Decent laptop, but has major drawbacks

I just recently gave up this DV2210 for a new Toshiba, but I used it for about a year before it began malfunctioning seriously.

I bought it brand new at a price of about $900 (it is probalby worth around $700 at the moment). I was impressed with the beautiful exterior design. I don't even think that Sony or Apple (yes, I said Apple!) make more beautiful laptops and bright, glossy screens (as well as keypads and display buttons) as HP.

This DV2210 was probably the most troublesome notebook I have ever owned. Within the first 2 months the battery completely died (I had to keep my computer plugged in at all time) and the scroll-up-down function on the fingerpad broke. I replaced the battery under warranty, but left the fingerpad as it was because I didn't want to send my laptop into the factory for repair (I needed it and had no spare at the time).

The laptop does not deal well with gaming, even though HP considers it somewhat of an "entertainment" notebook. I played The Sims 2, Baldurs Gate 2, and other games of varying RAM/CPU usage and found that the notebook could really only handle older games like Starcraft and Baldurs Gate. The Sims 2 would always work fine for a few hours and then, inexplicably, my computer would crash. Of course, The Sims 2 is not really a game designed for laptops, but I have played it fine on other notebooks deemed for "entertainment" purposes. To me, the DV2210 was much more of a student notebook than one for any other purpose (especially when you consider how small the screen is).

Another thing I disliked about the DV2210 was the complete inability to view the screen under sunny conditions. This is common with HP notebooks because of the high gloss screen. While most laptops have some issue under the sun, HP notebooks are completely unusable unless they are under direct shade. Very annoying as I often needed to use my notebook at outdoor cafes on college campus and in between classes.

A common complaint about the DV2210 is that it is noisy and gets hot. I found both to be true, but the HOT was particularly noticeable. It didn't matter what type of surface I put the notebook on, it literally got hot enough to burn you. I once forgot I was using the DV2210 (when I just bought it) and put the hot laptop on my bare thighs (I was wearing shorts). I immediately jumped up and ALMOST dropped the notebook to the floor like a hot potato. It felt like a piece of metal that had been in the microwave! And all it had been doing was sitting in a wooden desk for a few hours.

An issue that popped up around 5 months was the broken buttons. There are buttons on the top of the notebook that are activated by touch only (volume, play, pause, etc.) and the only button that I really used a lot (volume) broke. I could no longer mute and unmute my laptop quickly, which had been a great convenience. Also the finger pad began to malfunction because the double-click would no longer work. I could no longer double tap my finger on the keypad. I had to use the button to double click. All of these are small issues, but overall all these many little broken features added up to annoy me.

Around 13 months of owning the DV it REALLY began to malfunction. I could no longer turn off my computer and turn it back on with ease. In fact, every time I turned off my computer, whether it was normally OR if it crashed, there would be a screen at startup telling me my computer had just crashed. It would give options on how to restart the computer (last good configuration, normally, safe mode) and it didn't really matter which method I chose. I would click one way to start the computer and it would hum for about 5 seconds a die. I literally had to repeat this process about 30 times before my computer would start normally. As my computer was no longer under warranty, and troubleshooting and calling HP came up with no answers (the computer had no record that it crashed) I accepted the fact that I had to basically leave the computer on at all times and only "shut it down" by using stand-by mode.

So for the last month or two of owning the DV2210 I never turned it off once. I was quite surprised that it never broke or really froze to the point I had to turn the computer off (it seems the AMD Turion is really top notch) but I was always wondering if it would suddenly die on me. So I replaced it with a Toshiba and, despite the fact that its not nearly as pretty and does not come with a webcam (lovely bonus from HP) I am much happier with my NEW notebook that values function over form.

Bottom line, the DV2210 (and I will guess all of its descendants in the DV line) are relatively cheap notebooks. The newer models go for around $1000, but the fact is, it is not a notebook that you will keep for very long. If you have the money to replace your DV every year or two, then it would make more sense to save up and buy a really expensive ($3000) Mac, Sony, or Toshiba instead. Also, this is really a decent student notebook, but do not believe that it is, for a second, an entertainment notebook. It works really well for basic student functions (internet, word, even downloading), but for high-quality gaming this is not the steal it seems to be.