HP's Sleek, Low-Priced Ultraportable

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And the display offers the added bonus of being backlit, so it's viewable indoors and out without the screen's glossy sheen being too jarring. In fact, the shine of the plastic interior frame surrounding the panel was more distracting.

The audio, unsurprisingly, veers toward tinny. Keep a pair of headphones handy. I can't complain a lot, I suppose, since the 5310m is a business-first portable. That much seems obvious when you consider the bundled proprietary software, which includes Skype, Roxio Creator Business, HP Webcam, HP QuickLook, and HP QuickWeb. QuickLook ties Outlook (2003 and 2007) to the quick-launching Linux shell OS; so, unlike with the Dell Latitude Z600, which can also quick-launch an OS, on this machine the modifications you make inside the OS are visible in QuickLook 3. (Very handy, but it's actually a further refinement of what has been surfacing in higher-end HP business models for some time now.) The QuickWeb software makes it equally easy to hop online, view Flash, run Java—basically, what you'd expect from running a regular Web browser inside Windows. The only difference here: It's secure. No unwanted junk installs on the computer, and if you want to download anything, just pop in an external drive.

Around the machine, you'll find a DisplayPort video-out, three USB ports, ethernet, a unified headphone/mic jack, and an SD/MultiMediaCard reader. Want wireless broadband? Gobi is optional. Video-chat fans will appreciate the 2-megapixel Webcam. Overall, the 5310m has a good collection of ports for the modern business traveler. I can think of only a few things that I would have liked to see. First, I always appreciate a USB pass-through charging port for powering devices even when the computer isn't on. Second, it would've been helpful if one of the USB ports had been a USB/eSATA hybrid jack. And of course, as is par for the ultraportable course these days, if you want an optical drive, the external option will cost you an extra $149.

Really, though, those are fairly minor quibbles for an ultraportable that looks as though it will deliver for a businessperson's bottom line—a laptop that still manages to offer good features for under $1000. We can't give you a final verdict yet, as the ProBook 5310m is still making its way through PC World's rigorous testing process; but check back, and we'll give you the last word soon enough.

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