HP 2133 Mini-Note, Dell Discussion

This week’s MobileTechRoundup features a discussion about the HP 2133 Mini-Note as well as Dell jumping into the low-cost subnotebook arena.

Also, James Kendrick is calling the 2133 the “perfect writer’s notebook” saying:

The keyboard is great for lots of typing with it’s near full size and the extended battery I’m using provides just the right amount of ergonomic tilt to the device for comfort. It is a real joy to have a “real” notebook this size that lets me get web research done at the same time I am writing an article. The Mini is multi-tasking well and it may be the perfect writer’s notebook for all of the reasons I have mentioned.

Speaking of the HP 2133 Mini-Note, WaterField Designs has announced a new SleeveCase for the Mini-Note.

Announced: Kohjinsha SR Series

Kohjinsha has announced a new ultra mobile PC (UMPC) or ultraportable laptop/tablet (convertible), with a 7″ LED-backlit widescreen touchscreen display, the Kohjinsha SR series. It’s powered by an Intel A110 CPU (800MHz).

It’s height is 1.3 inches (33 mm) and it weighs around 2.42 pounds (1.1kg). Now you might be saying “that’s kind of thick and heavy for a UMPC”, but here’s the kicker: they fit a DVD Multi/Dual-Layer DVD writer into this thing. That’s pretty amazing, and a first for devices in this range.

It comes with a stylus for the touchscreen, it also has a “Quiet” or “Silent Mode” and includes a hardware button for turning off CD/DVD Drive Power.

It gets up to 7.2 hours of battery life with the large battery installed, according to Kohjinsha.
Read more

Dell to Produce 8.9 - 9-inch Mini Notebook

Update: May 28, 2008 - it is now called the Dell Mini Inspiron. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and Acer’s upcoming Aspire offering won’t be the only small/ultra-portable laptops joining the Asus Eee PC 900 and Fujitsu LifeBook P1620 in the 8.9 - 9-inch range for netbooks/subnotebooks

Dell appears to be on its way to producing a machine in this range - lost in the hoopla over HP’s indtruction of the 2133 Mini-Note this week, are a few tantalizing bits of news coming straight from Michael Dell himself.

The Austin-American Statesman reported that in reference to Asustek’s Eee PC and Hewlett-Packard’s Mini-Note, CEO Michael Dell said yesterday, while on a trip to Israel, that Dell would be producing a similar model sometime in the next three-six months and that it would be running Linux.

San Jose Mercury News quoted Michael Dell as saying:

“We will introduce a similar laptop…We do see opportunities for very interesting products that are smaller and lighter and address the more mobile users in a very cost-effective way….”

“Stay tuned……We will have some interesting products coming in that space over the next two quarters.”
Read more

Official: HP 2133 Mini-Note PC

Surprise, Surprise, HP has officially announced the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC this morning.

It will be starting at $499 and will be available later this month.

It’s being geared towards the education market as well as those seeking a very mobile/lightweight notebook (or subnotebook as some are calling them).

Some choice excerpts from the press release:
“To help schools offer affordable computing to every student, HP today introduced a full-function, mini-notebook PC priced starting under $500.(1)

Designed for the education market, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is flexible enough for students to use from the classroom to the family room.”

““Education shouldn’t end at the bell,” said Jeri Callaway, vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group – Americas, HP. “HP believes providing each student with an affordable, creative multimedia tool like the HP Mini will better prepare them to live, learn and work in an information-rich society.””

“Business and mobile professionals value the same mobility, usability and cost concerns of the education market. The HP Mini provides mobile professionals a sleek, lightweight device that provides access to information and the ability to collaborate with others as well as to communicate via email, instant messaging or even blogging.”

- Press Release - HP.com

Review: HP 2133 Mini-Note (LAPTOP Mag)

The rumored launch date of the HP 2133 Mini-Note was supposedly this week, and it looks like it could be the case (Amazon links, information). Why? Because LAPTOP Magazine has published a hands-on video as well as their review of the HP 2133 Mini-Note. That generally doesn’t happen unless it’s close to shipping and the embargo has been dropped (LAPTOP Magazine has had their $749 version for a couple of weeks now).

As far as performance (what everybody is curious about), they have this to say:

To our surprise, our little system ran Microsoft Vista without a hiccup… and ….a 3DMark03 score of 380; that’s 135 points below average for a UMPC, but the Mini-Note had no trouble handling Vista and ran multiple applications without a hiccup.

It comes with a spill-resistant keyboard, something that’s kind of interesting. It’s a bit heavier than expected - they are reporting around 2.8 pounds, but it does have a metal chassis.

LAPTOP Magazine Links:
- Hands-On Video
- Review

HP Compaq 2133 Mini-Note at Amazon

We had about half a dozen people e-mail this (thanks by the way), and it looks like 8.9-inch HP Compaq 2133 or the HP 2133 Mini-Note as it is now known, is popping up at Amazon.

The model description is: HP 2133 Mini-Note PC - Smart Buy VIA C7-M Processor

Common specifications confirmed by Amazon:
- 8.9-inch Widescreen WXGA 1280×768 Display
- VIA Chrome 9 UMA Graphics
- 667MHz DDR2 Memory
- 2 Memory Slots

Options pulled from Amazon:
- VIA C7-M CPU: 1GHz, 1.2GHz, or 1.6GHz
- 512MB - 2GB Memory
- 4GB Flash-Based Solid State Drive or
- 5400rpm: 120GB or 160GB or 7200rpm: 120GB
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g Wireless
- Bluetooth
- 3-Cell or 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Vista Business, or
- SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

Final Pricing according to LAPTOP Magazine:
- $499 - 1GHz CPU, 4GB Flash/Solid State Drive, 512MB Ram, 3-Cell Battery, Linux
- $549 - 1.2GHz CPU, 120GB Hard Drive, 1GB Memory, 3-Cell battery, Linux
- $599 - 1.2GHz CPU, 120GB Hard Drive, 1GB Memory, 3-Cell battery, Microsoft Windows Vista Basic
- $749 - 1.6GHz CPU, 120GB 7200rpm Hard Drive, 2GB Memory, Bluetooth, 6-cell battery, Microsoft Windows Vista Business

There are five configurations listed so far (Amazon prices are not correct):
- HP 2133 Mini-Note PC C7-M 1.2GHz 120GB 1.2GHz CPU, 120GB 5400rpm Hard Drive

- HP 2133 Mini-Note PC C7-M 1.2GHz 160GB 1.2GHz CPU, 160GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 1GB Memory, Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g Wireless, Bluetooth, 10/100/100 Gigabit Ethernet, VIA Chrome 9 UMA Graphics, Built-in Camera, 6 Cell Li-ion battery, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit

- HP 2133 Mini-Note PC C7-M 1.6GHz 120GB 1.6GHz CPU, 120GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive, 2GB Memory, Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g Wireless, Bluetooth, 10/100/100 Gigabit Ethernet, VIA Chrome 9 UMA Graphics, Built-in Camera, 6 Cell Li-ion battery, Microsoft Windows Vista Business with Office Ready Trial

- HP 2133 Mini-Note PC C7-M 1.0GHz 4GFLa 1GHz CPU, 4GB Flash Solid State Drive (SSD), 512MB Memory, Broadcom b/g Wireless, 10/100/100 Gigabit, VIA Chrome 9 UMA Graphics, Built-in Camera, 3 cell Li-ion battery, SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

- HP 2133 Mini-Note PC C7-M 1.2GHz 120GB - 1.2GHz CPU, 120GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 1GB Memory, Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g Wireless, 10/100/100 Gigabit, VIA Chrome 9 UMA Graphics, Built-in Camera, 3 Cell Li-ion battery, SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

« Previous Page — Next Page »