The ultra-light phenomenon has just tipped once again. With ASUS releasing the eee and eee 900, other manufacturers have gone light (see ACER’s Aspire One product feature) and now the market has definitely tipped. HP has just released the Mini Note PC to the Philippine market last night and I was lucky to have taken home a demo unit from the event. I think this was because I won the wackiest pose on the HP wall — I balanced the Mini Note on my head.
Here’s a short size comparison between the HP Mini Note PC, my 13 inch MacBook and a standard sized Samsung F400 (Bang and Olufsen) mobile phone:
HP desktops and laptops have always had that reputation of being good but *cough* expensive. Their direct competitor would be Toshiba in terms of pricing and “status.” But I was floored to see something that night that made me realize how companies are now trying to -reinvent themselves to the new market. The HP Mini Note PC is the cheapest full functioning ultra light PC I have ever encountered. I can’t believe how much style and features were packed into this thing, with an array of choices for the operating system and a ridiculously low price, it isn’t funny.
Let’s check out the full package, specs and pricing:
HP 2133 Mini Note PC Specs:
1.19 kg
8.9 inch wide XGA display 1280 x 768
Close to full size keyboard
3D DriveGuard with accelerometer for parking the hard drive when the computer falls
Webcam
Two battery solutions: 3 cell for ultralightweight config // 6 cell for extended battery life
802.11g WLAN
Bluetooth
Option for Windows Vista Basic, Windows Vista Business or Linux Preinstalled
Scratch resistant screen
Hp DuraKeys
Here’s the beef ladies and gentlemen. The HP 2133 Mini Note PC or the “HP Mini” as we like to call it comes in three packages:
P24,950.00 — BEST DEAL EVER!
Via 1.0GHz Processor
1GB RAM
120GB Hard Drive
Preinstalled with Linux
P29,950.00
Via 1.2GHz Processor
2GB RAM
120GB Hard Drive
Windows Vista Basic
P34,950.00
Via 1.6 GHz Processor
2GB RAM
160GB Hard Drive
Windows Vista Business
It’s not rocket science – you can definitely figure out that the first package – at roughly P25,000 gives you a full functioning PC (the keyboard is kick ass) and runs on Linux. This is the obvious recommendation, as Vista seems to crap out once in a while (and we’ve also seen the live demo of Windows 7 … wait, you havent ‘yet?).
So I have one with me right now (the mid range unit with Windows Vista Basic). There are many things to note from my first impressions:
## The trackpad has an on/off button that disables the mouse entirely; useful for portability. The left and right click buttons are rather oddly located to the left and right of the trackpad, and not below. Double-tapping works.
## The stereo HD audio is superb. It’s even louder and more crisp than my MacBook’s internal audio (Macs are not known for their sound). I was floored to hear the stereo speakers boost out some loud Windows Vista loading music from across the room
## Two USB ports: one on the left side and one on the right — hurrah!
## Ethernet cable support — fabulous!
## PC Card (EVDO!) and SD card reader built in — which means I can transfer my Nikon DSLR photos without the need of a cable — too good to be true!
## The keypad feels almost like a regular keypad. It is about 93% the size of a standard keyboard. It also has the biggest SHIFT key ever made for an ultra light. Huwaw.
If you’re considering an ASUS eee 900, I’d suggest going for this instead. The new HP Mini Note PC kills the eee 900 in all aspects – except the battery life. The Mini Note has a very abysmal battery of 1 to 2 hours BUT … and here’s the big BUT – the battery is removable and you can opt to attach an extended battery for 6 cells, bumping up the battery to about 2 to 4 hours.
Now all we need to do is wait for the MSI Wind, the ACER Aspire One and Toshiba’s answer to HP’s new ultraportable. 🙂
P.S. Another thing I have noticed is the pricing — that in the Philippines, this unit is so much more affordable than the the US versions. I think it has to do with the low end package bundled with Linux – CNET’s reviews seem to only review the high end 2GB models. But when you pump in Linux and lower the price, you have an even more impressive ultralight.
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