HP Mininote reviewed (2133) Great response

HP predicted that demand for these would be strong and contracted their partners to make 2 million of them.

They said people would buy them 'without a second thought'.

I am proof of that. I orderd ming this morning when I found they are available. The response has been great and I cannot wait to have this little baby in my hot little hands when it ships on the 15th.
 
i just hope there indeed will be better processor choices in the near future...atom may have come too late to be included, but i'm still not too happy with the current processor choices...

the isiah sounds good, and as soon as something along these lines is put into these bad boys, i'll snatch one up...
 
Provided i get 4 hours from my 6 cell, i am kind of indifferent.

The 2gb of ram sold me along with vista business (i have a domain at home).

I like how the review sites are confused calling it a device for the education market...its clearly a business device.
 
there was a review stating that the combination of the via cpu and vista made even basic web surfing and basic programs sluggish...the eee pc supposedly outperformed it...

i really like the design of this thing, and i certainly have a use for it, but if i do take the plunge before hp adds some new processor options, i'd probably ONLY go with the linux configuration...

in the 700 dollar price range, you can get a dell, toshiba or another hp model with better specs, although it would obviously be bigger and heavier, which sort of defeats the purpose of the whole deal in the first place...

i like the 92% of standard keyboard, the screen size and resolution, the looks of it and the fact that it's MUCH less "plasticky" than the eee pc...but the processor choices could be better IMO...

the small keyboard and screen on the eee pc are bad, but the 9'' screen in the upcoming model may sway me toward it if i could learn to live with the keyboard...
 
I'll wait for the Atom revisions. You know its gonna happen.

Anyway I really like it and the $549 option with the 120gig hd/1gig ram/linux makes it seem much more worth it than an EEE.
 
CrazyJ said:
I'll wait for the Atom revisions. You know its gonna happen.

Anyway I really like it and the $549 option with the 120gig hd/1gig ram/linux makes it seem much more worth it than an EEE.
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If that configuration had an Atom I would buy one right now. I'm tempted as it is.
 
an updated version running Suse Enterprise Desktop with an Isaiah CPU would rock.

bit worried about the piddley battery power tho.
 
Pricing for the HP 2133 Mini-Note range from as little as $499 for the 1.0GHz VIA processor, 512MB of RAM and a 4GB PATA Flash module with Linux, to $749 for the 1.6GHz VIA processor, 2GB of RAM and a 120GB 5400 rpm hard drive running Windows Vista Business.
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HP will also be offering a version of the Mini-Note with a 160GB 7200 rpm hard drive (which is the configuration we received for review) but that pricing was unavailable at the time of this writing. Still, it's safe to assume the price for this configuration will be more than $750.
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That's just shady. The only model with even close to acceptable performance is hundreds of dollars more than the base model and the base model is not even reviewed.


 
I really want one of these things but I'm holding off untill they have the Isaiah chip in them or hp makes one with an intel chip. Hell I'll pay more for the intel based one. I want one of these that can handle vista well.
 
It's the first one to have a good resolution at least, the buttons are in an interesting position too, not to convenient for middle clicking though.

Here's the link at HP
 
I dont know, but to me it doesn't seem like a great value.

If I am dropping that kinda change, the processor has to be better than a VIA.
 
These type of laptops are not really for primary use. But as mobile use for internet and multi media. And not doing Auto CAD.
 
Hi all.
I went and picked mine up today from the fedex place and man is this thing small and sexeh.

I have not logged in yet because as I am debating on whether or not to join this to my domain at home.
 
Which version did you get? I really would like someone who got the 499 or 549 version to talk about speed. Do we think this will be able to handle divx / xvid?
 
I will post some pics and vids when I get home.

I got the version with 1.6, 2gb, 120gb and vista business with a 6 cell battery.

Bluetooth and WebCam integrated.
 
J4M3S0N79 said:
I will post some pics and vids when I get home.

I got the version with 1.6, 2gb, 120gb and vista business with a 6 cell battery.

Bluetooth and WebCam integrated.
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I ordered one w/ all the same specs the other day. Its estimated ship date is the 3rd of May. I'll post some pics of it, and some comparrisons to my other laptop, etc. too :)
 
Nice videos. I would bite if that was the performance level of the entry-level units.



 
Mine is shipping with the 6 cell battery. Has anyone been able to locate a link to buy the 3 cell battery separately? I want to have both types, since the 6 cell is very large.
 
CrazyJ said:
I'll wait for the Atom revisions. You know its gonna happen.

Anyway I really like it and the $549 option with the 120gig hd/1gig ram/linux makes it seem much more worth it than an EEE.
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I doubt it, the upgraded CPU version is almost certainly going to be the VIA Isaiah CPU. Recent becnhmarks indicate it's somewhat faster than the atom and is pincompatable with the C7 socket.

The other thing they need to do is offer the 6cell battery with an SUSE model.
 
Got my 2133 yesterday. Its a bit heavy, but its so great:)
I took some photos with my iphone. They make the screen appear blurry, but its just the lack of focus on the iphone; the screen on this computer kicks major ass. :cool:

I haven't used it much yet, just installed Office 2003 + Foobar 2000. I just used an external CD drive to do so. Worked flawlessly. I may put XP on it, but honestly its fine the way it is for what I need, which is mostly Foobar playback and a little bit of web surfing. I will probably do a little bit of web development from time to time too.

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will it play HD content? like a ripped 720p mkv or something?

it actually looks like it may be worth the little extra cash for the big battery/bluetooth/1.6ghz proc plus the other inexpensive/easy addons like HD and memory... and windows....

but i'd probably have to figure out some way of getting XP pro on there.... else go to vista biz...

yea it'd totally be for work...
 
goodcooper said:
will it play HD content? like a ripped 720p mkv or something?
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haven't tried it yet. There is no CD/DVD drive, so I need to download something to try.

it actually looks like it may be worth the little extra cash for the big battery/bluetooth/1.6ghz proc plus the other inexpensive/easy addons like HD and memory... and windows....

but i'd probably have to figure out some way of getting XP pro on there.... else go to vista biz...

yea it'd totally be for work...
Click to expand...
Mine is going to be used at the office about 90 percent of the time. The windows vista sticker on the computer said Vista Basic, but when installing updates the first time, it said Vista Business. So I guess I bought the 32bit Business version of Vista, unless there is a streamline version I'm unaware of. To be frank, I know squat about Vista, I simply don't need it, so I haven't researched it. But I won't bother replacing it just yet since it runs fine.

In my opinion, it is indeed worth the extra $ to get the top of the line Windows model. To date there is no customizable version; just preset configurations. There is one $850 one with Linux that makes no sense; it has less of everything. But you get alot for your money with the $750 Vista configuration, imo. Plus any doubts about the processor, then it would not make sense to skimp further still.

One funny problem I ran into; my thumb drive has AES encryption, so I couldnt use it to install stuff onto the computer, since the True Crypt program was not on it. OOPS! :p

I'll try to play some video stuff this week and report back....
 
I had about an hour to fool around on the laptop yesterday. Installed iTunes, Quicktime, TrueCrypt.

There was an odd hiccup the first time loading iTunes, when switching to 'cover flow' mode. A second or two after switching views, I had a bluescreen error and then the system restarted. Works fine now though. :)

I loaded a 1080P trailer for The Bourne Ultimatum into quicktime. After alot of scrolling to find the restore box (a LOT of scrolling, lol) the player never crashed, and filled most of the screen. Sadly, the computer just could not keep the framerate up. The dialog never cut out, but the frames were sluggish and out of synch with the audio. I should note this was not off the hard drive, but online. Perhaps performance would be better had I had the ability to save the movie to disc first, but no dice.

For reference, the file was ~ 200 MB.

I wouldn't recommend this for high def video; the integrated graphics are apparently the caveat of the unit. 720 may fare a bit better though.

However, simple youtube or audio are fine.

** one more note; the bootup sequence seems to be better than that found at notebookreview. And better still if you allow the computer to go to standby during non-use, as is the default. Boot up time was my chief worry, but its honestly not bad at all. It was slow during initial install/updates, but its like any other computer I have now. I think most people could easily live with it.
 
aardvark sandwich said:
I wouldn't recommend this for high def video; the integrated graphics are apparently the caveat of the unit. 720 may fare a bit better though.
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I'm thinking 720P/1080P is a bit overkill for a 9" screen anyway but that's just me. Glad you like it.




 
aardvark sandwich said:
I had about an hour to fool around on the laptop yesterday. Installed iTunes, Quicktime, TrueCrypt.
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How are the TrueCrypt benchmarks on the 2133? I might consider picking one up but only if it can decently handle full-disk encryption.

I'm also curious about how 720p performs. 1080p is overkill anyway without a high-res screen but 720p will fit the screen nicely.
 
SockMan! said:
How are the TrueCrypt benchmarks on the 2133?
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I also ran the benchmark on my HP minitower, which is a C2D 2.0Ghz.:

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Obviously the C2D slays it :eek:

My advice would be to format any external hard disks with a faster computer, and only use the disc with the 2133. My 8GB Corsair flash drive works fine on it.
 
Those TrueCrypt benchmarks are far worse than I though they would be! I was hoping for performance at least twice that but I guess I can't expect much considering the processor.

Which version of TC are you using? Version 5.1a (the latest release) significantly improves AES performance so I'm curious to know if that'd help much.

By the way, thanks for testing it out!
 
I just downloaded it the other night, so its gotta be the latest version.
 
if the C7 is pin compatible with the new Isaah CPU, will you be able to swap it in once it's out? (i.e. is there panel access to the CPU?)
 
pookguy88 said:
if the C7 is pin compatible with the new Isaah CPU, will you be able to swap it in once it's out? (i.e. is there panel access to the CPU?)
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I dont see why you couldnt do that. But the back has to be popped off, similar to the back of an ipod (AFAIK). I dont see any accessible screw holes. I believe I read that someone else has already replaced the HD with an SSD, so it should still be accessible with a little bit of elbow grease.
 
Is the CPU socketed or soldered on? And do any of the Isaah rumors include pricing details yet?
 
Cpu is soldered, Via never introduced a socket platform, unless you count their old socket 7 cpu's, so the c7m is soldered on the mobod. I wonder if you can directly solder a 1.8ghz nano cpu onto the mobod, since the 1.2ghz+ c7m's have the same bus speed and pinout. Via did that with the nano test mobods they gave to countless websites to benchmark their cpu's against the atom. Mmm, 400 pins on that cpu, thata be fun to desolder and resolder a nano into. I wonder if anyone has done this yet. Buy some 1.8ghz micro-itx board from some vendor, desolder the nano, desolder the c7m and resolder the nano onto the hp mobod. Lot of work, and riskful, but possible outcome. Too bad there's no cheap refirbished 2133's available anywhere...The nano board runs around $180 i think... Fun project.
 
I would really like to see a nano/atom version for ~$550. The HP seems to have the best keyboard layout so far.
 
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