HP Mini 1000
Netbook has a killer keyboard, so-so speed
HP'S MINI-NOTE 2133 STOOD OUT with its high-res screen, Windows Vista OS—and high price.The new, low-priced Mini 1000 doesn't seem as distinctive, however, since its specs ate almost identical to those of its competitors.
The Mini 1000 is impressive, with solid construction, a stylish and svelte case, a superb keyboard, and a super-blight screen. The glossy black lid now sports a subtle Swirl pattern. The keys are no longer slick and shiny but subtly textured, and the screen has grown from 8.9 to 10.2 inches. Despite the larger display, the Mini 1000 has slimmed down to lx10.3x6.6 inches (HWD) and 2.5 pounds, making it the smallest, thinnest netbook yet with a full 10-inch-wide keyboard.
The standout feature of the Mini 1000 is its 92 percent keyboard.The keys feel solid, without the usual tapered edges, civing them flat tops with a slightly larger surface to hit.The layout is excellent, with none of keys found on other net books.The wide touch pad is very responsive; its buttons are easy to press, although we wish they were below the pad instead of off to the side.
The 1,024x600-pixel display is so bright that blacks looked gray at full brightness. Turning down the brightness solves this issue. The display is sharp and has a very wide viewing angle, but its glossy finish is sometimes annoying. Though I-W plans to offer an 8.9-inch screen as an option, the high-res 1,280x768 screen from the Mini-Note 2133 will not be available.
The 2133's anemic VIA processor has been replaced by the netbook-standard 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, backed by 1GB of DDR2 memory and running Windows XP Home Edition SP3. HP included a 60GB hard drive with our review unit; 8GB and 16GB SSDs, 2GB of RAM, and a Linux OS with a friendly "Mobile Internet Experience" front end will be available as options.
Performance is in line with that of other Atom-powered notebooks.The Mini 1000 scored 135 on Cinebench 9.5.Tasks like e-mail, Web browsing, word processing, and light numbercrunching were all smooth, but as with all netbooks, in terms of multimedia the Mini 1000 is more suited for video and audio playback than content editing and conversion. The netbook completed out Windows Media Encoder test in 27 minutes and 8 seconds and our Mines encoding test in 19 minutes and 24 seconds, which is almost identical to the $439 Lenovo IdeaPad S10's scores. With the included three-cell battery, the Mini 1000 lasted 2 hours and 21 minutes playing back an MPEG-4 movie; lighter usage, such as writing and browsing the Web, squeezed out another 20 minutes.
The integrated GMA 950 chipset does a fine job with Windows applications and full-screen video playback, but its poor 3DMark06 score of 91 means garners will be best off reliving five-year-old classics. The speakers are creatively placed behind a grille inside the laptop hinge, and although they don't have a
lot of volume, the audio clarity is superb.
For networking, the Mini 1000 includes 802.11b/gWi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 radios, as well as a 10/100 Ethernet port. You'll also find a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a combination headphone/microphone jack, an SD/MMC slot, and a VGA Webcam with a microphone.Though the notebook has a VGA monitor output, it uses a small custom connector, so you'll need to purchase an optional adapter cable to use an external monitor.
The Mini 1000 offers standout, solid construction and comfort. It is a worthy competitor in the netbook market, giving users the small size of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 without the compromised keyboard. Unfortunately, we're not convinced that its keyboard and weight are enough to offset the $80 to $120 price premium over competitors from Asus, Lenovo, and MSI that provide nearly identical performance.
Denny Atkin
Computer Shopper January 2009
