Over the last month or so, HP has been running some aggressive price drops on the 8.9″ HP 2133 Mini-Note. There was speculation that HP would be upgrading to the new VIA Nano CPU, but there also HP netbooks popping up with Intel Atoms (the “Vivienne Tam HP Mini-Note” which appeared to be a special edition launching in December).
This weekend, The Technicist mentioned the HP Mini 1000 showing up on Shopping.HP.com , as well as a hands-on at LAPTOP Magazine (that won’t be available until the 29th) with this excerpt: At long last, HP has finally released a follow-up (actually, two) to its flagship netbook, the 2133 Mini-Note. The newest model, the Mini 1000 (starting at $379; more on prices below), won’t replace.
From Shopping.HP.com/LAPTOP Mag:
– HP Mini 1000
– Two models
– Starts at 2.25 pounds
– Less than 1 inch thin (25.4mm)
– Starts at $399.99
What we can guess
– 10″ Display
– Probably starting at 1024×600 (due to costs and due to some 2133 Mini-Notes sporting 1024×600 at the lower price points).
– Possibly a consumer and business line
It’s a good time to be launching a second generation netbook for HP – they’ve had plenty of time for user input, and this time around, they have better choices for the CPU (one of the biggest criticisms of the 2133 was the VIA C7-M CPU). The starting price appears to be lower this time around as well, which could pressure other netbook makers to bring their prices down (always good).
This will be a good week for netbooks.
For a larger pic, visit the HP Mini 1000 Gallery