HP's ProBook 5330M laptop touts itself as a lightweight business performance machine, and on the whole, meets expectations.
Weighing just under 2kg, the HP ProBook 5330M is easy to carry, while its slim design ensures that it fits neatly into most briefcases and backpacks. The ProBook has an elegant metallic finish that I found appealing and professional.
The laptop comes with a great, very responsive keyboard: the keys can be defined and well-spaced, making typing a pleasure. The backlighting on the keyboard is also a nice touch.
The touchpad, however, is slightly sticky and unresponsive. While two-finger scrolling makes page navigation a lot simpler, it would have been easier to use a mouse.
The screen is very well-lit and the brightness of the monitor helps ensure a great display even outdoors. I also found that the matte anti-glare screen design allowed me to use the laptop outdoors without too much squinting.
Functionality
The 5330M features three USB ports. One of them doubles up as an E-SATA, which can boost speed by four times. It also features HDMI, VGA and a Web cam. The Web cam delivers a pretty hi-resolution picture, but at the same time, the image is rather grainy.
All in all, the laptop does provide good connectivity because of the ports, especially the E-SATA and the ProBook also allows video-enabled Skype calls.
The metallic casing helps distribute heat internally and by keeping the machine cooler, this extends the life of the components. However, it does mean that anyone using the machine on his or her lap will feel the heat.
I found the 4GB of RAM provided by the 5330m sufficient for most operations. More RAM can also be added to the machine up to 8GB. The 500GB 7200rpm hard drive ensures plenty of storage space, and allows the machine to run reasonably fast, although booting up takes a little longer than usual.
The Core i3-2310M processor, for HD streaming, multi-tasking and most office tasks, gets the job done, although anyone wanting to make use of high-end graphics programs should opt for the LG720EA model as its i5 processor offers faster processing power.
Features
The battery life is disappointing. Although it is powerful enough to comfortably ensure HD viewing for just over three hours, it is not sufficient for mobile workers in need of a full day's battery life.
Although the 13.3-inch wide screen is small, images, movies, Web pages, all appear sharp. In any case, the small screen makes portability easier and is more than adequate for business use. The laptop also has a wide screen, rather than the usual square design, which I found it fantastic. This, coupled with excellent audio, ensures a great viewing experience.
While these graphics could not be reproduced on high-level games, the ProBook series is aimed at the business user, not the hard-core gamer, and as such, is sufficient for its purpose.
The 5330m also boasts of Beats Audio sound that improves earphone listening, a nice addition to an otherwise businesslike machine.
Unfortunately, the laptop comes with no CD drive, which limits users who want to make use of CD ROM to watch video footage or install new software via CD.
Security
The machine also comes with several excellent security features. These include a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition off the Web cam. In this way, if the laptop is stolen, the user can report it stolen and once it is used by the thief, the Web cam will take a picture of the user, making it easier for the authorities to track them down.
The 5330m also includes Trusted Platform Module and Intel's VPro technology for added security.
These security features make the ProBook great for anyone concerned about possible theft, as well as businesses wanting to ensure their privacy. These features were also easy to set up and use.
The HP ProBook combines business functionality with great entertainment features. It definitely supplies more than enough business features for most desk jobs and comes with nice entertainment features to boot.
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