Long term hardware impressions — HP Mini 1000 MIE

Keyboard

The Mini 1000’s keyboard is a serious wonder. A full set of nearly full sized keys (even function keys!) managed to fit on the Mini 1000. This is possible by making the keys very flat with little space between each other. While I think this is a great keyboard, especially for target Mini 1000 MIE users, it will feel different to those who are fast typers on regular keyboards. I explained a bit in my initial hardware impressions:

Visually the Mini 1000’s keyboard might be very pleasing, and it also manages to have a lot of real estate, so you’d think it would be a great keyboard right? Well… not exactly. Before I get started here let me say that the keyboard is very good, the best of any I’ve tested on a netbook so far. But, it might be a little bit different then what you are used to. I am used to a full sized desktop keyboard which has keys that stick up pretty high. The Mini 1000’s keys actually appear to be larger than those on my desktop keyboard. However, they are very flat and there is very little space between them. Imagine the seams on a concrete sidewalk. You know how each square of sidewalk runs right into the next one? That is very similar to the way that the keys on this keyboard are set up. I am a pretty fast touch-typer, I don’t need to look at my keyboard to type. One of the strategies that makes this possible is being able to feel the space between keys and the edges of keys to determine where the next key lies. You can’t do that on the Mini 1000’s keyboard because keys are so flat and close together. This isn’t a huge problem though; it is easy to adjust to it after a short period of time, but you might notice it if you are very productive with a normal desktop keyboard.

The best part about the keyboard, aside from its impressively large size, is that the key layout is probably exactly what you are used to. No compromising with strangely placed arrow keys, or tiny shift keys. This keyboard is the real deal; reach for a key and you will likely find it. I love that HP actually made use of the logo keys on the Mini 1000 MIE. Look down at your keyboard, next to the alt keys, on both sides, you’ll probably find a Windows logo. Ask yourself this: “Do I ever use that key?” I would imagine that the majority of you will say “No”. If that is the case, wouldn’t it be great if they were actually useful? I thought so. HP has made that happen. The left logo key has an HP logo on it. Pressing it will send you immediately back to the home screen. The right key has a square made of arrows. This is the app switcher key, and brings up an alt+tab style visual switcher. Both of these are very useful and I’ve used them many times while using the Mini 1000 MIE.

Toward the center, the keyboard is a little bit squishy. I’m not talking about the keys, they have nice tactile feedback all the way through, but the foundation that supports the entire face that the keyboard sits on is a bit squishy. For the most part you won’t notice this at all, but it is sometimes an indicator of build quality. You may see it when you press the trackpad disable button, but beyond that I don’t think it will be noticed by many.

Trackpad

The trackpad on the Mini 1000 is sized well enough for a netbook. The left and right mouse buttons are on the left and right of the trackpad, similar to the Acer Aspire One, and several other netbooks. This is a space saving design choice in most cases. With mouse buttons on the sides of the trackpad, it seems easier to use two hands for controlling the computer. One finger moves the mouse, and one on the other hand, clicks the button. This is probably the best choice for target Mini 1000 MIE users. Single handed navigation definitely isn’t out of the question, but this layout seems to be geared toward two hands.

The default settings on the trackpad feel fairly sensitive. I found that adjusting the acceleration bar in the settings menu to be 30-40% and turning the sensitivity up to 100% made the cursor feel more similar to what I’m used to. On the right side of the trackpad, there is an area for scrolling. This area is also quite sensitive. I found that the best way to use it was to place your finger on it, and roll your finger as you want the page to scroll. Used in this way, it can be very beneficial to your web navigation.

Between the top part of the trackpad and the bottom of the keyboard, there is a small button glowing with a white LED which enables/disables the trackpad. The button glows orange when the trackpad is disabled. I’m glad that HP put this handy button, it works well for when you are doing a lot of typing, as your palms can graze the trackpad, causing the mouse to move, and potentially mess up what you are doing on screen. Most other netbooks map this button to an FN+function key, but it is nice to have it right there.

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