Digital Home Thoughts: HP dm3 Laptop Unboxing & First Impressions

This is my unboxing and first impressions video of the HP dm3 [Affiliate]; the dm3 is a new laptop from HP that's an evolution of the dv2 - it's thin, light, and not very expensive. In fact, I never did my review video of the dv2 - just an unboxing video - because HP discontinued the dv2 about five months after they launched it. Bizarre, no? It's probably for the best though. There was a lot to like about the dv2, but the fact that the hot air vent was at the front of the left side, right where your hand would typically rest, was a real problem.

The HP dm3 is an evolution of the dv2 and is similar in many ways. The dm3 uses the AMD Athlon Neo X2 dual-core processor, a semi-low power processor that uses 18 watts of power, but delivers better performance than the Intel Atom processors found in netbooks. Unlike many HP notebooks, the dm3 doesn't have a feminine-looking design on the lid. It has a brushed metal lid that looks absolutely fantastic - you'd swear you're looking at a $2000 laptop.

This particular model of the dm3 that I was sent on loan by HP Canada's PR people has 4 GB of RAM, uses a 320 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, has a memory card reader, 100 megabit ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, four USB ports, and HDMI out. The 13.3 inch wide-screen display is 1366 x 768 pixels in resolution (driven by an ATI Radeon 3200 GPU), and it has a built-in Webcam and microphone. The keyboard is full-sized, and the laptop features Altec Lansing speakers. The 6-cell battery is rated for up to six hours of battery life, though in my initial battery test playing back the Lord of the Rings extended edition, at 100% screen brightness with WiFi off, it was down to 5% battery life after finishing the movie at 2 hours and 51 minutes. That's not a small feat though - many other notebooks I test can't finish that movie.

Stay tuned for my full review, and let me know if you have any questions.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys photography, mobile devices, blogging, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, his wonderful baby boy, and his sometimes obedient dog.

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