Review: HP Compaq 6910p notebook PC

Hewlett-Packard uses the phrase ‘balanced mobility’ to describe the Compaq 6910p ­ a term which usually means that one or two compromises are needed to maximise portability.

Despite this, we found the new notebook to be well equipped and able to handle a wide range of business tasks.

There’s certainly no doubting the portability of the 6910p. It’s not the smallest you can buy, but that’s not a bad thing as the end result is rugged, yet still relatively light (2kg), and a handy size for carrying around. It can also last a long time between charging sessions with a six-cell Li-Ion battery which, according to HP, should last for more than five hours. We didn’t manage quite that, but did achieve around four hours of portable use in our tests.

Dual-core processors are pretty much a must-have these days, and the processor on this model is a decent 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. You also get 2GB of DDR2 memory, upgradeable to 4GB using industry-standard Sodimm modules, plus plenty of local storage options with a 120GB Sata hard disk accompanied by a DVD multi-recorder, plus slots to take a variety of Flash memory cards.

The screen isn’t particularly big, just 14.1in, but it is connected to an ATI Mobility Radeon controller enabling it to support resolutions of up to 1,280x800. Unfortunately, this didn’t score particularly well in our benchmarks, but then you’re unlikely to run 3D games on a notebook of this sort, and for most business applications it’s fine. We also tested usability in a range of lighting conditions and were impressed with how well it performed.

We liked the large and clearly labelled keyboard, and inclusion of both a pointing stick and scrolling touchpad mouse. You also get a strip of touch-sensitive controls to, for example, turn the Wifi interface on or off and control the speaker volume.

Where the 6910p really scores, however, is on the connectivity front, with a veritable arsenal of wired and wireless options. Among these are a 10/100Mbits/sec Ethernet port for Lan attachment, plus an 802.11a/b/g Wifi adapter.

A Bluetooth interface also comes as standard, along with an analogue modem and a Vodafone 3G wireless broadband adapter, the Sim card for which lives in a slot beneath the battery. Vodafone’s software comes pre-installed for use with both 3G and Wifi hotspots, and a text messaging utility is also provided.

Very little setup is required to get connected to the 3G network, just activate the Sim card and subscribe to the service. Price plans start at £25 ex Vat for 250MB per month, with unlimited connectivity (limited to 1GB/month fair usage) at £45 ex Vat.

Bear in mind, however, that 3G coverage is patchy outside major cities, the adapter defaulting to GPRS in such situations which is a lot slower, although it does enable you to get connected almost anywhere.
Business users will also like the security features built into the notebook with an integrated fingerprint scanner and a smartcard reader. HP Protect Tools Security Manager is provided to look after these, with automated single sign-on a key feature.

There’s nothing flashy about the Compaq 6910p. If, however, you’re after a solid and very portable business notebook, with more connectivity options than you can shake a stick at, then this has to be
a contender.