HP's Mini Notebook Gets Mostly Good Reviews

Hewlett-Packard is the first major U.S. computer maker to release a mini laptop to compete with the wildly successful Asus Eee PC.

HP's 2133, an ultra-light, small, and low-priced portable (about $500-$750), was unveiled Monday. Here's what some reviewers have said:

PC World's Darren Gladstone: "Right off the bat, the 2133's a looker. The aluminum casing makes the little laptop feel more substantial that its Asus competitor--and it is...This laptop also happens to be a feature-heavy mini-notebook offering everything the Eee does (this includes three USB slots, an ethernet adapter, an SD card reader, VGA out, a Webcam, a microphone, and integrated Wi-Fi), then tops it with a PC Express card slot. Surprisingly, the speakers also do a fairly impressive job making music sound like it's coming from something larger than a pint-sized PC. In short, the 2133 offers plenty of flexibility."

Gladstone appreciated the laptop's nearly-full sized keyboard. But he didn't care for the laptop's performance and its lack of an Intel processor.

CNET.com rated the HP laptop 7.5 out of 10 (very good). Pros: The 2133 is inexpensive, solidly constructed, stylishly designed, and has a comfy keyboard. Downsides: Weak performance, so-so battery life, small touch pad, the lack of Intel's new Atom CPU (optimized for mini notebooks).

Laptop magazine gave HP's 2133 four out of five stars and an Editors' Choice ranking. "While it's somewhat bigger and pricier than other mini-notebooks, the HP 2133 Mini-Note offers a few features that the others don’t, including an adult-size keyboard and a design more suited to business users. If all you need is a low-cost laptop that can run Windows, you may want to wait for the 9-inch version of the Eee PC. But if you require more from your mini-notebook and don’t mind paying for it, the HP 2133 Mini-Note delivers the goods."

Are you itching to buy one? You might want to wait to see what Dell does. The company is said to have a competitive ultra-portable laptop in the works, according to Engadget.

Comments

[chuck]

I'm happy to see that HP is re-entering the burgeoning market for mini-laptops, one which they helped to establish with their highly-respected (at least in my opinion) OmniBooks 300 and 600. Maybe I'll finally have the opportunity to replace my well-used but well-cared for OmniBook 600 (running Windows 98 SE, thank you very much) with something a little more modern and media capable!

[chuck]

I'm happy to see that HP is re-entering the burgeoning market for mini-laptops, one which they helped to establish with their highly-respected (at least in my opinion) OmniBooks 300 and 600. Maybe I'll finally have the opportunity to replace my well-used but well-cared for OmniBook 600 (running Windows 98 SE, thank you very much) with something a little more modern and media capable!

[Techy Bob, the HP mini is a nicely built HP laptop]

Greetings,

I had one of these on my bench for warranty service training and I was impressed. It has a nice rock solid feel and the component layout and overall internal design was well thought out.

I've also serviced the ASUS version and I see absolutely no reason why HP shouldn't be able to compete.

Best regards,

Bob