HP Mini-Note 2133 Review
I have been trying out a HP Mini-Note 2133 ultra-portable notebook, and I can safely say that I like it. It had been criticized due to its under-powered processor - but do you really need an ‘all singing and all dancing’ processor in such a small notebook (such as an Intel Atom)? Yeah, it would be nice, but isn’t particular necessary. When I have a desktop PC than handle everything I throw at it, I can just save heavy work and such until I get home. When I was trying it, it was able to cope with Vista fine (suprisingly), and it is plently powerful enough to run basic office based programs, for surfing the Internet and to even watch a film on it.
It has a great sized keyboard (92% sized apparently) which feels great to type on, and also includes a special coating to stop spillages doing any damage. The touch pad is different than normal ones, as the ‘click’ keys are situated on either side apposed to underneath, to eliminate extra space taken up - it is also slightly smaller than normal. It does take some getting used to, but it is fine to use - you may want to end up using a mouse after a while though (and with its built in Bluetooth, all you need is a Bluetooth mouse). It comes with either a 3-cell or a 6-cell battery (I tried the 6-cell version, which worked out at about 4.5 hours battery time). The 6-cell battery however does add extra height to the back of the laptop, but this does raise the keyboard up to make it easier to type on. The laptop does get slightly hot when it is on for a while, but it isn’t too bad. The screen is a decent size and has a nice resolution, but you will have to make sure you set it up so that the text DPI/size is easier readable, but it depends on your eye-sight.
A quick run down of the specifications of the one I tried (out of the 5 different versions they offer):
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Business Processor: VIA C7-M ULV - 1.2 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache Chipset: VIA CN896NB / 8237S SB Memory: DDR2 SDRAM, 667MHz 2048MB Internal Storage: 120GB 5400 rpm SATA Display: 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA (1280 x 768) Graphics: VIA Chrome 9 Audio: HD Audio, stereos speakers, integrated microphones, headphone/line out/microphone in Wireless support: Broadcom 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 Communications: Broadcom Ethernet (10/100/1000) Expansion slots: (1) ExpressCard/54 slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot Ports and connectors: (2) USB 2.0 ports, VGA, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet, stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, optional VGA webcam Input device: 92% full-sized keyboard, touchpad with scroll zone Security: Kensington lock Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.05 (at front) x 10.04 x 6.5 in Weight: 3.23 lb Power: 6-cell (55 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery, 65W HP Smart AC Adapter with HP Fast Charge
All in all, I think it is a great little notebook - just as long as you don’t intend to do any extensive work on it (like video editing or other heavy resourced based programs). Hopefully I should be able to get one for a decent price some time in the not so distance future, and if and when I can, I am defiantly going to buy one.
External links: HP 2133 Mini-Note PC