It's heavy and takes up more desk space than any other setup we evaluated, but the AU$499 HP xb2000 notebook expansion base is a fairly complete docking solution that will turn your laptop into a true desktop PC. The 5.5kg xb2000 incorporates high-quality speakers, a wireless keyboard-mouse combo, and a bay for a high-capacity hard drive. It's also compatible with a half dozen different HP Compaq notebooks (HP Pavilion models zx/zv5000, dv1000, dv4000, zd8000, and ze2000, as well as Compaq Presario models M2000, R3000, X6000 and V2000).
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 The xb2000 includes a support which can be rotated 45 degrees upward. |
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Once the notebook is hooked up to the xb2000's large connector -- something of an awkward operation -- you'll still have access to your notebook's keyboard; this came in handy when we wanted to use the Pavilion dv1000's QuickPlay feature. The expansion base can be tilted up to 45 degrees backward, and you can also adjust the height between 15 and 25 cm so that the display is at eye level. On the downside, we found the whole setup somewhat wobbly.
At the base of the xb2000 sit a pair of Harman Kardon speakers, with a prominent thumbwheel to control volume and a mute button. If you're already using one of HP's multimedia notebooks that features Harman Kardon speakers -- the Pavilion zd7000, zd8000, or dv1000, for example -- the speakers are overkill; if not, you're sure to get richer sound than you'd get from your system's built-in speakers.
The xb2000 lacks a few connections; if you require a parallel, serial, PS/2, or DVI port, look elsewhere. All of the most common inputs and outputs are present, however, including three USB 2.0 ports, S-Video, and composite video, analog and digital audio, as well as modem and LAN connections. Unlike many other docks, when connected to the xb2000, all of your notebook's native ports remain active and accessible. The expansion base also accommodates an optional 160GB USB hard drive; it's easy to use -- it simply shows up as the next available drive letter when the system is docked -- but it also requires its own AC adapter, which is included. The optional hard drive is perfect for backing up your system, archiving files, or stashing the flotsam and jetsam of your digital life on the road. The xb2000 moved data more quickly than average, reading at 74.3Mbps and writing at 66.6Mbps.
It's easy enough to add an off-the-shelf wireless keyboard and mouse to any docking station, but the xb2000 expansion base includes a Logitech set that was comfortable enough to use for on-the-lap typing; the Logitech keyboard can also awaken the machine from standby mode. All of the xb2000's varied ports worked well, though connecting the laptop to the dock's connector proved awkward.
HP backs the xb2000 expansion base with a standard one-year warranty -- significantly less than Lenovo's three years of coverage. There's a good variety of troubleshooting resources buried in the HP support site's Options section, though the site's downloads are meager.
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HP User
02/07/2007, 08:37 AM
rating
9/10
It works almost perfect for me. And in my case it is not so expensive (100 bucks on sale).
Pros: Heaviest is a positive thing as I am not run with it around but I like to know that my laptop stay quite stable in it.
Cons: Some extra ports and power adaptor would be nice.
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David Stidham
30/01/2006, 11:56 PM
Great expansion peripheral
There are only two downsides to this product:
1)It lacks it's own power adapter and relies on the supported notebooks own adapter - so, no convenience for mobile users, they still have to disconnect and pack up a power adapter for road trips.
2)You can not seem to obtain just the HDD carrier so that you can add your own IDE drive and are forced to look at HP's 160Gb or 250Gb HDD solutions, only - which is a seemingly overpriced solution.
Aside from these, the added USB ports, and other integreated features are great. The ability to add either a 160Gb or 250Gb HDD to the base provides wonderful "networked" storage for the notebook as well (as I mentioned above, it would better if the carrier itself were available to allow the user greater flexibility on HDD capacity). The wireless mouse and keyboard set up is nice. Nothing fancy, but they get the job done. I'm sure these I/O devices will leave some wanting more, but, for me they serve the purpose intended without any real frills. The keyboard does support some of the multimedia shortcuts that my ZD8000 series notebook offers.
On a scale of 5 stars, I'd rate this at about 4 overall.
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