HP 2133 Mini-note sub-notebook

I prefer the look of the HP to the EEE.

If they had only used an intel atom...

i bet there will be another model with an atom at some point. iirc correctly the password can be fairly easily changed from a live cd

The Atom is pretty slow too...

Hey Joe have you tried using any HP laptops in the past? I've owned a couple and have always found them to have generally really good keyboards, is it the same sort of feel from other HP laptops?
Generally good read my friend, you seem to have come to the same conclusion that most other reviewers did. Looks good but just a bit too pricey for what it actually offers. Mayhaps the Atom revision of the Mini-Note will offer a bit more substance to match all that style and price.

i loved the jelly covered bouncy castle conclusion, thats great journalism!

First page: brilliant. Second page: brilliant. Third page: minor problem (battery). Fourth page: there is no way I am buying that then.
Real shame about the processor. It sounds so good up till that point. Decent keyboard, decent screen... but then you go a screw everything up with a Via processor.
Great review though and I too love the bouncy castle analogy.
edit: I didn't see you mentioning that it has an 8.9" screen anywhere.

I really liked the look of this until the Via CPU. Now, if it used the Via Isaiah chip (I think that's the new one...) I'm sure it'd be better. But the C7? No, cheers.

Actually, I've got irritated with the concessions I have to make with the 'netbooks' (although wasn't Psion the first company to come out with a Netbook?) so I've started looking at slightly larger things like the Samsung Q45...

Indeed, afaik the Isaiah beats the Intel Atom...

Yup, like a kick to the face because it has OoO execution. The Atom is like the C7 in its simplicity.

Maybe they went with the C7 because it and Isaiah are pin-compatible? That way when Isaiah availability is higher, they can simply drop that in and release the '2233' or something like that... :)

Originally Posted by Cadillac Ferd
Hey Joe have you tried using any HP laptops in the past? I've owned a couple and have always found them to have generally really good keyboards, is it the same sort of feel from other HP laptops?

I've struggled with a pavilion for about nine months. Had to send it back to the factory three times: the first time around the local authorized HP service center nearly lost the laptop; then the battery died about a week after I got it back; a couple months later I had to send it back to the factory one more time - turns out they never did the first repair afterall, just pretended to do it. Finally I bought a macbook and ditched the HP.

Nevertheless, it did have a good keyboard. :D

I'll stick with the EEE 901 I think based on that, TR said the same thing, great aesthetically, mechanicals are a real let down.

The only player I've got my eye on besides Asus is Dell, I reckon they are gonna pull something good out of the bag, but the question is really WHEN will they do it, and will it beat/equal the 901 onto the shelves?

i think the price of the 901 is just too high to be considered a netbook, so is the price of this HP 2133. they're bordering laptop prices but the specs don't match the price. i think £250 is the most i'd pay for a netbook, and that's pushing it.

did anyone find it odd that, they include a driver cd but no cd drive? what good is that going to do you really. I'm expecting the Mini note to be upgraded to the VIA Nano (isaiah) at some point this year, and maybe even a dual core nano either late 08 or early 09 (rumors say the dual core nano will be out q408)

great looks... bad internals.... it fails the test!

and what is up with a driver cd on a laptop that has no cd drive?

I look forward to companies sending out driver USB drives. :D

PNY give you USB drives with graphics cards, but they are blank. I turned one into a NiBiToR/nvFlash drive though XD

"On the down side, the odd sense of scale can play tricks with your mind. Spend too long using the 2133 Mini-note and you stand the risk of misjudging your pace as you step off the train. You might fall down the gap at the platform edge and be forced to carve at a meagre existence in the World Beneath The Trains, living on discarded crisps and crushed Chavs."

That's the best single paragraph I've read in a long time. Great article!

Seeing how they failed to ever get the original Eees to the stores here, I just don't give a flying **** if there's some new models or not... I'm rather /unpleased/ about the situation, if you didn't notice it from the first line alone.

I've heard way too much bad experiences about HP laptops as well ,but don't really reckon any of these el cheapo minis are any better. AND imho atleast the HP's thingadilly looks less like "My First Laptop (tm)" than the fatso Eee. I could be wrong about that though as obviously I'm yet to see any of these IRL.

Originally Posted by Jordan Wise
i loved the jelly covered bouncy castle conclusion, thats great journalism!

agreed

...saw the "First" EEE701 in a Store here...so the first sigting apart from online-stores.

EEE900? Nope, not even online

I'd like this laptop, despite it's poor internals. If you up the internals, you might drop the battery time (futher) - that would be tragic indeed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIA_Nano doesn't seem too bad on the new chip, but time will tell.

As it stands, I'd be after the Vista Business version, 2gb ram, 1.6ghz processor. I know battery life would be horrific, and performance even more so, but the form factor would be perfect. I'd want good DivX / XviD playback, and good Office (2003) capability. Then, I'd be quite happy.

I think it would have been nice to have a C2m[obile] or Atom chip as an alternative option.

A word people: Touch Screen. I know HP have other options in this regard (I'm an exceedingly happy user of the TC1100), but it would be nice to have it as an option here as well - due to the form factor. The TC1100 feels just slightly too big. The OQO 01+ is good for films, but too small for major productivity. 8.9" seems like a good compromise.

HP's strategy seems to be to not over-complicate things with numerous options, which is in one sense good (keeps things simple) and another sense bad (lack of choice). I understand their decision.

I'm not sure whether to buy this or wait for a later model (if any - TC1100 discontinued, despite greatness). Whatcha think?