Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion dm3-1020EA, 13.3-inch Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium, AMD Athlon Neo X2 Processor L335, 4 GB RAM, 320GB SATA HDD, Ethernet, Bluetooth, 6 Cell Battery up to 6 Hours Life)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This laptop oooozes quality, there are a few niggles, but hey, price at the moment, fantastic for the spec, amd version with discrete graphics, the one to opt for at the moment, strange they put windows 7 64 bit, though for a laptop with hdmi out, and led screen probably needs it for to get most out of the processor, plus you can go up to 8gb with 64 bit.

Lovely stainless steel finish, keyboard wow, no joke dont know what they have done, but the way the keys have a little bit of extra space between them its a joy to type on, its a bit more weightly due to the build. Track pad, bit of a niggle, not great as they have put a mirror finish on it, and gets a bit greasy somtimes, but it does the job, you can get a mouse if you want. Came with an external lightscribe dvd writer drive, great does the job, though quite a small fixed usb lead with it, so you can not swap it out with another lead, uses the power from the laptop, no external power.

Nothing else in the box, just quick start and basic manual, all the other stuff, classed as bloatware and there is a lot, drive is partitioned one has the recovery on it about 2gb however you get the option to create 3 recovery discs and to delete off the recovery drive if you want to. You can also use windows to make a backup image, however this option is 40gb but you can write this to a external drive, rather than ten discs.

Led screen is lovely, though there is reflection nothing new there its same for all these types of screen, but the clarity and quality makes you not really bothered in the end.

Done a few tests, played streamed movies, surfed the net, played a few basic games, music, hdmi out to tv, screen on full brightness got about 3 hours out of the batt.

Sound is okay from the speakers, though havent really go far into it, as there is loads of settings.

Overall so really pleased, great delivery from amazon, good spec, if thinking about a netbook, would consider this, not much more of footprint but has more grrrrrrrrrrrrrrh.

I've had mine, bought on Amazon, for ten days now. And there are some positives and some negatives.

Aesthetically, it's lovely. Nice design, thin, lovely keyboard (although backlit would be nice), well-positioned sockets for USB, power etc., bright screen, lightweight.

Below are the things you should be aware of though:
- External DVD. I like this. Because I don't have to carry it around with me everywhere. But you need to be aware
- The function keys are controlled from a Fn key. So you can't hit "F1" directly. You have to hit it with a combination key. I'm a big shortcut user, so this is frustrating. The keys' main functions are for volume, brightness etc., as this is billed as an entertainment laptop
- The graphics card doesn't seem too great. YouTube videos are a bit juddery where on my four-year-old laptop on the same wireless network, they're smooth. Also, there isn't an instant reaction between keyboard and screen--i.e. when you type, seeing the letters appear in Word, for example, is not instant

The last two issues here are quite significant for me.

Update:

The function keys can be reactivated through the BIOS, so all good there. And the graphics card was not at fault for the video playback--it was Firefox. In Chrome, everything is smooth as a baby's...

The fan kicks in a little too quickly for my liking, but that's my only remaining gripe. All in all, fabulous purchase.

I bought this laptop from PC World back in November 2009 so I paid full price. However, I'd done a lot of research and this was the best laptop on the market at the time... and still is.
The look and feel (especially the great keyboard) is superb, real quality. I would have given it 5 stars only the mouse has caused me problems (see the HP forum posts from loads of buyers). When certain mouse functions are enabled there is an issue with the mouse jumping around or freezing when the laptop wakes from sleep. When these functions are disabled there are no problems.
Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase eventhough it's always annoying to see such a price drop when you've paid full wack!

This is the perfect laptop for the casual user. The AMD processor / graphics combination work well and it is surprisingly quick once you have removed all the HP rubbish that it comes with.

Battery life is not outstanding compared with some of the Intel CULV alternatives but it holds up well in intensive use - watching films etc. (at least four hours).

There is no problem with overheating as suggested elsewhere - I think there is confusion betweeen this and some of the other HP offerings - e.g. the DV6 - that do have this problem.

The fan is almost always audible but not intrusive.

The shiny track pad is fine once you are used to it.

Two points that led me to post this review.

1. Wifi is the latest 'N' standard (better than the spec) and works very well.

2. The sound is poor on delivery - this is because some moron at HP has set the default to low quality. If you change this to one of the 'studio quality' alternatives it is transformed - the speakers provide an enjoyable sound for personal use but maximum volume level is very limited.

I bought this notebook at the end of last year as I needed something portable but with some processing power. Looks-wise it is a real stunner and the brushed aluminium is awesome. The keyboard is a major plus; isolated keys are definitely the way to go, although backlit keys would have been a nice addition for working in dim conditions.
Between my wife and I we have a 10.1" netbook, this notebook, a 15.4" notebook, and a 17" desktop replacement,but this is the perfect size. Not too small for typing on, yet very portable and you can quite comfortably sit and watch movies etc on it. Windows 7 makes a massive difference to performance and I haven't had any performance problems yet. You won't be disappointed with this computer!

HP Pavilion dm3-1020EA, 13.3-inch Notebook (Windows 7 Home Premium, AMD Athlon Neo X2 Processor L335, 4 GB RAM, 320GB SATA HDD, Ethernet, Bluetooth, 6 Cell Battery up to 6 Hours Life)

I have bought one of these machines recently and after having nearly thrown Vista laptops out of the window on several occasions this is brilliant thanks to Windows 7. Not only is Windows 7 great but this machine is so neat - the size is superb for moving around, whether at home or work - you don't need an optical drive for most things you do these days. I love the keyboard - this new design with the individual keys is really good for typing and I can type quite well so it is really friendly. Last but not least I really like the brushed aluminium finish as it makes it stand out from the crowd

I had been looking for a notebook for sometime and came across this HP Pavilion and read review after review and did a search. I found that Amazon was £120.00 cheaper then most other sites and decided to take the plunge and buy it. I was looking at similar notebooks in America and decided that for a few pounds more with better specs it was worth buying. I was not disappointed, the notebook is a good deal, I like the Windows 7 and the Nortons security that comes with free trial. I normally use Zone Alarm Pro, but found Nortons so much easier working in the background. I like the system, it runs good and have found nothing too much to moan about. If you're going to use it to play music or listen to movies etc, use headphones, the speakers are placed under the notebook and I find this isn't the best place or the best sound...but pop in some headphones and it's great. My niggle is that the battery doesn't fit as snug as I think it should and so there is the minute give in that, it doesn't cause any problems except I feel that slight give. I am happy with this and look forward in taking it with me where ever I travel and for home use when I am not using the desktop. Good Buy and worth having.

Hp note book is very good, very handy and very light weight with good price. Amazon delivered free of cast within very less time with tracking advantages.

The flaws in product are that firstly, the battery life is less than the advertised. and secondly ,there is sim card slot which is very good but there is no WWAN card so this makes SIM slot compeletely useless. but overall its not a bad product.

Firstly excellent service from Amazon. Secondly a great notebook. The keyboard is great, space between keys makes it so easy to type accurately. Screen reflection but that is usual with this type of screen. All in all an excellent product with first class customer service from HP should you need it. Windows 7 takes a bit of getting used to if, like me, you were an XP user but after a week's use it feels as though you have never used any other operating system. Would highly recommend.

This is the closest laptop I have found to a Aluminium MacBook on a Windows Platform. Great metal finish, a responsive keypad and this laptop is highly portable without sacrificing performance. The lack of built-in optical drive may not suit everyone, but I don't find that an issue and like the reduced weight and depth that results. Plays video such as iPlayer well, so what's not to like?
Well... a bigger track pad would be welcome, the 'on' switch feels a bit flimsy (and would be better if it weren't on the side of the PC) and the chrome trim around the laptop's edge may have some fit & finish tolerance issues, but these are very minor quibbles. For the price there is not much to touch this laptop. Overall very pleased.