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The Ultimate Netbook Buyer's Guide
| Author | Andy Vandervell |
| Published | 20th Nov 2008 |
19 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersHP 2133 Mini-Note PC
UK Price: From £205
US Price: From $399
Brief Description:
HP's original entrant into the netbook market always seemed more of a happy accident. Its metal finish and professional look and feel belie its roots as a commercial machine rather than something meant for the regular consumer. It is something HP will well be remedying with its upcoming Mini 1000, but until that lands this stands apart among netbooks.
Vital Statistics:
- CPU: VIA C7-M 1.2GHz or 1.6GHz
- Memory: 1GB DDR2 or 2GB DDR2
- Storage: 120GB HDD
- Display: 8.9in, 1,280 x 768
- Ports: 2xUSB; VGA; Headphone & Microphone; Ethernet; 54mm ExpressCard; Memory Card Reader
- Internet: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
- Bluetooth:Yes
- WebCam: Yes
- Operating System:: Windows Vista Home Basic or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10
- Dimensions: 255 x 165 x 27mm
- Weight: 1.19kg
- Colours: None
- Battery Life: 2hrs 15mins (3-cell); Approx 3hrs (6-cell)
The Good:
- Looks great
- Very well made
- Near full-size keyboard and best seen on a netbook
- High resolution display
The Bad:
- Poor raw performance
- Mediocre battery life
- Too expensive
- Vista impossible to use smoothly
- Linux OS impenetrable to novices
- Touchpad buttons either side of touchpad
The Ugly:
- Struggles to play embedded flash video smoothly
What We Said
"Were this review based on design and features alone the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC would be walking away with a Recommended Award: that's a fact. It has a superb keyboard and a chassis that's a cut above both the Eee PC and anything we've seen, released or otherwise. Unfortunately for HP there's a lot more to it than this and the Mini-Note struggles to match even the modest exploits of the Eee PC. Its 1.2GHz VIA CPU chugs when shown any kind of video and battery life is poor, managing even less than the none too impressive longevity offered by Asus' machine. If and when HP updates this with something faster, be it Intel's Atom or a new generation VIA CPU, then it could be onto a real winner." - HP 2133 Mini-Note PC Full Review
What We Think Now
As it was at the time, the HP Mini-Note is a fantastic piece of design wedded to some distinctly under-par hardware. VIA's C7-M processor struggles to provide passable performance, especially on Windows Vista versions, while the Linux version is intimidating for novices. It might look nice and possess an excellent keyboard but practical it certainly isn't.
The Bottom Line
Don't be deceived by the sleek appearance or the now discounted prices, this is one machine to be avoided.
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pw said on 9th December 2008
Prospero said on 22nd December 2008
Very useful review - one question please: Can I replace the custom o/s with Ubuntu without losing any functionality?
Chupakun said on 11th May 2009
Loved the feature. I really wish a company would come out with true netbook customisation options--so all we'd have do was pick 'n' mix as opposed to making it a gam... more
modus said on 13th July 2009
The Asus EEE PC 1000HE (http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/02/12/Asus-Eee-PC-1000HE/p1) has a few significant improvements over its predecessor, the EEE PC 1000H -- ... more
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I'm a bit new to netbooks. I've got an old laptop and am about to upgrade and so after a few clarifications.
I mostly just use the laptop for browsing int... more