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Now, though, AMD is trying to bounce back with its Bobcat cores: Destined for mainstream computing with the A-series later this year, they've already been made available as the E-series and C-series (for notebooks, netbooks, and small desktops) and the G-series for embedded devices. (You'll get more details of the Bobcat architecture, along with model numbers and TDPs, by following the links in this paragraph.)
Last November, AMD provided five tech websites -- AnandTech, HotHardware, LegitReviews, PC Perspective, and The Tech Report -- with an early look at a test PC using the 1.6GHz, dual-core AMD E-350. According to all five, the system was less power-hungry than an Intel Atom D525-equipped system featuring an Ion 2 GPU. It also outperformed such a system, reaching the speed of Intel's entry-level CULV and CULV 2010 processors, they added.
Since then, various E-, C-, and G-series based devices have been announced, including portable computers, motherboards, COMs (computer on modules), and a thin client. The first that is actually shipping, however, is HP's Pavilion dm1z (below).
HP refers to the dm1z as a notebook, but you could also consider it a netbook or an ultraportable, depending on which one of these marketing terms you prefer. The device has an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel screen that's a bit larger and higher-resolution than on most netbooks, yet overall weight is only 3.5 pounds and thickness is less than one inch, according to the company.
HP says the dm1z's "advanced hardware and intelligent cooling software" allows it to run up to 9.5 hours on a charge of its six-cell battery. Also touted is "discrete-class" graphics, Dolby advanced audio, and Altec Lansing speakers for "premium sound."
Eager to get my hands on a Bobcat device, I decided to pull out my wallet -- not a common occurrence, I assure you -- and order a Pavilion dm1z from HP's online store. Priced at $450, the portable came with a "free" upgrade to 3GB of RAM as well as a 320GB, 7200rpm hard disk drive. Long accustomed to exaggerated vendor claims about battery life, I ordered a second six-cell battery, too.
Currently, it takes about two weeks from ordering time for a Pavilion dm1z to be built and shipped, no doubt partly due to the positive reviews I'll reference in a moment. My notebook arrived on the promised date, shipped directly from Shanghai to my office in Palo Alto (ironic, given that the latter is HP's home).
After fully charging one of the batteries, I would ordinarily have rushed to run some benchmarks on the system, in order to confirm claims. But, several other websites were favored with Pavilion dm1z loaners last month and subsequently published their findings, so it made no sense to duplicate their results.
According to an initial review by Laptop magazine, for example, the dm1z's dual-core, 1.6GHz E-350 CPU runs faster than the 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525. Meanwhile, the publication added, AMD's Radeon HD 6310 GPU (graphics processing unit) not only handily outperforms Intel's integrated graphics, but almost matches Nvidia's Ion.
Followup reports by CNET, Computer Shopper, and Notebook Review concurred, agreeing that while the Atom D525 does almost as well as the E-350 in some synthetic benchmarks, real-world performance of the AMD CPU seems to be smoother and less laggy. Several mentioned that the E-350 is not quite as fast as some previous AMD processors, such as the dual-core Turion Neo X2 used in devices such as Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e -- but those earlier CPUs are reportedly more expensive, and couldn't offer the low power consumption being claimed for the E-350.
So what about battery life? Well, the operating times cited by the above reviewers were as follows:
Using the system as a real computer
I began my less-formal evaluation of the dm1z by removing some trialware (Norton Internet Security 2011) and crippleware (Microsoft Office Starter 2010) supplied by HP, and then adding a variety of software, such as Audacity audio-editing software, Cisco's VPN client, Firefox 4 (Beta 10) with various extensions, Itunes, the LibreOffice suite, and the VLC media player. Oh, and I decided to add something I wouldn't have dared try on an Atom device: Oracle's VirtualBox.
When used as a "real computer" instead of a toy, the dm1z did not disappoint. Its keyboard is full-size, or as near to it as makes no difference, and posed no problems (though I'm sorry that HP, like so many other vendors these days, doesn't provide dedicated PgUp and PgDn keys instead of the Fn+arrow combination), and the touchpad, while small, worked fine.
Unlike the majority of netbooks, the Pavilion dm1z includes Bluetooth, a bonus that makes it easy to pair the system with a wireless mouse. (Be it gratefully noted: The dm1z also comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, not the annoying Starter Edition.)
The system's screen is good-quality, with an especially ample brightness range, and the extra resolution compared to typical netbooks makes websites much easier to browse. I'm no gamer, so I can't throw frame rates at you, but the dm1z's ballyhooed HD video playback worked great both on the internal display and an HDMI-connected TV. Even demanding 1080p files played fine.
Apart from that, the software applications I tried worked well, no doubt thanks in part to the dm1z's 3GB RAM complement and 7200rpm hard disk drive. The system won't be mistaken for those twice its price, but -- unlike on Atom-powered portables -- there are seldom annoying delays or times when you wonder if the system has stopped responding.
And, even for productivity use as opposed to entertainment, a snappy graphics subsystem makes a computer feel more responsive. Plus, the Radeon HD 6310 graphics allowed me to use Stardock's WindowBlinds software to add eye candy to the Windows user interface, without slowing the system down.
Speaking of slowing the system down, I'm confident few target buyers of the Pavilion dm1z would use it for virtualization. But I'm something of an obsessive when it comes to having multiple operating systems at my fingertips, so I downloaded an .iso of Ubuntu Linux 10.10 and installed it in a VirtualBox VM (virtual machine). I have to admit (even on the pages of WindowsForDevices.com) that this OS looked good on the dm1z and ran fast, even when its VM was only assigned 512MB of RAM.
I also used Virtual Box's ability to import appliances, installing a Windows XP Professional VM on the dm1z that I had previously created on another machine. (In the process, I bumped up against a VirtualBox bug that, I subsequently found, others have already encountered: if you export an appliance that has shared host folders assigned to it, you'll find that VirtualBox cannot successfully import it to another system running a different host OS.) In the final event, Windows XP, too, ran smoothly, as the screen capture above suggests.
Speaking of operating system alternatives, the Pavilion dm1z also ships with HP's QuickWeb, a version of the Splashtop OS sold by Splashtop Inc. (formerly DeviceVM). This is a Linux-based environment the notebook may be configured to boot into relatively quickly, and which provides its own access to web browsing, email, Skype videoconferencing, plus music playback and photo viewing.
Windows is often knocked for its slow boot times, but the effective (and now, reliable) hibernate-and-resume functionality in Windows 7 renders them relatively moot. From a cold boot, the Pavilion dm1z resumed Windows in about 32 seconds, while it started Windows from sleep mode in about five seconds.
QuickWeb was ready to work from a cold boot in under ten seconds, and I was impressed by the fact that it had already queried Windows to obtain the settings necessary for accessing my encrypted wireless network. I don't expect to use it much, however, except perhaps as a mild security measure when letting a child or other untrusted user browse with my notebook.
You might want ear plugs
So what's not to like about HP's Pavilion dm1z? Well, the company hit its target well in terms of making the system look more expensive than netbooks do. But -- for those who care -- the device doesn't wow the onlooker in the way that Apple's MacBook Air or other ultraportables do.
In an effort to maintain overall system thinness, HP created a design wherein the dm1z's battery sticks up at the rear of the machine, allowing the display to hinge down over it. My personal preference would have been for a more wedge-shaped computer with the battery angled downwards. That way, the top of the keyboard could have been closer to the bottom of the display, for a less old-fashioned appearance, and room could've been freed up for a larger touchpad.
That's only a minor issue, however, and your opinion may vary. What bothered me more is that, thanks to both the fast-spinning hard disk drive and a fan that never stops, the Pavilion dm1z is relatively noisy.
Whatever one might say against the performance of Intel's Atom chipsets, they use less power (and produce less heat) than AMD's E-350, which, with its A50M I/O controller, consumes 18 Watts. As a consequence, they offer the fanless operation that I'd become spoiled by without even realizing it.
The fan in the Pavilion dm1z worked efficiently, avoiding hotspots, and the system may safely be rested directly on a lap, sofa, or bedspread, because there are no cooling vents on the bottom. But, while it might be fine for use in an office environment or a coffee shop, the notebook produces a noise level that will annoy you if you're given to web browsing in bed.
HP supplies a CoolSense utility that can lower fan speed some, but not shut it off. And annoyingly, the CoolSense application was relatively slow to run and triggered a Windows User Account Control dialog every time it was run; a readily accessible system tray utility would have been preferable.
My concerns about the noise produced by the dm1z aren't severe enough to make me return the system, but I wish I'd known about the problem before ordering. My buyer's remorse is mitigated, however, by learning from this new Engadget review that IBM's ThinkPad X120e, also built around the E-350, shares the noise problem. Though I prefer the ThinkPad's more professional appearance, the device still wasn't orderable on Lenovo's website at the time of writing, and I'm guessing it will come in more expensive than the dm1z.
Incidentally, the ports on the Pavilion dm1z are pretty much what you'd expect, including VGA as well as DVI, three USB 2.0 ports, audio I/O, and an Ethernet port. (USB 3.0 would've been nice to see, but lack of it isn't a deal-breaker.)
Conclusion
While it might not be fanless, AMD's E-350 still hits the target, offering a performance sweet spot that comes in between Intel's Atom and Core CPUs. Judging by my experience with HP's Pavilion dm1z, I'd say systems based on it will offer all the performance needed by the average (or even above-average) computer user, and battery life is impressive.
We're constantly being told that netbooks will be killed off by tablet devices. But while tablets are great entertainment devices, they'll never be able to do the work portables like HP's Pavilion dm1z can.
Thanks to its performance and screen resolution, the dm1z is a real computer, not just a toy. And with its video playback capabilities and decent speakers, it can also provide enjoyment when a break is called for.
In my opinion, products like this will be the actual netbook-killers. (It's about time.)
RIP, netbooks. Your epitaph will read not that you were killed by the fast-spreading tablet virus, but rather that you were done in by your own general incompetence and self-imposed limitations.
Further information
Further information and images may be found in the reviews listed earlier, as well as on HP's Pavilion dm1z product page.
