Hello and welcome to my review of the HP DV1000. To be more specific, this is a review mainly of the DV1040. I have also tried out other DV1000s with different specs and screens and will specify any difference that I feel should be mentioned to help you make an informed decision.
DESIGN: The design of the DV1000 as most of you know is very attractive. Most people I’ve talked to here find it better looking than the Sony S260 (The “new” S150). It is thin and definitely doesn’t look like anything HP has done before. Actually it looks more like something Sony would release that HP. The DV1000 is VERY sleek looking and I feel you will definitely be impressed once you see it in person. Overall great work on the design HP, congratulations. Since design is something where personal taste is the deciding factor I will not go into which one is better looking. But I will say the SONY has a very simple, uncluttered design. It doesn’t have any other buttons besides the keyboard, power button, S1 and S2. Also the ports on the sides are covered. The DV1000 on the other had has many buttons which give it a very “busy” look, which is the opposite of the SONY. . The buttons themselves have blue LED’s illuminating them from the back. This, with the all black interior, makes for a very nice and “cool” look.
CONSTRUCTION: The DV1000 is pretty solid and it appears to be well constructed for the price. It is not the most solid notebook I have used, but it definitely is sturdy enough and pretty well made. It is completely made of plastic on the outside and doesn’t have an aluminum lid like the X1000 and zt3000. This as you may have guessed creates some flex but not enough to make it feel cheap. When closed it can be picked up with one hand by one of the corners and it wont make any creaks or weird noises like other notebooks do. Actually the only “soft” spot worth mentioning is when the computer is picked up with one hand from the center-back portion where the WIFI light is. For some strange reason the area between the two LCD hinges does flex noticeably when pushed down on. Otherwise a well constructed machine. The SONY on the other hand is VERY well constructed. The S260 is as solid as it gets with a small, light notebook. There is no doubt in my mind after seeing this two side by side that the S260 has a stiffer, more solid chassis than the DV1000. Then again, the S260 is around $300 to $500 more expensive than the DV1000 so this should be expected. The lower half of the SONY is made of some other material (not plastic) that is very stiff, probably magnesium. The palm rests are made of plastic, which is painted gray. This is not the best alternative since with time it could loose its color or become damaged by the rubbing, sweat, etc, of your palms. It is too early to tell if this will happen but it is definitely a possibility. The DV1000’s palm rests are made of black, unpainted plastic so there is no chance of this happening. The back part of the LCD on the S260 is also very strong. Pressing your finger against it will not distort the LCD while it is on, contrary to what will happen if you do it on the HP. The material used on the HP, like I said before, is plastic. It is not as flexible as other notebooks out there but it does flex. The material used by Sony, on the other hand is difficult to identify. My best guess is that it is a thin piece of the same material used for the bottom half (probably magnesium). It does flex because it is very thin, but it is cold to the touch like the bottom (unlike plastic). When in a cold room the SONY gets very cold to the touch on the top and bottom, but not on the palm rests and keyboard. This indicates that the material is probably some kind of thin metal, since metal conducts heat or cold much better than plastic. That would explain the difference in temperature.
SIZE and WEIGHT: The size of the DV1000 is a little bit bigger than the Sony as you will see in the pictures. The main reason is because HP has a 14” screen while SONY has a 13” screen. Weight is also pretty close with the SONY weighting basically 4lbs and the HP weighting 5lbs. If you pick each one you WILL NOTICE the difference in weight. Taking that into consideration I am quite sure you will feel a huge difference in weight between the DV1000 and other notebooks out there but I was definitely surprised as to how much difference 1 pound makes. Take this into consideration if you are looking to carry lowest weight possible. Height, length and width is very close as you will see in the pictures. Both notebooks start out thin and progressively get a little bit thicker towards the back.
SCREEN: This is probably the part of this review more affected by personal preference. Some people prefer the new “glossy” “reflective” screens, others prefer the earlier “non reflective” screens. In my personal opinion, HP has made it easy for you to decide with the DV1000. I had the advantage of seeing 2 DV1000’s, each with a different screen and trust me… You DON’T want the regular screen. The Brightview screen is MUCH better. Actually the “regular” screen is not good at all. It is not sharp, the text looks fuzzy on it and it has poor viewing angles. I will say it once more for those who don’t get the message, DON’T, DON’T get the “regular” screen, it is a LOW QUALITY screen and once you see the Brightview you will be disappointed you didn’t get that one. The Brightview screen is very nice. It is very sharp, clear and has good color saturation. It is definitely a good screen and should satisfy most if not all the “screen critics” out there. Also as you already know, it is very reflective. I don’t think this is a huge problem and since the regular screen is poor, the decision on which one to get is simple. The horizontal viewing angle of the Brightview screen is very good. The vertical viewing angle is not as good as the horizontal. The vertical angles are average with most notebook LCD’s out there. As good as the Brightview screen is, it just doesn’t compare to the S260 X-brite screen. Let me get something out of the way before I start the comparison. The screen on the S260 is easily the BEST SCREEN I have ever seen in a laptop this size, and probably any size for that matter. For those of you who know about viewing angles, if I had to guess I would say the SONY has a horizontal viewing angle of 170 degrees. That’s not all, the more amazing part is that the vertical angle is also around 170 degrees. In one word… AMAZING. The colors on the SONY seem also more accurate than on the HP. You would never know how great the S260’s screen is until you compare it to another good screen like the one on the HP. In fact, if you are very, very picky about your notebook’s screen, or if you need to have the best screen period, this review is over for you. Just go out and buy the S260 or S270 with the X-Brite screen. You don’t have to keep on reading, it’s that simple. It is very difficult to take a good picture of the two screens side by side and have it show the difference. I tried and they came out blurry (I don’t have a tripod). Also the difference in colors and quality is not really noticeable in the pictures but you WILL notice it in person. Especially in a dark room with the notebooks side by side. I will probably try again but until I do I will post the pictures that I have. Bottom line is, the screen on the HP is good, the screen on the S260 is the BEST out there. I would like to ad that the screen resolution on the HP is 1280 x 768, compared to the SONY which is 1280 x 800. This, coupled with the fact that the SONY screen is 13”, makes the text a little smaller on the SONY. I don’t think the difference is huge and if you can see the text on the HP clearly you shouldn’t have any problems with the SONY. Then again I don’t use glasses so I am not the right person to judge. Just keep this in mind if you have less than ideal eyesight and look at the pictures.
SPEAKERS: The speakers on the DV1040 are some of the best out there. They are loud and clear. You can definitely listen to MP3s or watch movies using the speakers. Compared to the S260 the speakers on the SONY are loud also and pleasant surprise since the speakers on most SONY notebooks in the past where usually poor (the Z1 comes to mind). Having said that, I prefer the speakers on the Dv1040.
PERFORMACE: The performance on this two is very good. They are definitely fast enough for anything you throw at them. The HP, like the SONY came filled with crap software that you probably don’t want and don’t need. This preinstalled crap slows your computer down and extends the time it takes it to get started since it is loaded into RAM every time the PC starts. You start the S260 and without starting any application , go to the Task Manager and check how much RAM is in use and you are in for a surprise (remember, you haven’t started an application yet). Once this is “cleaned up” both computers speed up and move quickly thru Windows XP or any other program you want to use. The hard drive speed on both is 4200rpms so it is the slowest available. I would say that the SONY is a little bit faster than the HP since it has a 1.7ghz processor and the DV1040 has a 1.6ghz, the SONY also uses faster RAM. This is added to the fact that the SONY has all 512megs of RAM available while the HP has only 448megs of RAM. The reason for this is the Intel Graphics solution implemented on the HP. This uses 64 megs of RAM for video. This is not a big problem and the HP still works fine. There is no noticeable difference between the two machines while in windows, browsing the internet or using MS Office. Also you can upgrade the RAM on the HP to 1Gig leaving you with more than enough RAM for any task you need to perform. Worth mentioning is the fact that the SONY S260 comes with 1 stick of 512, the other slot is empty. The DV1040 has both slots occupied by 2 sticks of 256. The RAM on the SONY is 333mhz while the one on the HP is 266mhz. The RAM used on the SONY is PC2700 DDR333 172pin Micro DIMMS, NOT the standard notebook SODIMMs. Both notebooks have the two RAM slots available from the bottom by removing 1 or 2 screws. The RAM on the HP is the standard 200pin SODIMM kind which is cheaper and easier to find than the one for the SONY. In the end if upgrading to 1 gig of RAM is a must for you the upgrade path will end up costing you the same or almost the same with both laptops even though SONY left an empty slot. The last point I want to make clear about performance is video performance. The DV1040’s integrated video card is not an adequate performer if gaming or 3D performance is very important for you. In simpler terms if it is very important for you to be able to play 3D games on your laptop then the DV1040 is not for you. The 3D performance of the ATI Radeon 9200 with 32megs is definitely much better than the HP. If games or 3D performance are what’s important the S260 is a much better choice. Better yet, the S270 is available with an ATI Radeon 9700 with 64megs and that would be an even better choice.
WIRELESS PERFORMANCE: Both the DV 1040 and the SONY S260 have integrated wireless solutions by Intel. Both have 802.11B/G cards that are user accessible by simply removing 1 or 2 screws. The wireless range on both is VERY GOOD. Better than all the notebooks I have tried before and better than the range on the Compaq X1000 which I felt was one of the best out there. Both the DV1040 and the S260 beat the X1000’s range hands down. I think part of the reason for this is that the integrated antenna on the DV1040 and S260 are placed on the top of the LCD screen. The x1000 on the other hand places the antennas on both sides of the base, just like the Apple Powerbook Ti. I really can’t tell if this is the only reason for the improved range (it probably isn’t) but I am sure it helps. The DV1040 and the S260 will find weaker WiFi signals or hold on to weaker signals than most notebooks in the market and this is definitely good news for the people that rely on Wifi. Also, the DV1040 comes with integrated Bluetooth and the S260 does not.
BATTERY LIFE: Battery life on both notebooks is very good. If you lower the LCD brightness to the minimum you should be able to surf the web or work with MS Office with WiFi ON for at least 4 hours or more. Unfortunately I have been getting around 3 and a half hours on the DV1040. I feel that this is to low and that I should be getting around 4 hours at least. After doing some checking it appears that the Pentium M is not throttling down and is staying at full speed always (1.6ghz). I haven’t fully tested the S260’s battery life but from what I have heard from friends who have them you can get 4 to 5 hours of battery life with the standard battery is you dim the screen and do light work. This I feel is the battery life you should get from the DV1040. I still have to pinpoint why it is not getting that amount.
TOUCH PAD: There not much to say here. The touchpad on the DV1040 is great. It has a rough texture and is not sticky like other touchpads. I am happy to say that it is easily the BEST touchpad in HP’s line of notebooks, and believe me, I have tested them all. The touchpad on the S260 is great also. But this is no mystery since I haven’t tested a SONY notebook with a sticky touchpad yet. They always have a great texture which helps the finger slide easily even if you have sweaty hands. Overall I do prefer the ALPS software that SONY uses on the notebooks for controlling the touchpad, compared to the SYNAPTICS software that HP uses on their notebooks. This is nitpicking and is also subject to personal taste. I like the fact that the ALPS software lets you close, minimize, go back or forward and scroll pages with the touch pad. This cannot be done with the SYNAPTICS software.
KEYBOARD: The keyboard on the DV1000 is excellent. I have been able to type at full speed on it without no problem whatsoever. Also for those of you that dread keyboard flex, I am happy to say that there is NO FLEX whatsoever on the DV1040 keyboard. The S260 also has an excellent keyboard which I must say feels sturdier than the one on the DV1000. A difference between the two is that the DV1000 has dedicated home, end, Page up and Page down buttons. ON the S260 this functions are achieved by pressing the function key and the corresponding key in the keyboard. In this respect the DV1040 is superior to the S260.
HEAT and FAN NOISE: Ahh the famous heat issue. The DV1040 runs hot. It gets warm pretty quick for some strange reason. I have heard of people that have stated that the thing they love the most about the DV1000 is that it runs cold. Unfortunately this has not been my experience. Then again if the processor is not throttling down, and is running at full speed always, it would explain the diminished battery life and the heat. I will definitely be looking into this and will report anything that I find. The S260 I must say is impressive in this respect. I have left an S260 downloading stuff of the internet for 1 or 2 hours on a bed, only to find it slightly warm. From my experience with the S260 I have to say it no only runs cold, but it is one of the coldest running laptops I have tested. As for fan noise both the DV1040 and the S260 are very quiet with no noticeable fan noise even in a quiet setting like a library. The truth is that the fan on the DV1040 is almost never on, and when it does come on you can barely hear it.
QUICKPLAY: As you have probably heard, the DV1040 allows you to view a DVD movie or video without booting up windows. You can also listen to MP3s or music without starting windows. By the way no one has mentioned that you can use you spiffy remote control, adjust brightness, volume and all the other stuff while in this mode. I personally can understand the idea behind the Quickplay feature but honestly I don’t find it all that compelling. It takes around 10 seconds or less to boot up the Quickplay feature measured from when you press the button to when the feature is ready. It takes around 38 seconds to boot into windows measured from the time you press the power button to the time where you are in your dektop with everything loaded and ready to go. Now, the difference is around 28 seconds between the 2. In my humble opinion, if you can’t wait 28 seconds, or you don’t have time to wait for windows to boot up, then you really don’t have time to see the movie and should consider rethinking your life and maybe taking a vacation.
MISCELLANEOUS STUFF: This are points that I feel are not the most important but could make a difference to some people so I will list them here. The DV1040 comes with a 6 in 1 media card reader while the S260 only reads Memory Sticks. This is definitely a plus for the DV1040 since the memory stick community is very small. Also the DV1040 comes with a DVD writer where the S260 comes with a DVD player/ CDRW. The DV1040 power supply is smaller and lighter than the one for the S260. On the other hand the power supply for the DV1040 needs an outlet with 3 holes, the S260 only needs 2. The DV1040 has 2 headphone slots while the S260 has only one like the rest of the notebooks out there. The DV1040 also has an S-video out which the S260 doesn’t. This coupled with the included remote control could easily let the HP turn into a DVD player for a TV when there is no DVD player around. HP includes the controller which can be stored in the PCI slot and a pair of headphones. Something that is really important and I have forgotten to mention is the DV1040 comes with a ton of CD’s. These include Application CD’s, Driver CD’s, Windows XP, etc. The SONY, believe it or not, come with NOTHING. Incredible but true, not even the Windows XP CD. I am not even sure if this is legal and I assume SONY would provide a Windows XP disk for your computer free of charge if you ask for one nicely, RIGHT SONY?!?!?!
CONCLUSION: This is where I will try to sum up the whole review in just a few words. If you didn’t read any of the lengthy review this should give you an idea or at least aid you in your decision. First of all, I have to say. If money is no object, you should probably get the S260 over the DV1040. The S260 is better built, has a great keyboard (probably slightly better than the one on the DV1040), great wireless performance, a faster processor, faster RAM, THE BEST SCREEN ever made, is lighter and runs nice and cool. Now, if money is an issue (And it should always be an issue probably) the DV1040 offers great looks, Bluetooth, DVDRW, great wireless performance, remote control, very sleek looks and a ton of other extras. I would definitely recommend getting the DV1000 for anybody looking for a good laptop that is easy to carry around and is well priced. Just remember to stay clear of the regular screen and go for the Brightview. As for the S260, if you can get it for a good price I would definitely go for it and buy it, you won’t be disappointed. If price is not an issue, again I would recommend the S260 over the DV1040. Especially if you are build quality and screen quality are extremely important to you.
Thanks for reading my review. I know that even though I tried to cover everything, there are always things that are always left out. If you have any questions that are not answered in the review feel free to ask them and I will answer them as soon as I can. Sorry for any spelling errors.
DESIGN: The design of the DV1000 as most of you know is very attractive. Most people I’ve talked to here find it better looking than the Sony S260 (The “new” S150). It is thin and definitely doesn’t look like anything HP has done before. Actually it looks more like something Sony would release that HP. The DV1000 is VERY sleek looking and I feel you will definitely be impressed once you see it in person. Overall great work on the design HP, congratulations. Since design is something where personal taste is the deciding factor I will not go into which one is better looking. But I will say the SONY has a very simple, uncluttered design. It doesn’t have any other buttons besides the keyboard, power button, S1 and S2. Also the ports on the sides are covered. The DV1000 on the other had has many buttons which give it a very “busy” look, which is the opposite of the SONY. . The buttons themselves have blue LED’s illuminating them from the back. This, with the all black interior, makes for a very nice and “cool” look.
CONSTRUCTION: The DV1000 is pretty solid and it appears to be well constructed for the price. It is not the most solid notebook I have used, but it definitely is sturdy enough and pretty well made. It is completely made of plastic on the outside and doesn’t have an aluminum lid like the X1000 and zt3000. This as you may have guessed creates some flex but not enough to make it feel cheap. When closed it can be picked up with one hand by one of the corners and it wont make any creaks or weird noises like other notebooks do. Actually the only “soft” spot worth mentioning is when the computer is picked up with one hand from the center-back portion where the WIFI light is. For some strange reason the area between the two LCD hinges does flex noticeably when pushed down on. Otherwise a well constructed machine. The SONY on the other hand is VERY well constructed. The S260 is as solid as it gets with a small, light notebook. There is no doubt in my mind after seeing this two side by side that the S260 has a stiffer, more solid chassis than the DV1000. Then again, the S260 is around $300 to $500 more expensive than the DV1000 so this should be expected. The lower half of the SONY is made of some other material (not plastic) that is very stiff, probably magnesium. The palm rests are made of plastic, which is painted gray. This is not the best alternative since with time it could loose its color or become damaged by the rubbing, sweat, etc, of your palms. It is too early to tell if this will happen but it is definitely a possibility. The DV1000’s palm rests are made of black, unpainted plastic so there is no chance of this happening. The back part of the LCD on the S260 is also very strong. Pressing your finger against it will not distort the LCD while it is on, contrary to what will happen if you do it on the HP. The material used on the HP, like I said before, is plastic. It is not as flexible as other notebooks out there but it does flex. The material used by Sony, on the other hand is difficult to identify. My best guess is that it is a thin piece of the same material used for the bottom half (probably magnesium). It does flex because it is very thin, but it is cold to the touch like the bottom (unlike plastic). When in a cold room the SONY gets very cold to the touch on the top and bottom, but not on the palm rests and keyboard. This indicates that the material is probably some kind of thin metal, since metal conducts heat or cold much better than plastic. That would explain the difference in temperature.
SIZE and WEIGHT: The size of the DV1000 is a little bit bigger than the Sony as you will see in the pictures. The main reason is because HP has a 14” screen while SONY has a 13” screen. Weight is also pretty close with the SONY weighting basically 4lbs and the HP weighting 5lbs. If you pick each one you WILL NOTICE the difference in weight. Taking that into consideration I am quite sure you will feel a huge difference in weight between the DV1000 and other notebooks out there but I was definitely surprised as to how much difference 1 pound makes. Take this into consideration if you are looking to carry lowest weight possible. Height, length and width is very close as you will see in the pictures. Both notebooks start out thin and progressively get a little bit thicker towards the back.
SCREEN: This is probably the part of this review more affected by personal preference. Some people prefer the new “glossy” “reflective” screens, others prefer the earlier “non reflective” screens. In my personal opinion, HP has made it easy for you to decide with the DV1000. I had the advantage of seeing 2 DV1000’s, each with a different screen and trust me… You DON’T want the regular screen. The Brightview screen is MUCH better. Actually the “regular” screen is not good at all. It is not sharp, the text looks fuzzy on it and it has poor viewing angles. I will say it once more for those who don’t get the message, DON’T, DON’T get the “regular” screen, it is a LOW QUALITY screen and once you see the Brightview you will be disappointed you didn’t get that one. The Brightview screen is very nice. It is very sharp, clear and has good color saturation. It is definitely a good screen and should satisfy most if not all the “screen critics” out there. Also as you already know, it is very reflective. I don’t think this is a huge problem and since the regular screen is poor, the decision on which one to get is simple. The horizontal viewing angle of the Brightview screen is very good. The vertical viewing angle is not as good as the horizontal. The vertical angles are average with most notebook LCD’s out there. As good as the Brightview screen is, it just doesn’t compare to the S260 X-brite screen. Let me get something out of the way before I start the comparison. The screen on the S260 is easily the BEST SCREEN I have ever seen in a laptop this size, and probably any size for that matter. For those of you who know about viewing angles, if I had to guess I would say the SONY has a horizontal viewing angle of 170 degrees. That’s not all, the more amazing part is that the vertical angle is also around 170 degrees. In one word… AMAZING. The colors on the SONY seem also more accurate than on the HP. You would never know how great the S260’s screen is until you compare it to another good screen like the one on the HP. In fact, if you are very, very picky about your notebook’s screen, or if you need to have the best screen period, this review is over for you. Just go out and buy the S260 or S270 with the X-Brite screen. You don’t have to keep on reading, it’s that simple. It is very difficult to take a good picture of the two screens side by side and have it show the difference. I tried and they came out blurry (I don’t have a tripod). Also the difference in colors and quality is not really noticeable in the pictures but you WILL notice it in person. Especially in a dark room with the notebooks side by side. I will probably try again but until I do I will post the pictures that I have. Bottom line is, the screen on the HP is good, the screen on the S260 is the BEST out there. I would like to ad that the screen resolution on the HP is 1280 x 768, compared to the SONY which is 1280 x 800. This, coupled with the fact that the SONY screen is 13”, makes the text a little smaller on the SONY. I don’t think the difference is huge and if you can see the text on the HP clearly you shouldn’t have any problems with the SONY. Then again I don’t use glasses so I am not the right person to judge. Just keep this in mind if you have less than ideal eyesight and look at the pictures.
SPEAKERS: The speakers on the DV1040 are some of the best out there. They are loud and clear. You can definitely listen to MP3s or watch movies using the speakers. Compared to the S260 the speakers on the SONY are loud also and pleasant surprise since the speakers on most SONY notebooks in the past where usually poor (the Z1 comes to mind). Having said that, I prefer the speakers on the Dv1040.
PERFORMACE: The performance on this two is very good. They are definitely fast enough for anything you throw at them. The HP, like the SONY came filled with crap software that you probably don’t want and don’t need. This preinstalled crap slows your computer down and extends the time it takes it to get started since it is loaded into RAM every time the PC starts. You start the S260 and without starting any application , go to the Task Manager and check how much RAM is in use and you are in for a surprise (remember, you haven’t started an application yet). Once this is “cleaned up” both computers speed up and move quickly thru Windows XP or any other program you want to use. The hard drive speed on both is 4200rpms so it is the slowest available. I would say that the SONY is a little bit faster than the HP since it has a 1.7ghz processor and the DV1040 has a 1.6ghz, the SONY also uses faster RAM. This is added to the fact that the SONY has all 512megs of RAM available while the HP has only 448megs of RAM. The reason for this is the Intel Graphics solution implemented on the HP. This uses 64 megs of RAM for video. This is not a big problem and the HP still works fine. There is no noticeable difference between the two machines while in windows, browsing the internet or using MS Office. Also you can upgrade the RAM on the HP to 1Gig leaving you with more than enough RAM for any task you need to perform. Worth mentioning is the fact that the SONY S260 comes with 1 stick of 512, the other slot is empty. The DV1040 has both slots occupied by 2 sticks of 256. The RAM on the SONY is 333mhz while the one on the HP is 266mhz. The RAM used on the SONY is PC2700 DDR333 172pin Micro DIMMS, NOT the standard notebook SODIMMs. Both notebooks have the two RAM slots available from the bottom by removing 1 or 2 screws. The RAM on the HP is the standard 200pin SODIMM kind which is cheaper and easier to find than the one for the SONY. In the end if upgrading to 1 gig of RAM is a must for you the upgrade path will end up costing you the same or almost the same with both laptops even though SONY left an empty slot. The last point I want to make clear about performance is video performance. The DV1040’s integrated video card is not an adequate performer if gaming or 3D performance is very important for you. In simpler terms if it is very important for you to be able to play 3D games on your laptop then the DV1040 is not for you. The 3D performance of the ATI Radeon 9200 with 32megs is definitely much better than the HP. If games or 3D performance are what’s important the S260 is a much better choice. Better yet, the S270 is available with an ATI Radeon 9700 with 64megs and that would be an even better choice.
WIRELESS PERFORMANCE: Both the DV 1040 and the SONY S260 have integrated wireless solutions by Intel. Both have 802.11B/G cards that are user accessible by simply removing 1 or 2 screws. The wireless range on both is VERY GOOD. Better than all the notebooks I have tried before and better than the range on the Compaq X1000 which I felt was one of the best out there. Both the DV1040 and the S260 beat the X1000’s range hands down. I think part of the reason for this is that the integrated antenna on the DV1040 and S260 are placed on the top of the LCD screen. The x1000 on the other hand places the antennas on both sides of the base, just like the Apple Powerbook Ti. I really can’t tell if this is the only reason for the improved range (it probably isn’t) but I am sure it helps. The DV1040 and the S260 will find weaker WiFi signals or hold on to weaker signals than most notebooks in the market and this is definitely good news for the people that rely on Wifi. Also, the DV1040 comes with integrated Bluetooth and the S260 does not.
BATTERY LIFE: Battery life on both notebooks is very good. If you lower the LCD brightness to the minimum you should be able to surf the web or work with MS Office with WiFi ON for at least 4 hours or more. Unfortunately I have been getting around 3 and a half hours on the DV1040. I feel that this is to low and that I should be getting around 4 hours at least. After doing some checking it appears that the Pentium M is not throttling down and is staying at full speed always (1.6ghz). I haven’t fully tested the S260’s battery life but from what I have heard from friends who have them you can get 4 to 5 hours of battery life with the standard battery is you dim the screen and do light work. This I feel is the battery life you should get from the DV1040. I still have to pinpoint why it is not getting that amount.
TOUCH PAD: There not much to say here. The touchpad on the DV1040 is great. It has a rough texture and is not sticky like other touchpads. I am happy to say that it is easily the BEST touchpad in HP’s line of notebooks, and believe me, I have tested them all. The touchpad on the S260 is great also. But this is no mystery since I haven’t tested a SONY notebook with a sticky touchpad yet. They always have a great texture which helps the finger slide easily even if you have sweaty hands. Overall I do prefer the ALPS software that SONY uses on the notebooks for controlling the touchpad, compared to the SYNAPTICS software that HP uses on their notebooks. This is nitpicking and is also subject to personal taste. I like the fact that the ALPS software lets you close, minimize, go back or forward and scroll pages with the touch pad. This cannot be done with the SYNAPTICS software.
KEYBOARD: The keyboard on the DV1000 is excellent. I have been able to type at full speed on it without no problem whatsoever. Also for those of you that dread keyboard flex, I am happy to say that there is NO FLEX whatsoever on the DV1040 keyboard. The S260 also has an excellent keyboard which I must say feels sturdier than the one on the DV1000. A difference between the two is that the DV1000 has dedicated home, end, Page up and Page down buttons. ON the S260 this functions are achieved by pressing the function key and the corresponding key in the keyboard. In this respect the DV1040 is superior to the S260.
HEAT and FAN NOISE: Ahh the famous heat issue. The DV1040 runs hot. It gets warm pretty quick for some strange reason. I have heard of people that have stated that the thing they love the most about the DV1000 is that it runs cold. Unfortunately this has not been my experience. Then again if the processor is not throttling down, and is running at full speed always, it would explain the diminished battery life and the heat. I will definitely be looking into this and will report anything that I find. The S260 I must say is impressive in this respect. I have left an S260 downloading stuff of the internet for 1 or 2 hours on a bed, only to find it slightly warm. From my experience with the S260 I have to say it no only runs cold, but it is one of the coldest running laptops I have tested. As for fan noise both the DV1040 and the S260 are very quiet with no noticeable fan noise even in a quiet setting like a library. The truth is that the fan on the DV1040 is almost never on, and when it does come on you can barely hear it.
QUICKPLAY: As you have probably heard, the DV1040 allows you to view a DVD movie or video without booting up windows. You can also listen to MP3s or music without starting windows. By the way no one has mentioned that you can use you spiffy remote control, adjust brightness, volume and all the other stuff while in this mode. I personally can understand the idea behind the Quickplay feature but honestly I don’t find it all that compelling. It takes around 10 seconds or less to boot up the Quickplay feature measured from when you press the button to when the feature is ready. It takes around 38 seconds to boot into windows measured from the time you press the power button to the time where you are in your dektop with everything loaded and ready to go. Now, the difference is around 28 seconds between the 2. In my humble opinion, if you can’t wait 28 seconds, or you don’t have time to wait for windows to boot up, then you really don’t have time to see the movie and should consider rethinking your life and maybe taking a vacation.
MISCELLANEOUS STUFF: This are points that I feel are not the most important but could make a difference to some people so I will list them here. The DV1040 comes with a 6 in 1 media card reader while the S260 only reads Memory Sticks. This is definitely a plus for the DV1040 since the memory stick community is very small. Also the DV1040 comes with a DVD writer where the S260 comes with a DVD player/ CDRW. The DV1040 power supply is smaller and lighter than the one for the S260. On the other hand the power supply for the DV1040 needs an outlet with 3 holes, the S260 only needs 2. The DV1040 has 2 headphone slots while the S260 has only one like the rest of the notebooks out there. The DV1040 also has an S-video out which the S260 doesn’t. This coupled with the included remote control could easily let the HP turn into a DVD player for a TV when there is no DVD player around. HP includes the controller which can be stored in the PCI slot and a pair of headphones. Something that is really important and I have forgotten to mention is the DV1040 comes with a ton of CD’s. These include Application CD’s, Driver CD’s, Windows XP, etc. The SONY, believe it or not, come with NOTHING. Incredible but true, not even the Windows XP CD. I am not even sure if this is legal and I assume SONY would provide a Windows XP disk for your computer free of charge if you ask for one nicely, RIGHT SONY?!?!?!
CONCLUSION: This is where I will try to sum up the whole review in just a few words. If you didn’t read any of the lengthy review this should give you an idea or at least aid you in your decision. First of all, I have to say. If money is no object, you should probably get the S260 over the DV1040. The S260 is better built, has a great keyboard (probably slightly better than the one on the DV1040), great wireless performance, a faster processor, faster RAM, THE BEST SCREEN ever made, is lighter and runs nice and cool. Now, if money is an issue (And it should always be an issue probably) the DV1040 offers great looks, Bluetooth, DVDRW, great wireless performance, remote control, very sleek looks and a ton of other extras. I would definitely recommend getting the DV1000 for anybody looking for a good laptop that is easy to carry around and is well priced. Just remember to stay clear of the regular screen and go for the Brightview. As for the S260, if you can get it for a good price I would definitely go for it and buy it, you won’t be disappointed. If price is not an issue, again I would recommend the S260 over the DV1040. Especially if you are build quality and screen quality are extremely important to you.
Thanks for reading my review. I know that even though I tried to cover everything, there are always things that are always left out. If you have any questions that are not answered in the review feel free to ask them and I will answer them as soon as I can. Sorry for any spelling errors.
