Hardware
HP 2133 Mini-Note at Amazon for $299
If you’re looking to get in on a Netbook deal, Amazon is offering the HP 2133 Mini-Note at the moment for $299. I’m guessing that this might mean that they are clearing out inventory for something new coming down the pike, but that is just a guess based on the fact that the Mini-Notes were running the VIA chipset and we are probably looking at HP going down the Intel Atom chipset path with their next edition.
At the moment this is a good deal for this early entry into the NetBook wars.
Check out our InkShow on the HP 2133 Mini-Note Netbook.
Hat tip to jkOnTheRun
davidm
10/25/2008 at 9:41 am
Just a note that your link doesn’t work, but the product still seems to exist… https://www.amazon.com/2133-KR922UT-8-9-Inch-Mini-Note-Processor-Flash/dp/B00170KD0Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1224948786&sr=8-6#productPromotions
I find this product really frustrating, I’d buy one for this price in a second, but the maximum 2.5 hour battery life makes it useless.
Warner Crocker
10/25/2008 at 9:50 am
Thanks, correcting it now.
remo26
10/26/2008 at 5:15 am
It seems interesting to note the trend that HP has made with producing well-designed, well-built machines (on par with Apple design aesthetics), but with lackluster internals to support the body. So far there are two cases that fit this trend – the 2133 Mini-Note and the 2710p.
As can be seen with the refresh with the 2710p to the 2730p, they left the basics alone (which were already a winner), tweaked some features based on user feedback, and replaced the guts with power/performace components. The result (based on most reviews) is that they hit a grand slam – fast, slim, long battery, fast performer in a form factor that nobody has been matching with a tablet convertible.
Apply this approach to the 2133, the refresh swaps the CPU with a VIA Nano or Atom, increases RAM and battery, and tweaks the features —> voila, another winner.
This seems to be an active strategy on HP’s part to differentiate itself from the Eee’s, Dell’s, and the rest of the pack as not being another me-too netbook wannabe. Seems like the California breeze has been blowing from Cupertino to HPLand.
Now, if they could just make the new Mini-Note do slate mode, they would have a stand-out product. It wouldn’t *have* to be an active digitizer or multitouch, just allow a second UI option to the keyboard. If they did this before year-end, they would clearly become the trendsetter in the low-end price craze. Even for $600-$800, which was considered notebook land (and a no-no for netbook entrants), they would grow marketshare without cannibalize the low-end notebook segment.
davidm
10/26/2008 at 10:28 am
remo26 , give that mini-note convertible decent battery life (close to 5 hours) and I’d take one. ;)