Express yourself with HP Pavilion dv2809TU

Like many entertainment notebooks aimed at home users, the HP Pavilion dv2809TU Artist Edition features a glossy 14.1-inch wide-screen display that makes it ideal for watching DVDs.

Unlike other notebooks, this one features a unique retro pop-art skin imprinted onto its lid, keyboard and palm rest, dark brown keys, and a gold touchpad, all of which make it a standout wherever you go. (The design, called “Asian Odyssey,” comes from the Portuguese winner of HP’s global design contest aimed at getting young people to make the computer their own.)

Underneath the skin, the dv2809TU is a capable multimedia machine, built on a 2.1-gigahertz Intel Core Duo processor, with one gigabyte (GB) of memory, a spacious 150GB hard disk and a LightScribe DVD burner.

An Nvidia GeForce 84000 GS graphics card makes sure you can easily run Windows Vista Home Edition, with all its fancy visual effects.

The Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-capable notebook also comes with a built-in webcam and microphone.

Sound quality is better than most notebooks, thanks to the Altec Lansing stereo speakers, but you may have to tweak the software to get the most out of them. Two headphone jacks on the notebook’s front edge mean you can share your music or movies in private with a friend.

The HP Pavilion dv2809TU is a versatile, well-connected notebook.

The front edge is home to an external microphone jack and an infrared receiver. On the left edge, there are connectors for S-Video, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, Firewire and an HP dock. There is also a five-in-one memory card reader, which will come in handy when you’re transferring files from your digital camera or cell phone, as well as a PCMCIA slot.

The DVD drive is located on the notebook’s right edge, as are two USB slots and a phone jack.

The notebook, which bears a resemblance to the Compaq Presario V3000, looks solidly built. Its full-size keyboard offers good tactile feedback, though some users may find it a bit noisy.

Thin membrane controls above the keys give you quick access to HP’s QuickPlay media player and volume controls. Wireless networking can be turned on or off from a front-panel switch.

At 5.3 pounds, this is by no means the lightest notebook in the market, and at 1.5 inches thick, nor is it the thinnest. Still, the HP Pavilion dv2809TU offers a decent balance of portability and functionality that most home users will appreciate.

The HP Pavilion dv2809TU sells for P69,950.