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"Why I think twice before buying - An ambivalent reaction to a device with obvious compromises." on by qldk
Pros: Sleek, beautiful chassis and design; bright, crisp high-res display; comfortable-sized keyboard; nice form-factor (size and weight); large capacity 2.5" HDD; powerful speakers; low pricing options
Cons: Miserable CPU; VIA is a miserable chipset with poor performance (graphics and cpu-wise); heats up a lot; fan-noise is a bit high; fat, large ugly bezel; awkward touchpad and awkward 6-cell battery
Summary: First let me say I am an EEE 701 (4G) owner and much of my opinion is formed on a comparison between the HP Mini and the EEE. Since I cannot do a formal review (I have never seen an HP Mini in person), take my words with a grain of salt. HOWEVER, I sure have read a lot of reviews on the HP Mini and I feel my opinion is well-informed.
Overall, my suggestion is to wait before buying the HP Mini. HP crippled this laptop by incorporating that VIA C7-M processor. This is the very same crap CPU that is in a Cloudbook and in various other UMPCs with extremely sluggish, weak, miserable CPU performance. Furthermore the onboard VIA Chrome GPU (graphics) blows; this is quite evident in numerous reviews, wherein I read the HP Mini CANNOT support video SKYPE calls. That's pretty miserable. I seriously wonder if there is video conferencing potential for this device, with such poor performance as that.
HP needs to jump board to a better processor immediately if they expect to command a lead in this particular niche in the laptop industry. I will never commit any of my money toward the purchase on a device with a VIA C7-m powering it. Trust me, you want Intel-brand quality.
The best comment that I've seen that pretty much sums it up is a comment I read on the eeeuser.com forums: HP has pretty much released a nice, sleek corvette-class laptop, and then ruined it by using a lawnmower engine under the hood.
For the "premium" version at $750, you are not getting your money's worth with that CPU powering the device. If you doubt that statement, then you probably aren't aware that Dell was selling its D420-series laptop (12", ultraportable, slightly larger/heavier but otherwise superior in every aspect) at just $699 a couple weeks ago. Yeah... and that was for a Intel Dual or Single Core ULV Centrino.
Do the smart thing, wait and demand a better CPU chipset. Intel Atom or better. None of this VIA garbage.
(PS the other thing that drives me wild is the big, fat, obtuse bezel... they could have easily slipped in a larger, 10 or 11" LCD in there, and then Sony would REALLY have something to sweat over.) -
"A Beautiful Disaster. Paralyzing Performance." on by silvershox
Pros: solid. sleek. pretty good keyboard. good resolution. pretty good display.
Cons: no performance.VIA cpu paralyzes performance. ram and other add-ons bumps price to non-bargain prices.
Summary: i was really disappointed when this thing was coming with a via cpu. the 2gb ram is nice to have, but the via cpu cripples the performance. im sorry to say, but when using the computer, the last thing i care about is the appearance of the casing. the most important thing is what is on the display and how long you have to wait till progress appears. the $500 price tag is reasonable to start with, but to add windows and 2gb ram bumping up the price to almost 800 is absurd! i might as well carry a used 13 inch xps for that price!
the only choice for a true bargain sub-notebook at around $500-$700 is the 9 inch eee. better performance, cheaper price.
if HP upgrades the cpu to actually become useable, i'll reconsider. till then, this is just another rotten apple sprayed with air freshener. -
"Think Isaiah before leaping in" on by JCR66
Pros: The right combination of price/screen size
Cons: Battery life too short, older C7 processor
Summary: Via has started to sample their Isaiah processor, which is drop in replacement to the C7. I'll wait for that model to show up before purchasing the 2133. This will make it at par with Intel Atom, and increase the battery life
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"incredible!," on by guscragnolini
Pros: weight, amazing keyboard, resolution
Cons: standard baterry is poor
Summary: In argentina, uncoming in may of this year, the first device whit a 1.2kg, and an excelent performance.the processor (via) is not the best but, with the ram (2gb), run fast in every program.
The internet, is really fast, and the keyboard is the best, not compare this with another umpc, for example;eee 900.
The quality of the materials (aluminium case), is great!!!.
Well, i really not understand, why the cnet review is 5.9?.
The device is really portable, and the screen is too much, i really not understand 5.9, sorry editors, but you..., are wrong this time.
And a cons, a solution is.., an extended baterry, that is all. -
"Great Portable laptop! WINDOX XP is a must" on by craigasian
Pros: Small Portable, Great keyboard size. Also works good when "docked"
Cons: Ships with Vista loaded.
Summary: I have had the HP2133 for 3 days and have loved every minute of it...once I had installed XP instead of Vista. There is no doubt this little computer runs 200 times better running XP. If you are looking for a great portable laptop this is the one, especially for the price.
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