HP 2133 Mini-Note Combines Ultraportability with Affordability - Four Models, from Linux on Flash to Windows on Hard Drive (
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HP currently offers the 2133 Mini-Note PC in four preconfigured models from
$499 to $749, with a range of processors, operating systems, RAM,
nonvolatile storage and other features, as follows:
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
10, 1.0GHz Via C7-M processor, 1GB SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM),
4GB flash RAM, $499.00
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
10, 1.2GHz Via C7-M processor, 1GM SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, $549.00
- Windows Vista Home Basic,
1.2GHz Via C7-M processor, 1GB SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, $599.00
- Windows Vista Business, 1.6GHz
Via C7-M processor, 2GB SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, $749.00
The Vista models should include the "Downgrade
to XP" option, but if you care, check before you buy. According to HP,
Windows XP Pro will be available preinstalled starting mid-May.
All models have an 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA display, Express Card/54 (suitable
for a wide-area cellular broadband card) slot and Secure Digital media slot, stereo
speakers (surprisingly good), and a VGA camera. Ports include VGA, two USB
2.0, audio (microphone and headphone/line-out) and RJ45 (Ethernet) jack. For
networking, the 2133 has Gigabit Ethernet; the low-end model has 802.11b/g and the
other three have a/b/g.
Accessory options include a $69 2GB
SODIMM (dual in-line memory module) replacement memory upgrade.
Reflecting its target users and uses, HP gave a lot of attention to the 2133
surviving everyday calamities, leading to features such as the spill-resistant
keyboard—if you spill liquid on it, just turn off the computer, take out the
battery and pour out the liquid.
Other anti-disaster features include the 3D DriveGuard motion sensor, which
helps protect the hard drive, and Fast Charge, which will charge a battery up
to 90 percent within 90 minutes. Security features and options include HP
ProtectTools and BIOS support for Absolute Software's Computrace.
Without great power comes limited capability
I've been using the 2133 Mini-Note over the last week or so at home, e-mailing
and browsing wirelessly; in my office, connected through my KVM to a 22-inch
LCD, external keyboard and trackball; and at other locations such as the town
library, which offers Wi-Fi.
For basic tasks, it does the job, but can prove
environmentally challenged. Because the screen doesn't tilt back as far as it
might, especially with the longer-life battery, it can be hard to use when
placed on my lap, which would be a common airport scenario. Also, while I find
I'm able to use this reasonably well if it's on a table, when it's on my lap I
have a harder time working with it than I like, even with the screen set to the
lowest resolution. Your eyeballs may fare better.
The right-hand side of the HP 2133 includes power, 1 USB 2.0 and Ethernet ports, ExpressCard/54 and Secure Digital card slots, and a security-lock slot.
The 2133's left-hand side has the video, audio and another USB
2.0 port, plus ventilation.
As I mentioned before, the display isn't that readable in bright direct
sunlight; it reflects too much and isn't bright enough. The Wi-Fi is sufficiently
peppy, and Vista Home does a good job of finding networks and reconnecting
automatically.
HP offers the 2133 with Linux on the lower-end models and versions of
Windows on the higher-powered ones. I haven't (yet) used a Linux GUI extensively,
but if you're mostly doing Web browsing and e-mail, it shouldn't be that hard
to figure out how to start and use Mozilla, and the Linux models include
OpenOffice.org, which is supposed to be Office-compatible, along with other
apps.
My test unit is running Vista Home—not my first choice for Windows. Running
Windows can have some advantages, including familiarity and the ability to
easily install and run your regular applications. The 2133 included the trial version
of Microsoft Office 2007, and I was able to install and run Mozilla and other
apps easily.
The downside of running Windows includes inherent orneriness—Vista
Basic wouldn't let me allow my online backup client—and pokey performance on a
suboptimal configuration. The 2133 Mini-Note running Vista Home Basic takes its
time to start up: up to 3 minutes for the machine to finish waking up, not
counting pauses for user input. By comparison, a friend's Asus with
Linux-on-flash woke up within 30 seconds. Individual apps, such as Mozilla,
Microsoft Office 2007 and Acrobat, ran fast enough, but switching among
applications or starting up additional applications, even Mozilla or Windows
Explorer, was often unacceptably slow. It's possible that a second GB of RAM
and the faster processor would speed things up—but maybe not. (Running Linux or
XP Pro might yield better performance.)
The 2133 uses HP's standard business-class power supply, which adds
packing bulk.
On the plus side, the 2133 will "wake" from the power "Sleep
Mode" within seconds, and the power drain during Sleep Mode is negligible,
maybe 1 percent per hour. And (at least in Vista), you
can set the machine to automatically go into Sleep Mode when you close the
machine by flipping the display down. Thanks to HP's anti-shock protection on
the hard drive, carrying the machine around all day in Sleep Mode is a
reasonable way to avoid waiting 3 minutes to spend 15 seconds checking e-mail
(followed by another 1 or 2 minutes to shut down).
I wanted to try Linux on the 2133, to see if performance was noticeably
better than with Vista, but my attempts to use the WUBI Ubuntu Installer, which should, in theory,
download and install Ubuntu directly within Windows, have not yet been
successful, and I don't currently have a USB
CD-ROM drive.
If you feel you can do enough of your work with Linux apps—and these days, a
browser and OpenOffice.org could suffice for many people—then you may be OK
with the less expensive model. If you want to have access to Windows apps and
peripherals that only have Windows drivers, I'd suggest either getting a 2GB
model with XP Pro, or doing the "Downgrade" from Vista.
(And then trying to also add a Linux boot option.)
Conclusion: Consider waiting for improvements or other choices
As I said, physically the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is a sweet, solid, if
slightly bulky device that feels like it should withstand the bangs and bumps
of travel.
But the Windows configuration's slow wake-up, pokey performance (which a
different configuration might not suffer from), and price in the $500 to $800
range may push this from an impulse "disposable" purchase to "wait
and see."
For the same money, but more weight and size, you could get a low-end
regular notebook. For two to four times the price, you could get a full-power 3-pound
Windows ultralight. For a third to half less money, you could get a lighter
machine like an Eee, if you don't mind sacrificing keyboard and screen
usability.
What would I do? I'm not ready to buy an HP 2133
Mini-Note PC—but I'd consider it, if my short-term travel level rises. And I'm
going to watch for new options from HP—while I see what else the market comes
up with over the next three or four months.
