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 HP Pavilion dv2000tExtraordinary styling and a complete feature set make the HP Pavilion dv2000t stand out among affordable widescreen notebooks. Price:
$1,299
by Jamie Bsales 
We thought previous HP Pavilions were pretty stylish, but the new design of the dv2000t is even more appealing and makes the major competition look stale by comparison. Add to that a complete feature set and an attractive price ($1,149 after $100 mail-in rebate and $50 instant savings), and it's easy to understand the line's growing popularity.
Slick is the best way to describe the 5.3-pound dv2000t's look. The high-gloss, piano-black exterior, with its subtle pinstriped wave pattern, is appealing to the eye and touch. At only one inch thick, this notebook is easy to carry. Open the latchless lid and you'll find a black keyboard offset by a glossy silver surround. The one place where HP took the shininess motif too far is on the touchpad: Unlike with matte-finish surfaces, the gloss on the touchpad can make precise cursor control difficult. We found ourselves dragging and lifting and dragging again to get the cursor where we wanted it. On the plus side, the full-sized keyboard is superb; it's responsive and has an excellent feel. Above the Function keys you'll find touch-sensitive multimedia buttons to control music and DVD playback. Another nice touch: The machine's front edge has two headphone jacks—ideal for watching a DVD on the plane with your travel companion. We appreciate HP's still-innovative QuickPlay feature for loading DVDs and MP3 files without booting Windows. An optional remote control, which can be stored in the ExpressCard slot, lets you control QuickPlay from up to ten feet away. Alas, the dv2000 series does not offer a TV tuner, but you can get Microsoft Media Center Edition for $30 more. Another strike against this machine is the lack of a PC Card slot, especially since the universe of available peripherals using ExpressCard technology (including EV-DO modems and 802.11n Wi-Fi adapters) is still very small. Aside from the design, the star attraction of the dv2000t is the 14.1-inch widescreen LCD. The HP BrightView screen delivered deep, rich colors during DVD playback, with some motion blur, which is typical of most laptop panels. The WXGA (1280 x 800-pixel) resolution is comfortable for work and play. Viewing-angle performance was very good side to side, but from above the screen looked washed out—again, typical for the current generation of widescreen laptop LCDs. At $1,299 before rebates, our test dv2000t is hardly cheap. But it is well priced, considering how loaded it is. There's a 1.3-megapixel webcam above the screen, a multiformat DVD burner with HP's LightScribe disc-labeling technology, a spacious 100GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g wireless, and a 5-in-1 memory card reader. The port selection should suit most users and includes three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, Ethernet, S-Video out, and VGA. The price also includes the proven 1.8-GHz Intel Core Duo T2400 processor. We found the AMD Turion-powered version of this machine, the Pavilion dv2000z, underpowered. But the Core Duo CPU in the dv2000t delivered very good performance. Our MobileMark 2005 test garnered a score of 231, putting this system right in line with other Core Duo models we've tested. The integrated Intel GMA 950 GPU, which scored 1,465 on 3DMark03, is good for occasional low-res 3D gaming. If you crave more graphics muscle, you can order the dv2000t with a 128MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7200 GPU. Battery life was also in line with other thin-and-light notebooks, as this machine lasted 3 hours and 42 minutes. This configuration includes a good selection of software, starting with HP's Photosmart Premier 6.0 software for cataloging, printing, and sharing photos. You also get the Norton Internet Security 2006 suite, the fun Muvee autoProducer 4.5 for making your own DVD movies, Microsoft Works 8.0 for word processing, and Microsoft Money 2006 for tracking your finances. All told, we think HP has another hit on its hands with the Pavilion dv2000t. It delivers a sleek design and plenty of performance and features that will suit most home and even small-business needs. Compare Prices | HP Pavilion dv2000t Specifications
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