptop. Add in a Samsung DVD writer for 50 bucks Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084C/RSBN (Gloss Black) and you've got pretty much all your bases covered.

UPDATE: JANUARY 30, 2010
The touchpad issue has been resolved by a new BIOS update available on the HP website. So the touchpad "issue" is no longer an issue at all.

I didn't want a Netbook since I wanted more horsepower but I didn't want a full blown laptop either. I wanted an affordable ultra portable for everyday use. This is a good machine. Beautiful to look at but it does have major flaws with the TOUCHPAD and BUTTONS that need to be addressed. Fortunately, I don't use it as my main machine, but if you are, I would try it out before you buy it. All the complaints and reviews about the touchpad is spot on. If this was my primary everyday machine, I would look elsewhere. But as an affordable supplemental machine, it work well for me.

It doesn't have a DVD drive, but you can buy an external one anywhere from $45 to $60.

My specs:
1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core Processor
ATI 3200
320Gb 7200RPM
WiFi and Bluetooth
4Gb of RAM DDR2

Windows 7 Experience Index (3.5 Overall):
Processor: 4.2
Memory: 5.8
Graphics: 3.5
Gaming Graphics: 4.8
Primary Hard Drive: 5.9

Video Playback
HULU HD - good
YouTube HD - 720p good
YouTube HD - 1080p no good
VLC -720p MKV good
VLC - 1080p MKV no good
Windows Media Player - WMV 1080p good

Games - I don't play games with this. I doubt it will play anything graphic intensive well. I have a Intel I7 920 desktop for that!

Noise Level
Mine is good. A tad bit louder than my wife's Dell XPS M1330. At full CPU usage, the fan speeds up and the noise level increases but it's still relatively quiet. For most everyday use, the fan is unnoticeable.

Temperature
The left hand rest warms up (not heats up) when running heavy tasks. But for regular daily use, it's barely noticeable. I ran Prime95 64bits version for 30 minutes running the processors and RAM at full capacity and the left palm rest warmed up a bit but not hot enough to bother me. (I returned a HP Touch Smart tx2z because the fan was too loud and temperature was unbearably hot). This machine doesn't bother me at all.

Vibration
There is a slight barely noticeable vibration under the right palm rest. This is caused by the faster 7200RPM HD. Not enough to bother me. It may irritate some people.

Build Quality
Brushed real metal aluminum lid and palm surface area. Solid machine no flex on the chassis. Screen has is slightly flexible but it's strong enough for everyday usage. Some of the plastic components such as the keyboard molding have a slight give if you apply pressure with your finger, but honestly, for the price it very well built!

Keyboard
I wish it gave a little more feedback to the touch for my taste. But I can type fast and smoothly on it.

Touchpad - NEEDS MANY IMPROVEMENTS!!!!!
Gorgeous to look at, terrible material since it's a bit sticky to the touch. But after a while I became used to it. Doesn't bother me most of the time. If you are a heavy with your finger pressure, it may bother you. But if not, it may be ok. It easily smudges but I just wipe it once in a while with a tissue paper and voila good as new. The software itself is flaky too. HP YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!! TOUCHPADS SHOULD BE EFFORTLESS. WHY DON'T YOU USE THE BRUSHED ALUMINUM MATERIAL ON THE TOUCHPAD AS WELL.

Touchpad Button - NEEDS IMPROVEMENT!!!!!
WAY TOO STIFF!!!! Need to apply way too much pressure to click down. This is annoying sometimes.

Video Camera
Surprisingly good. Nowhere near the quality of my Logitech 9000. Good low-light performance for a built-in.

Audio
It's OK.

Battery Life
Everyday usage 3.5 to 4 hours. Don't expect 6 hours.

I really enjoyed this laptop for the first couple of weeks i had it. It's light, looks nice, and is fast enough for most work (def. better than netbook). Everything i like about this little laptop has been covered in other positive reviews. I have to agree that the track pad does takes some getting used to but it's usable. Unfortunately, the torque exerted by the screen hinge has cracked the whole left corner of the chassis. The cheap plastic that runs along the border of the chassis cracked at the corner and is precariously hanging on. I've included pics in the customer images.
I'm sending it back to amazon for an refund and buying a Lenovo. For a bit more money than this cost, you can get a real quality build from them. Also, I don't love all the bloatware that comes with the HP.

The first thing that you notice about the DM3 is the look, and feel. I've always been pleased with HP laptops (also have a DV7 and D9000), but HP has really outdone themselves with this one!

The brushed aluminum skin makes this laptop appear much more expensive than it is, plus it masks fingerprint and smudges perfectly! (Although the shiny trackpad is a fingerprint magnet.)

And the feel: this is a featherweight computer! (Bear in mind I'm comparing to my monster 17" DV7 though!) It is very thin, and at only 4.4 lbs, should be easily totable for most anyone!

Open the lid (nice smooth hinge feel), and you're greeted by a Macbook-like chicklet keyboard and more brushed aluminum. I really, really like the keyboard, and maybe even a bit more than my DV7s keyboard, which is itself a dream to type on. The individual chicklet style keys seem to reduce "fat-fingering" typing mistakes, and they're crisp and responsive. The only minor con I can think of here is they're a little loud if you are a hard typist (like myself). But on the plus side, they don't feel wimpy, and those of us who bang away on the keyboard need not worry.

The LED backlit screen is razor-sharp, and just seems easier-on-the-eyes than a fluorescent backlit LCD (though this could be a "placebo effect").

Boot time is very, very respectable, considering the AMD Neo is only running at 1.6GHz (dual core, though). The 4GB RAM and 320GB hard drive are pretty standard on mid to high-level notebooks these days, and perform as expected (which is to say nicely!).

I'm not a big gamer, so haven't attempted games on this, but I'd venture to guess if you're looking strictly for a high-octane gaming laptop, this probably isn't it. That being said, the ATI Radeon 3200 easily handles the photo-processing tasks I've thrown at it.

I could go on and on, but let me try to sum it all up via pros and cons:

PROS:
Lightweight
Nice look and feel, people will think you paid much more than you did
Highly capable for most computing tasks, possibly minus intensive games
Responsive keyboard
Outstanding value, you get a nice computer for not a lot of money
Really decent battery life: 4.5 to 5 hours average capacity in my experience
Enough screen real estate to not feel cramped, yet small enough to keep laptop highly portable
Integrated bluetooth: the ability to pair with a bluetooth mouse without sacrificing a USB port is great; haven't paired the bluetooth with headphones yet, though I wouldn't expect any issues

CONS (I had to be kind of nit-picky to even come up with cons, but here they are):
Power button could be easier to engage, you have to use a fingernail to slide it on; a push-button would have seemed more logical
Speakers are adequate, but don't plan on filling your room with music using them
Trackpad attracts prints, but I paired this with an HP bluetooth laser mouse, so I rarely use the pad
No optical drive. This keeps things thin and light, and is easily (and cheaply) solved with a USB slim external optical drive, for those times you need to load something off disc

WISH LIST:
A backlit keyboard would have made this nearly a perfect laptop, although I guess battery life would have suffered.

Summary: The DM3 is a fantastic marriage of portability and computing capability. You'll feel like you're using a larger laptop due to the nice screen appearance and pleasant keyboard, yet certainly would be right at home at your local Starbucks with this gem on your table or lap, looking hip and trendy!

I'm actually thinking of buying a second DM3 to replace the wife's aging desktop. (Bear in mind, I wouldn't really label this a "desktop replacement", but for what she uses a desktop for, it is.)

Get one of these, you won't be sorry!

I have been working with this computer for over 3 weeks and I haven't had any problem. I recomend it.