Is HP planning on a follow-up version of their 8.9-inch HP 2133 MiniNote? It certainly looks that way based on comments by HP, and that they are looking at the pricing of their current line and launching a cheaper netbook. Many people (myself included) think very highly of the 2133’s design, but the pricing of the 2133 (starting at $499, but getting near $750 for decent specifications) has been a sore point, given some of the performance issues.
Earlier this year, the VIA Nano CPUs were announced, and it was almost a given that HP would move to these at some point – better performance and a drop-in for the VIA C7 that currently powers the 2133 line, but that’s not what’s driving this lower-cost version.
APC has published comments from HP executives discussing the issue:
“From a retail perspective we’re looking at a similar device (to the 2133) but at a lower cost†said Jerel Chong, HP Australia’s Market Development Manager for Notebook PCs, at today’s launch of HP’s business mobility products for the second half of 2008. “It won’t be as durable but it will be cheaperâ€.
Chong also suggested the new model would however share some traits and components with the 2133. “What we like to do across all our products is share the technologyâ€, he told APCmag.com.
Chong was unable to comment on speculation that the 2133, which currently uses a VIA C7-M processor, would soon transition to Intel’s Atom. The 2133 was designed and made its debut before the Atom was available, Chong explained, so at the time VIA’s C7-M was the only option.