HP ProBook 5310m Review

Looks aren't everything. There's also money.

That sounds pretty shallow of us, but appearance and price are twin issues for IT managers and shoppers in the 13.3-inch ultraportable notebook segment. There are plenty of sleek, sub-four-pound status symbols available, but most sexy slimlines wear designer price tags -- starting at $1,499 for the Dell Adamo or Apple MacBook Air, for instance, or $1,889 for the Lenovo ThinkPad X301.

The 3.8-pound HP ProBook 5310m changes the math. This skinny black slab boasts an anodized aluminum lid and palm rest and magnesium-alloy base; a sunny LED-backlit screen; a comfortable, MacBook-style chiclet keyboard; ingenious instant-on browser and contact manager software; and ample performance thanks to an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (HP calls it the thinnest notebook with a standard- rather than low-voltage CPU).

It costs $899 -- low enough to be not just an executive perk but to deploy or distribute to staffers. To happy, style-conscious staffers, that is.

Three (Super) Models

Actually, the ProBook starts at an even lower $699 with a low-voltage processor, Intel's 10-watt, 1.2GHz Celeron SU2300; 2GB of DDR2 memory; and a 160GB hard disk.

For satisfactory performance over several years' lifespan, HP recommends the $899 model and its 25-watt Core 2 Duo SP9300 -- a 2.26GHz dual-core with a hefty 6MB of Level 2 cache and 1066MHz front-side bus. That configuration also comes with a 320GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive. Stepping up to $999 adds Bluetooth and mobile broadband.

Each member of the ProBook trio measures 8.7 by 12.9 by 0.9 inches and flaunts a handsome metal rather than plastic chassis, as well as three-axis accelerometer protection that parks the system's hard drive when a jolt or drop is detected. Like other ultralights, the 5310m has no onboard optical drive; a USB plug-in DVD±RW burner is a $99 option.

The svelte shape dictates a smallish battery pack. HP rates the unit's unplugged life at up to six and a half hours, but our real-world work sessions fell short of that, averaging about three hours and 40 minutes of word processing and Web surfing with screen brightness turned down three or four notches from maximum. That's not exceptional, but it's adequate for a compact laptop.

The chiclet- or island-style keyboard has a first-rate layout (with Ctrl and Delete keys in their proper lower left and top right corners, respectively) and a good typing feel, although our test unit's space bar required a firm tap instead of just the brush of a thumb that occurs when we type at top speed.

The touchpad works smoothly, though its glossy surface collects a lot of fingerprints and smudges. The Synaptics driver lets you enable a handful of gestures such as two-finger scrolling, rotating photos or other objects, and pinching or sliding fingers together or apart to zoom. These take a bit of practice but grow on you or become convenient, albeit at the risk of longing for a larger touchpad.

The 13.3-inch screen packs 1,366 by 768-pixel resolution and bright LED backlighting. Colors proved clear and vivid and text was sharp, though pull-down menu text was a bit on the small side.

A two-megapixel webcam is centered above the display. Two USB 2.0 ports are on the right and a third on the system's left side, the latter next to an Ethernet port and DisplayPort video interface (users will need adapters for older VGA, DVI, or HDMI monitors). An SD/MMC flash-card slot sits beside a combination headphone and microphone jack on the HP's right edge.

Easy Application Access

The 32-bit version of Windows 7 Professional is preinstalled, along with McAfee security software; WinZip, Skype, and Roxio Creator utilities; and the trial version of Microsoft Office 2007. More interesting are HP QuickLook 3 and QuickWeb, programs launched by dedicated buttons to the right of the keyboard that work when Windows is shut down: These use a mini-Linux environment to start in under 20 seconds, without booting Windows, for speedy access to contact and calendar information and a Web browser.

QuickLook 3 pulls up your Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 information, letting you look up a contact, add an appointment, or type an e-mail that's sent the next time you log into Outlook and the network. QuickWeb works with a hardwired or WiFi Internet connection to summon a full-featured browser, including history, bookmarks, and a write-protected mode for guest access or surfing suspicious sites. It even includes a screen brightness control and a battery power gauge to avert unexpected rundowns.

The HP's Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics keep it an all-work-and-no-play proposition; the notebook's 3DMark06 benchmark score of 918 at its native 1,366 by 768 resolution is well south of a capable gaming machine's. Still, its Cinebench R10 and PCMark Vantage scores of 4,715 and 3,960, respectively, taking just over three minutes to render Cinebench's sample scene, aren't half bad, and the system feels perky and responsive in everyday applications.

We're very impressed with the ProBook 5310m. It draws the admiring glances of an executive status-showoff notebook while satisfying buyers whose budgets are firmly stuck at three rather than four digits, and it offers a thoroughly pleasing mix of productivity, size, weight, and battery life. Shoppers should put this one on a very short list.