When I was working on my review of the HP mini 1000 netbook, I remember testing the webcam and thinking how dark and grainy the picture was. Rob and I talked about it and after some research, he found some forums where people found a solution. That solution involved doing a bit of surgery though. Rob fixed his, but I didn’t bother since I don’t use a webcam very often. I forgot all about the problem until last week when Judie Lipsett posted a video of a product manager from HP fixing her own HP Vivienne Tam edition netbook.

The fix involves opening the seam between the case and the screen bezel. A small square of tinted plastic film stuck over the webcam window is then removed from the bezel side of the case.

In the video that Judie posted on Gear Diary, the person from HP mentions that she is going to remove the piece of film because it doesn’t belong there.

Again, I sort of forgot about the issue because I don’t use this feature of the netbook. But then I heard that HP asked Judie to remove the video from her site… and then the person from HP left a comment on Judie’s post saying that film is supposed to be there and not to remove it. Hmmmm, so that got me thinking that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So I decided to try the fix on my own Vivienne Tam netbook.

To start out, I want to show you 2 before pictures.

Click the thumbnail to see the full size image

This image was taken in my basement office with all lights on. My office has a LOT of lights. I have a 3 bulb compact flourescent lamp in ceiling in the center of the room and then compact flourescent can lights along the edges of walls on two walls. As you can see this image is a bit dim and grainy, but not too bad because I have a LOT of light in that room.

Click the thumbnail to see the full size image

Here’s a second picture, this time with only the side can lights turned on and no overhead lights. In case you’re wondering, my regular HP Mini 1000 (Black version) has the exact same issue).

Doing the fix was a little scary, so I can understand why HP doesn’t really want people doing this. There’s a good chance that you could scratch the screen, scratch the inside of the Black painted bezel, crack the bezel, etc…

Click the thumbnail to see the full size image

To slightly pop open the case (you don’t have to open it all the way… at least I didn’t), I took a guitar pick and wedged it in the seam and twisted it a bit to pop open the two plastic clips on other side of the webcam. Then, I was able to flex the bezel open far enough to get a pair tweezers in there to pull off the plastic film from other side of the webcam window.

Click the thumbnail to see the full size image

There’s the film that I removed. You can see that it’s tinted. Why HP ever decided to put that over the webcam lens is really puzzling…

Now for a picture after the I completed the fix.

Click the thumbnail to see the full size image

I took this picture in the same place as the other pix and this time it’s only with the side lights like the worse before picture. Wow, you can tell a big difference. And an even bigger difference is that the image isn’t as grainy. I’ll admit that it’s not the best webcam image that I’ve ever seen, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was with the wacko tinted film.

I’m not really sure how to end this post because I’m not sure what HP is going to do to fix this issue for HP Mini owners. Right now they are telling them to just find a brighter place to use their webcams. That’s a really lame solution in my opinion. So we’ll see what happens… If you’re a mini owner with this problem, let me know and if you’ve peformed surgery on yours, let me too know.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Gear Diary, HP Mini, HPVT, Netbook

HP mini 1000 Netbook Webcam Issue originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 2, 2009 at 8:02 pm.

If you’ve been day dreaming about Red shiny gadgets with flowers on them after reading my review of the HP mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Designer Edition Netbook, I can make your dreams come true. Well, sorta… I have two Vivienne Tam wireless mice to give away to two lucky winners. These mice aren’t even available here in the US, so if you win, you’ll have something unique to brag about with your fashionista gadget girlfriends. If you want to win, keep reading.

Contest Details

Prize – HP Vivienne Tam Wireless Mouse (includes a tiny USB dongle and 2 AA batteries)

How to win – Leave a comment to this post with a random happy thought.

Rules – One entry per person. Must have a US address. Reply by Midnight 2/22/09.

Two winners will be chosen by a random draw at some point on 2/23/09.

Update:  Two winners have been chosen: Dave (#25) and Sweet Bell (#56). Congrats!

Come on, leave a comment. You know you want to!

For three more chances to win one of these peony covered mice, head over to GearDiary.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Gear Diary, HPVT

Win an HP Vivienne Tam Wireless Mouse originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 17, 2009 at 4:39 pm.

Can a laptop create a fashion statement? It can when a famous New York designer like Vivienne Tam puts her artistic stamp on it. Case in point – The HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Designer Edition Netbook. It has the same bits and pieces inside that the regular Black swirly Mini has in it, but this one is like a little Red sports car for geek girls. I’ve never considered myself fashion conscience, but I can’t help but like this netbook. I mean it’s Red, it’s shiny and it has flowers on it! What’s not to love?

Specifications

Operating system – Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3
Processor – Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor N270 (1.60GHz)
Memory – 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)
Hard drive - 60GB 4200RPM PATA Hard Drive
Display – 10.1″ diagonal SD LED BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1024 x 576)
Graphics card – Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Personalization – HP Mini Webcam with HP Imprint Finish (Vivienne Tam)
Keyboard – HP Matching Keyboard
Networking – Wireless-G Card with Bluetooth
Primary battery – 3 Cell Lithium Polymer Battery
Dimensions – 10.3 in (L) x 6.56 in (W) x 0.99 in (H)
Weight – 2.45 lbs

Package Contents

HP mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition
Red silky sleeve
AC Adapter
CD with Windows XP and drivers
Polishing cloth

The deep Red shiny fingerprint attracting case has a vibrant design of peony blooms that signify good fortune and prosperity. The flowers are eight shades of Pink, Mauve, Lavender and Yellow.

The flower design is only printed on the top cover, but the rest of the mini is an energizing Red.

The Left side…

The Right side…

There’s even a place to attach a hand strap. Ummm, would you carry around a netbook like a camera or cellphone, dangling from your hand? Yeah, me neither. I guess you could use it to attach a sparkly little babble though

Open the cover and wow, there’s a matching Red keyboard and trackpad!

The keys are slick and shiny just like the rest of this netbook. I prefer the matte finish of the regular mini, but the Red is pretty nice looking. I do wish that the keys were backlit though.

Click the thumbnail to view full-size image

The keyboard on this netbook is fantastic. It has a great layout and is very comfortable to type on. I love it.

I’m already a fan of the HP mini 1000, so I don’t have any additional complaints against the Vivienne Tam edition. Of course I know that people will complain about the premium that you pay for a designer edition laptop like this one. It’s like designer clothes, you pay for the label. The same thing applies here. If you configure the regular Black mini 1000 the same way that you do the Vivienne Tam edition, the price difference is $245. For that price difference, you’re getting a Red case, Red keyboard and a Red silky slip cover. Is it worth it? That all depends… are you willing to spend an extra $245 to get it? Then yeah, it’s totally worth it to you So tell me, are you a gadgeteer girl that would pay extra for a laptop like this one?

Filed in categories: Handheld PCs / Ultra Portables

Tagged: Fashion, HPVT, Netbook

HP Mini 1000 Netbook – Vivienne Tam Designer Edition originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 13, 2009 at 5:00 am.