HP dm1z: Taking Fusion on the Road
by Dustin Sklavos on February 21, 2011 7:00 PM ESTAnother Mediocre Netbook Screen
Subjectively at least, the screen on the HP dm1z is usable if uninspiring. 1366x768 should really be the minimum resolution at this point to get any kind of work done, and it at least looks reasonable on an 11.6" screen (as opposed to feeling borderline inexcusable on anything from about 14" on up). That said, HP had to cut a corner somewhere on the dm1z's otherwise excellent design, so we present to you: The Cut Corner.
Well, that's unfortunate. The screen is reasonably bright, but everything else is pretty poor. Our reigning champion of "worst screen we've reviewed recently" is probably still the Gateway ID49C, but the dm1z gives it a run for its money. If there's one silver lining here, it's that viewing angles for the dm1z are at least decent: there isn't a massive fight to try and find the sweet spot as there can be on larger screens.
Viewing angle photos can be problematic, but hopefully this gives you a reasonable idea of what you can expect from the dm1z's screen. In general use it shouldn't be a problem and the hinges HP employs allow a very healthy amount of tilt (the screen can actually go back nearly 180 degrees), so you're really just left with mediocre color and contrast.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
108 Comments
View All Comments
nitrousoxide - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
So first swap the HDD for a value SSD, then do a clean install :)Penti - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
Impossible to do without a retail copy of Windows. Or Volume licensed image. You'll have to go trough the trouble cleaning it up yourself if you want to run a legit copy of Windows.shtldr - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - link
I have an ACER laptop with Win 7 Home Premium x64 OEM and I was able to swap out the drive for an SSD, then re-install the system (from a retail DVD I also own) using the key from the laptop chassis.The only pain was - I had to dial some MS phone number and dial in some numbers using the phone's keypad, then hear and write some numbers back to the activation window.
After doing this, the clean install of Windows reported it was genuine.
nitrousoxide - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I've seen aother review from engadget with 'only' 6 hours heavy web browsing, wi-fi enabled.JarredWalton - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Yes. We test with WiFi, not off of wired Ethernet. We repeatedly load four tabs in IE8 (AnandTech's old home page, MSN.com, Yahoo.com, and my Facebook page). All are saved versions stored on the AT web server, so they always appear the same, complete with Flash advertisements. IE8 is set to clear Temp files on exit, so the pages actually reload over WiFi each cycle of the test. Outside of video playback in YouTube, this is about as stressful as Internet surfing gets in my experience.Stuka87 - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
A net book that I can actually tell people "Yes you can get this model, and it wont be horrible!"This is actually a machine I would consider for myself if I didn't already have a MacBook and a Precision M4500. I just can't justify a third mobile machine when the MacBook handles the mobile side well, and the Precision handles the heavy work.
screamlordbyron - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I've had one of these puppies for three weeks now. I've got to say that calling the dm1z a netbook does it s disservice. It certainly is not mobile gaming rig, but for business productivity, it is a fantastic subnote.I use it for word processing, excel, web research, light graphics editing, remote desktop, etc. No stutters, good battery life, good (albeit not excellent) screen, decent track pad, excellent keyboard.
For anyone but a gamer or graphic artist, who wants a small, light, affordable subnote, this thing is the bomb! :)
Computer Bottleneck - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Are Tablets here to stay or are they merely a stepping stone ARM is using to get into Desktop/Laptop?The Mac Book Air video on the Apple website points to the better ergonomics of a keyboard and Apple's glass trackpad when using a LCD screen oriented in the vertical position.
Computer Bottleneck - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
My mistake here. I meant this comment to be in response to ganeshts's opening comment.erkerb - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Well, i jumped on the Netbook wagon about 3 years ago, and i am ready for an upgrade. AMD might be late, but remember being late is better then not showing to the fight at all.. Also there is still a demanding market out-there that i do not think AMD would be hurt that much. It'd be nice to see a USB 3.0, but at this price level and platform, it seems like a luxury addition. I would rather see more USB ports though.. I hope Anandtech will also give a shot to Lenovo Thinkpad X120e soon.