The HP Pavilion dv3000 (Intel Santa Rosa)
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Looking Good
Looking Good
Similar to the dv2000, the dv3000 is a looker, utilizing the same mesh imprint technology of the dv2000 but with a slightly different pattern. This time around, the dv3000 sports an "iron mesh" pattern and a very 'bling' interior that we've mentioned earlier.
As you know, while glossy surfaces are good to look at, they do have one big drawback: namely the accumulation of fingerprints. HP has thoughtfully included a cleaning cloth in our review unit for the aforesaid problem, and has also assured us that all retail units will be bundled with it. So while it doesn't really address the actual issue of using a glossy finishing, it does help alleviate the problem to a small extent.
Connectivity wise, the dv3000 has no problems at all, featuring the standard range of ports including a HDMI port, and the surprising inclusion of a USB and eSATA combo port, which was something we have not seen before on any notebook. While it doesn't have a FireWire port, the USB-eSATA combo port is probably adequate for most purposes. To further help with weight reduction, the dv3000's optical disc drive (which weighs about 200g) is also removable. So perhaps for normal day-to-day use when you don't foresee much of a need to access the optical drive, you can just slip it out in favor of weight savings (and a drive faceplate cover is supplied for this purpose).
Taking a closer look inside the clamshell of the dv3000 revealed some nice design features this notebook has. Like the Dell XPS M1330, the dv3000 sports a 13.3-inch WXGA screen, and resting on top of the screen is a HP VGA webcam. If you peer closely at the top where the webcam resides, you'll see the standard microphone array that you'd probably expect, though this time there's a slight twist as these microphones are, according to HP, digital ones. We did a quick test on the microphones, and didn't really find any significant difference, though if you're a big fan of webcam conversations, this might of particular interest to you.
Unfortunately, in keeping with the design theme of the dv3000, the shiny surface and metallic feel of the trackpad becomes a liability in this case, as we had issues with the sensitivity of the trackpad due to its reflective surface texture. Increasing the sensitivity did not help, as we still encountered problems with dry fingers. Strangely enough, the trackpad was much easier to use when it got smudged with fingerprints, though your mileage may differ.
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