If you're looking for a reliable, state-of-the-art notebook PC backed by superior service and support, you probably think you'll pay a premium price. Not if you choose the HP... more
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(+) Clear easy instuctions, Looks very smart, Light and easy to transport, very durable (-) Screen could be slightly bigger, battery doesn't last very long
A review by srobin8203 on HP OmniBook XE2 May 1st, 2001
Author's product rating:
Speed
Fast
Look & Feel
Excellent
Comfort & Portability
Good
Robustness & Durability
Good
Value For Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Cheap
Disadvantages:
Small hard drive
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I have been in need of a laptop for some time now, I often have time when i am at work to sit and type or read and could do so if it were not for the lack of a laptop. I decided that the time had come and I should finally get myself a laptop, after searching around I found most of the laptops under £1000 were pretty lacking, 32Mb machines were all that were available unless I wanted a Toshiba, which has that annnoying mouse ball that I hate. I was quite surprised to find an HP laptop in my price range and I was certainly not to be disappointed by it.
Hp had several models for under £1000, but at the time mine was the only one with 64Mb of Ram. There are now several models with 64Mb and and a better overall spec and lower price thatn mine was, making HP my choice for any future laptops I buy. The machine itself is great after looking at mine a friend of mine bought an XE3 and was as pleased as I. The screen is good, although it is by no means a top of the line screen it does not have any identifiable problems and the images a re crisp and clear. The machine came with an internal modem and a 24x CD Rom drive, as well as a 5Gb hard drive and a Celeron processor. The processor is powerful enough for all of the functions that I need it for, although the latop is not that powerful it can run any software available today. The big drawback here is the hard drive, my friend with the XE3 has the same problem as me- that being that the hard drive needs to be bigger. I am used to having large hard drives and find that I am constantly keeping an eye on space, Office 2000 swallowed most of my hard drive and now I have only 1Gb free. Although this is adequate for most people a larger hard drive may be reuired by some.
Part of the hard drive is set aside for a rescue partition, this means that if Windows becomes unusable you can insert the HP CD and reset the machine to its original configuration, handy for users who format their drives reguarly. The downside is that the machine comes with Wnidows 98SE, not my favourite by any means, you can of course upgrade the machine yourself but do not count on any help. My friend with the XE3 upgraded to Windows ME and could not get the screen drivers to work, HP said that they do not support ME and drivers would need to be obtained from the Windows 98SE installation as they do not provide them separartely.
Overall it is a fantastic machine, the sound is god as is the screen and spec, perhaps better support is in order but what you get for what you pay is outstanding. the machine is quite light compared to other models and is very easy to use, the mousepad is accurate and works well. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a machine under £1000.
Advantages: Low price- or should be by now. Disadvantages: Not state of the art, but why should it be?
...machine after all.
I mailed HP asking what the maximum hard disk size the XE2 will take. It has only tested drives up to 6Gb but believes the BIOS will allow up to 10Gb but won’t guarantee it will work. so if I upgrade I’ll make sure I can return the drive if it won’t work.
The XE2 has all the usual ports most of us expect, sadly it has only one PCMCIA and USB port, however, having an integrated modem most people will get by well ... ...utility is available from the HP site to facilitate this but seems a little brutal. I would respectfully suggest running the battery down fully in Windows then boot from a bootable floppy i.e. emergency start-up disk and leave the machine until it cuts off on its own. By all means use the HP utility but try to make sure the battery is in a low state of charge first--- it does get hot using this utility.
Running time depends on many factors with ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
...the phone speacking to the HP tech people half an hour after I got my machine. Internet Explorer kept crashing for no reason. It was literary half an hour after setup, so I did not download any faulty software or anything. Tech people told me that I probably had old drivers and that I better update them online!!! but I just got the thing!!! it is half an hour old!!! How else can I ensure that I have a new computer apart from buying it from new!
... ...get a serious burn. Why did I buy it at all?
- because it was one of the cheapest laptops at that time and HP name did convince to make a final decision.
Oh, and also I can use its infrared port to get connected on the move ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Because this is my first notebook I own myself, I wanted to know more about it before I bought it. Everything I heard about it was positive. When I know have it in front of me and cannot do anything but to agree. When I unpacked the boxes everything I needed to start it was there and the only thing to do was to put the battery in it and then connect it to the power and push on the onbutton. This is a computer I gladly recommend to beginners. There ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Excellent value for money, great quality Disadvantages: Can be unreliable on battery power, small hard drive
What a wonderful product! This notebook proves that sub-£1000 doesn't mean sub-standard. After months of hopeless searching for a notebook within my price range, I finally found this for £800 on the internet. For value it is unbeatable. Sure, the specs aren't as impressive as the latest models, but this notebook will adequately run all but the most advanced games. I use it mainly for the internet and mp3s, for which it is superb. It is easy to use ...
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Advantages: GOOD VALUE/EASE OF USE Disadvantages: NONE, SO FAR!!!
This PC LapTop computer was recommended by my daughter who has been helping me in it,s usages. I purchsed this computer in March 2000 and since then I have been able to master it with a fair amount of ease,taking into consideration that I am Eightie Three years of age,it has helped me to keep in touch with my Family at home and in Australia,another good point about it being quite oompact it is easily portable, and not very heavy,all things considered ...
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Software: Drivers & Utilities, HP TopTOOLS, McAfee VirusScan, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Adobe Acrobat Reader
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Listed on Ciao since : 06/07/2000
Manufacturer's product description
If you're looking for a reliable, state-of-the-art notebook PC backed by superior service and support, you probably think you'll pay a premium price. Not if you choose the HP OmniBook XE2 notebook PC, which features the latest multimedia and performance technologies, plus HP's industry-leading quality, reliability, and support - all at surprisingly affordable prices. HP designed the HP OmniBook XE2 notebook PCs to make your job easier - whether you're in the office or on the road. Everything you need for multimedia presentations, Internet access, and day-to-day business applications is incorporated into one compact package that's ready to operate right out of the box. Best of all, these are Hewlett-Packard OmniBook notebook PCs. Their quality and design excellence mean reliable performance your business can depend on. And at HP, reliability means even more than superior product design. At last, with the HP OmniBook XE2 notebook PCs, you can get everything you expect from a notebook PC. State-of-the-art technologies. Ease of setup and use. Unsurpassed quality and support. And one thing you might not expect: budget-compatible prices. Offering you the choice of powerful processors, true-color displays and superb stereo sound quality, these notebook PCs bring your presentations to life. Their dual-display capability gives you exceptional presentation flexibility. For example, you can project a multimedia presentation to your audience while reading your speaker notes on your display. You can even use their built-in CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, with its external control buttons, to play music CDs without turning on the PC! Everything about the HP OmniBook XE2 notebook PCs is fast and easy. They're compatible with all the leading industry standards. They come preloaded with all the software you need, and their built-in, worldwide-capable modem will make short work of Internet access and downloads.
A foray into the world of serious things is imminent, which should be enough to frighten you a little bit, really. I should probably give you fair warning that any of the stuff you want to find out, like networkability, print speed, memory capacity... more
