HP has formulated a good deal of new netbook models, the HP mini 1000 and the Compaq mini 700. On the whole, they’re pretty much identical, though the 700 will syndication at a hundred quid less than it is brother at £299.
The HP mini 1000 isn’t the primary mini laptop invented by Hewlett-Packard, having aired the HP 2133 mini-note last year. And it was a rather creditable effort – standing out from the crowd of Eee PC copycats. The mini-note was in essence a fantastic chassis, though let down somewhat by what was inside; the CPU and battery. So what may the mini 1000 do better?
For a start, HP have shred away the aluminium, replacing it with plastic; disappointing maybe, but it may help take the sting out of the price tag, and incidentally the antecedently bulky weight which is supposedly nearer 1.1 kilos. In the end this makes sense, since a netbook is supposedly small, light and cheap – if you want a touch of class mixed in as well, you’ll be paying for it – the Sony VAIO TT and Apple MacBook Air both soar well over a grand. HP has also cut the dimensions, making it hardly over an inch thick.
The huge keyboard remains, stretching all the way to the edges and far down the main tray. The touchpad as a result is rather narrow and the mouse buttons are located on the side like the Acer Aspire One, which is exceedingly irritating! Scrolling on webpages is also compromised by the narrow touchpad. That said the keyboards on HP netbooks stay the best out there – so far anyway.
The dispossession of the former slow Via C7-M processor may only be a good thing. The alternate industry usual 1.6GHz Intel Atom (with 1GB of RAM) brings the performance on par with other mini laptops. Performance, whilst now bettered isn’t the top selling point on the HP though, think keyboard and widescreen.
Speaking of the widescreen, it is 10.1 inch in a ‘media-friendly’ 16:9 aspect ratio. The Compaq 700 notwithstanding has 10.2 inch in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The divergence seems pretty minimalist; it’s hard to warrant the £100 premium. The mini 1000 does net an “exquisite onyx casing” though if that tickles your fancy. Other features of the Compaq include a built-in webcam, microphone, WLAN, Bluetooth and optional WWAN.
The Compaq ought to be hitting the shelves in the next few weeks, right and ready for Christmas. The mini 1000 is to follow in mid-February 2009, preceded a month earlier by the Vivienne Tam Edition mini 1000 which features an beautiful effeminate flowerlike motif in a rich red colour. Designed for so called ‘fashionistas’ who don’t want to be sensed as a geek as they whip out there netbook – of course you may suppose to pay a premium for the privilege. The Vivienne Tam Edition will selling at the same price as the original mini 1000 – £399 – even though for fifty quid more you could have your hands on the Eee PC S101.
The Compaq mini 700 is to be sold by network suppliers with HSDPA included, that is 3G “anywhere” mobile broadband. HP seem to have cracked the netbook specs then – small, cheap (questionable), and light and connected. But it’s a pity when it comes to only having 2 USB ports and one port for both sound input and output though. They have however, included a “HP Mini Mobile Drive” – fundamentally a USB port for particular HP USB memory sticks only – genuinely helpful.
None the less, HP have surely mounted a creditable challenge to Asus and peculiarly other 10 inch laptops, playing to it’s amount of energy of the keyboard and looks and bringing the performance up to frequent with the Atom. The thinness is also a great selling point. Battery life remains at the mercy of the 3-cell battery, with will provide power for around 2 hours 30 minutes use, sufficient for a film perhaps. Apparently a 6-cell version is in the pipeline – perfection may be near!