HP Mini 1000 Reviews, Hands-On
October 29, 2008
A few sites have already gotten their hands on the new 10″ Intel Atom-powered HP Mini 1000 including LAPTOP Magazine and Engadget. Some were able to take a look at the Ubuntu Linux-based “Mobile Internet Experience” that will be available in January of 2009 on the Mini 1000.
The build quality and keyboard (which is edge-to-edge) got high marks from most who took at a look at the Mini 1000. HP went out of their way to reduce the size / footprint of their netbook ilnes, as well as the cost (which is great - for a while it seemed like netbooks would only be going up in price).
jkOnTheRun mentions that the HP 2133 Mini-Note will still be available and targeted towards the education market, and they mention a 3G mobile broadband version maybe available next year. They also did an extensive hands-on of the 1000.
Read:
- LAPTOP Magazine - Review
- LAPTOP Magazine - Hands-On
- jkOnTheRun - Hands-On
- LAPTOP Magazine - Photos (including “Vivienne Tam Mini”)
- Engadget
HP Mini 1000 Announced
October 29, 2008
HP’s new 10″ (and 8.9″) HP Mini 1000 was revealed over the weekend and it is indeed running on a different platform than its business-oriented predecessor, the 8.9″ HP 2133 Mini-Note. It’s powered by an Intel Atom which wasn’t available when the 2133 launched (the 2133 has a VIA C7-M).
They have unfortunately dropped the higher-resolution display (1280×768) that some of the 2133s had. You have the option of 8GB or 16GB Solid State Drives (SSD) or a 60GB HDD. Memory is the standard DDR2, with one slot and a maximum of 1GB (correction: 2GB).
On the other hand, it’s starting at $399, which is less than the original 2133, and it’s smaller and sleeker and weighs less with the 10″ display than the 2133 did with an 8.9″ display. It comes with a 3-cell battery, but 6-cell options will be available within a few months. The upgrade options are very reasonable as far as pricing. Initially it will be shipping with Windows XP Home (SP3) installed, with options for “Mobile Internet Experience” (built on Ubuntu Linux) available early next year (starting at $379).
This is unique: Up to 8GB of extra storage via the HP Mini Mobile Drive accessory, which is housed within the HP Mini. It’s basically an internal USB flash drive that can be removed, and allows for secured user data - when properly configured, it can be removed and no personal information will be left on the mini.
It is currently available for order through the HP Mini 1000 series page at HP’s Home and Office website and looks to be shipping November 11, 2008.
Samsung NC10 Review (LAPTOP Mag)
October 28, 2008
LAPTOP Magazine has completed their review of the 10″ Intel Atom-powered Samsung NC10 netbook and posted it online.
It looks like the 10″ MSI Wind U100 (also with an Intel Atom under its hood) has now been given a serious run for its money.
They imported a Korean version of the NC10 (it hasn’t been released in the US yet), and they gave it a 4 / 5 with a “LAPTOP Magazine Editor’s Choice” award. Just to give you an idea of the Wind, it was reviewed back in June and received the Editor’s Choice award, but a 4.5 / 5.
As expected, it was the keyboard that really came into its own, with Joanna Stern saying: When it comes to the keyboard, the NC10 easily bests those on the MSI Wind and Eee PC 1000H. The 93 percent–full size layout is comfortable, and the raised keys provided nice tactile feedback….The feel of the keys and the size of the keyboard isn’t all the NC10 has got going for it: unlike the 1000H and the Wind, the key positioning of the NC10 is near perfect. The right Shift key is full size and directly below the Enter key. When typing this review in WordPad we rarely mistyped words.
The most important thing, and I’m surprised this didn’t garner a higher rating, was the battery life. It surprised Joanna Stern, such that she re-ran the tests just to make sure.
How long are we talking with the standard 6-cell battery?
7 hours and 34 minutes. This included continuous web browsing over a WiFi connection (with a lowered brightness). With 100% brightness, they were still able to get 4 hours and 48 minutes.
Updated: battery life has been updated
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Announced, Review
October 27, 2008
It looks like the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 has a big brother. Yesterday, Dell announced the new 12″ Intel Atom-powered Dell Inspiron Mini 12 netbook. Yes, a 12″ display is really pushing the definition of just what a netbook is (and this is the first 12″ netbook). It’s pushing it more than even the Asus N10 and its dedicated NVIDIA graphics chipset.
For the first time, faster Intel Atom CPUs are being offered: The Z520 (1.33GHz, 512KB L2) and Z530 (1.6GHz, 512KB L2), both of which may have some hardware virtualization capabilities (depending on whether they are enabled or not). Windows Vista Home Basic is the OS of choice for the initial launch model, but Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP Home will also be offered later on. Dell claims a battery life of three and a half hours.
Read more
Samsung NC10 Photos (Korean)
October 27, 2008
LAPTOP Magazine has posted nine photos of the upcoming 10.2″ Samsung NC10 netbook. They are having a Korean version shipped over for them to take a look at. They did get a brief hands-on with the NC10 during the US launch event.
Some of the photos show a size comparison to a 13.3″ Apple MacBook. They don’t show anything we haven’t already seen (well the Windows XP Home setup is in Korean, that’s different) - a spacious keyboard, nice design, etc.
Oddly enough, it’s already available for sale in Korea, while America reviewers are still waiting. Last week, the drivers and a huge user manual showed up on a section of the US Samsung website.
A couple of models have already shown up on Amazon and elsewhere - Samsung NC10 NC10-14GW (Metallic White) and Samsung NC10 NC10-14GB: (Metallic Blue), but no firm release dates.
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
Dell Vostro A90 Launched
October 25, 2008
Dell has a new 8.9″ Intel Atom-powered netbook coming out. Well they sort of do. It’s the Dell Vostro A90 and it’s basically a rebranded Dell Inspiron Mini 9.
It was launched in Japan yesterday, but support documentation has started showing up in other countries (such as the UK and US).
It’s oriented towards small businesses (hence the Vostro name) and as part of the business-like look, it’s all black, but that’s about the only major difference. It still has the same 1024×600 display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB SSD, same number and types of ports, and same networking connectivity.
It’s quite a bit pricier - a few hundred dollars more than the consumer version Inspiron-branded netbooks (but you may get different support options).
Read: Register Hardware
