Last week, I swapped my standard corporate-issue Dell Latitude E6400 laptop for an HP Mini 5102 netbook and an Apple Wi-Fi + 3G iPad. After a week’s trip to Scottsdale with my lighter (by 1.4 lbs) briefcase, I found myself liking both devices, but for very different reasons…

• E-Mail — The main reason I’m willing to dump the 14-in Dell screen for a 10-in netbook display is that most of my computer time is now spent running e-mail.  Back when I was developing code or creating PowerPoint decks, I was willing to lug some extra pounds to get extra pixels.  Now that my life revolves around Outlook, screen size isn’t as important.  But a good keyboard is, and the HP’s traditional keyboard is much more usable for a touch typist than the iPad’s onscreen keyboard.  You can’t rest your fingers on the iPad’s virtual keys, and eliminating the semi-colon key causes some real problems for touch typists.  Also, being able to work in the actual Outlook client on the HP is a huge advantage over iPad’s mail client.
  Winner — HP netbook
• Web Browsing — Even though the HP’s screen specs out larger than the iPad (10.1-in diagonal vs. 9.7-in diagonal), the iPad’s screen looks bigger and brighter.  Perhaps it’s the 132 pixels per inch (ppi), but it probably because the iPad’s tablet form factor frees it from the desktop (or your lap) and makes it seem natural to bring it closer to your eyes.  And if you’re browsing rather than typing, touching the web site is a more direct interaction than connecting your finger to the cursor through the touchpad.  Unless, that is, your browsing involves web sites like Hulu, which lands you directly in the cross fire of Steve Jobs’ Flash jihad.
  Winner — Apple iPad
• Writing — Again, it’s the keyboard.  While I’m getting better on the iPad virtual keyboard after a week’s practice, I switched over to the HP’s physical keyboard to write this post.  As important, though, it’s easier to get files on and off the HP.  The iron sandbox that Apple has erected around the iPhone/iPad may improve its security, but makes it difficult to use as something other than an isolated machine.
  Winner — HP Netbook
• Performance — Moving from the Dell’s 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo processor to the HP’s 1.66 GHz Atom chip, you expect to wait a few more seconds for applications to start up.  And you do.  But if you’re just doing e-mail, web browsing, and some light Word/Excel/PowerPoint work, the Atom keeps up.  There are no such compromises with the iPad’s custom A4 chip.  Video is smooth, and there’s none of the stutter-step scrolling that has become so frustrating on my 3G iPhone.
  Winner — Apple iPad
• Battery — This is the one disappointment with the HP 5102 Mini.  The 4-cell 29-watt-hour lithium ion battery specs out at 4½ hours, but was dying after my 3½ hour flight from Chicago to Phoenix.  It could be that I don’t have Windows 7 configured correctly, but I couldn’t get much more battery life even after some deep Power Option tweaking. My experience with the iPad’s custom 25-watt-hour lithium polymer battery is the complete opposite.  I have yet to see the battery gauge turn red — a pleasant change from my iPhone experience.
  Winner — Apple iPad
• Cost — Doing a straight feature/cost comparison is tough — these are two very different machines.  Comparing the two machines in my briefcase — the HP 5102 Mini netbook with 2 GB memory and 160 GB hard drive lists for $535 on HP’s web site while my 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad goes for $829 on apple.com — HP looks the winner.  But if you can drop down to the 32 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad and factor in its lower cost AT&T 3G plan, you get pretty close to breakeven after 12 months.  Is it a fair comparison, I don’t know — but it’s a data point.
  Winner — ranges from HP netbook to a tie

What’s the bottom line?  It’s not clear.  I really like both machines, but for very different reasons.  The HP is a solid little machine — great keyboard, reasonable performance, and a compact size that doesn’t get crushed when the guy in front of me pushes his seat back in an American Airlines MD-80.  The iPad provides a much better way to browse web sites (non-Flash, of course) and watch videos.  I’d love to drop one of them, but I can’t — not yet.