Beautiful lines
Our sample, direct from HP, is the middle-specification dv2-1030ea, priced at £599.
First impressions of the Pavilion dv2 are very good. The laptop looks and feels like a quality product, evinced by the squeak- and rattle-free build and polished finish. The lid has a glossy top that may not be to everyone's taste, especially as it smudges rather too easily.
If slim is in, the dv2 does well, measuring 292mm (L) x 240mm (W) x 23.7mm/32.7mm. The numbers show that it's less than one-inch-thick at the thinnest point, rising to 1.25in by the battery.
The front-edge is where the dv2's Altec Lansing speakers are located. They do a better-than-expected job in producing room-filling audio.
Here you can see the right-hand side and how the four-cell battery protrudes downwards. The battery is standard across the models in the UK, which is a shame, as a six-cell version would better suit the Mobility Radeon HD 3410-equipped dv2s.
The WiFi button, next to the smooth power-switch, doesn't toggle the Bluetooth on/off, however. Multi-card reader, audio ports and a single USB2.0 make up the rest of the connectivity on this side.
The majority of the LEDs blink white, which is cool, but kind of annoying when the laptop's left charging in a darkened room. On a personal note, I had to switch the laptop off when watching a Blu-ray on my main TV in the lounge - the lights pierce the darkness.
There are no ports on the back because the screen's pivot would render them useless. Unlike some of the also-sleek-looking competition, the battery is removeable.
Keeping it slim, the optical drive is an obvious casualty, but HP bundles in a USB-powered DVD ReWriter in the package. Trouble is, the basic weight of the dv2 is 1,668g, which is heavier than most netbooks but lighter than regular laptops. Add in the extra 350g travel weight of the external optical drive and we soon hit 2kg-plus. A deal-breaker? No, and you could leave the drive at home, but the svelte lines intimate a 1.2kg weight.
Connectivity is good on this side, with Ethernet, HDMI, and two USB2.0. Run the CPU in the high-performance mode and there's a continuous, steady steam of warm air pushing through the vent. Load up a game on the discrete graphics card and the venting is more pronounced, to the point that's it becomes rather irritating.
The chassis, too, becomes pretty warm to the touch, especially the underside, and it feels as if HP's engineers have attempted to cram too much into a thin case.
