14 DAY TRIAL // The HP Compaq 2230s notebook has been designed mainly for those users that spend a lot of their time on the road. This new machine is powered up by an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU working on a Centrino platform. Although we're not talking about latest generation technology here, Hewlett-Packard's notebook is not a lazy machine. The Core 2 Duo T5670 1.8GHz CPU comes with an 800MHz FSB and 2MB L2 cache. If you're a traveler who needs mobility but not the highest amount of horse power, than this is the product you're looking for.
The processor goes very well with the 1GB of DDR2 memory the notebook comes with, which can be upgraded if necessary. Given the Centrino platform, the machine features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0+. All packed inside a mobile PC with a 12.1in screen and weighting only 1.73kg. Since the HP Compaq 2230s is a business class notebook, it doesn't have too many entertainment features. The screen proves great for text and simple graphics, but the integrated Intel graphics won't offer too much performance, even if the model has a HDMI port besides the VGA one.
On the other hand, the security options that come along with the machine have been enhanced a lot, as the company tried to offer a rather safe product for any business traveler. The HP ProtectTools that come pre-installed on the notebook offer a useful suite of security settings designed to keep the user's data safe. Besides some BIOS security options like the power-on password protection, there are the hard drive data encryption, message encryption, the data sanitizer and the ubiquitous biometric fingerprint scanner.
There is also a LightScribe DVD-RW drive included in the Compaq 2230s, a notebook which features a new keyboard design, with the most important keys left spacious, while the function keys have been shrunk. Since one of the most important characteristics of any mobile machine is the battery life, HP did reasonable good on this aspect as well, and the battery can go more than two and a half hours with the optical drive used all the time.
Given the $1299 price tag, a few more options could have been added, as well as better performance for the battery; even so, the HP Compaq 2230s looks like a reliable machine, and can fulfill the security requirements of any business traveler.