HP MINI 1000

HP's Gorgeous Netbook




HP was one of the first companies to sign on to the netbook revolution, wasting little time in launching the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC in answer to the original ASUS Eee PC 4G.

HP's new netbook, the Mini 1000, seems modeled on HP's Pavilion line, with a polished design and an Intel Atom platform. This means it more closely resembles other netbooks but avoids some of the quirks of its competitors. The Mini 1000's design, like that of its Pavilion siblings, uses the In-Mold Decoration technique, in which a pattern is embedded underneath a laminate layer.

The system measures 10.3 by 6.6 by 0.9 inches (HWD), about the same as the Acer Aspire One. The 92 percent keyboard is as comfortable as the best netbook screens out there. The feature set, however, has its ups and downs. Although the Mini 1000 offers multiple storage options, such as 8GB and 16GB SS1)s and spinning drives that go up to 60GB, the 60GB drive's speed is only 4,200 rpm, compared w ith 5,400-rpm drives of many others.

One gamechanging feature is the WWAN slot, which means that the Mini 1000 is mobile-broadband ready. This configuration comes with Windows XP Home Edition, and later this year HP will introduce
Mini 1000s running Mie (pronounced Me), a custom Ubuntu version it developed.

Unfortunately, the Mini 1000 was incompatible with most of our benchmark tests, so the jury is still out on performance, but it will probably match its competition. Its MobileMark score was impressive for a unit with a threecell battery: 2 hours 58 minutes.

Design is a big win for the Mini 1000, and despite some feature annoyances, it's worth a look.—Cisco Cheng.



Specs:1.6-G 1 lz Intel Atom N270; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; 60GB, 4,200-rpm hard drive; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950,128MB; I0.2-inch, 1,024-by-600 display; Broadconz 802.1Ig; 2.5 pounds (3.1 pounds travel); two USB ports; 26-Wh, 2.3-Ah lithium ion battery; Windows XP Home Edition.

PC Magazine February 2009