Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: mininote, eee, umpc | Themes: Laptops and Notebooks, Business
- 1. HP’s Tiny New PC
- 2. Touring The HP MiniNote
- 3. Specifications and Benchmarks
3. Specifications and Benchmarks
Specifications
We compare HP’s MiniNote with the Vye mini-v S37, which we reviewed last month.
Benchmarks
We weren’t able to measure the battery life on our prototype unit, but HP says it will be around 2.5 hours with the standard 3-cell battery; an extended 6-cell battery takes this up to 4.5 hours. That’s not particularly impressive; if you want to work for a full day, you’ll need to carry a second battery. Because of the dropped hinge, the extended battery can’t stick out at the back, so instead of making the unit larger it raises it up at the back slightly, giving you a comfortable typing angle.
Because we had the MiniNote for such a short time, we were only able to run a small set of benchmarks.
Like other Via C-7M PCs, including the OQO Model 2, the MiniNote has slightly disappointing performance. It doesn’t match the Intel processor in the similarly sized Vye mini-V, and it’s certainly no match for an ultraportable PC like the Toshiba G500 or the MacBook Air. The faster hard drive and full amount of RAM help somewhat, but this isn’t intended to be a full-powered PC. It has no problem running multiple office applications or simple photo editing tools like Paint.NET, but would struggle with video editing.
And, of course, you’re not going to play any serious games on either the HP or the Vye. However, you’ll welcome the extra resolution of the HP for the more modest applications it’s designed for.
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This laptop has already been reviewed on a few other sites and is definitely getting some attention.
Reminds me so much of the Fujitsu P1120 I used to own back in 2003 - same 8.9″ screen, 2.5″ HDD, Windows XP, non-Intel CPU, same keyboard layout, battery, PC card slot… The resemblance is remarkable. It’s as if HP took the P1120 shell, redesigned it and stuffed it with 2008 hardware.
For $499, this kicks Asus EEE butt. The $749 top-spec version will make $1799 MacBook Air owners go into rehab.
I could throw in a 320 (or 500 if I wait) gigabyte hard drive in this device and retire my portable DVD player/Archos. With a wireless broadband card, it is small enough to sit down with ANYWHERE and instantly blog/email etc. Load up Cool Edit Pro on this and with the right audio cable you can transform it into a highly portable recording/editing/mixing deck. This mini-note is just a KILLER device.
I suspect HP is closely scrutinizing early reviews of the unit, because even THEY must know XP on this is sure to run better, and if VIA does offer better performance with Isaiah, then you can bet this is just an introductory product and HP may offer something better in the near future.
I had my eye on a tx2000t. Yes, that's the C2D version, until HP suddenly pulled it from the market. I'd like to know what else HP has in the works.
This isn't anything I've been told by HP, just my own suspicion; I wonder if Microsoft is evaluating what license price to charge for XP on UMPCs as it works through plans for the Eee and the OLPC and the Classmate.
check this out also...
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inqu [...] l-atom-cpu
check this out also...http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inqu [...] l-atom-cpu
I'd like to see how that 1.8GHz speed works in real life with Vista.
Mary - you know XP will be off the market soon. Knowing M$, I wouldn't be surprised if they push (cough*force*cough) hardware manufacturers to develop better hardware. XP may get a few more months of final sales with the OLPC arrangement that's in place right now, but in the long term even these devices will have to saddle up with Vista - which is why I'm sure there has to be better products coming down the road. I cannot think keeping XP alive is in the best interests of M$. They want to sell Vista - it barely runs on it, but M$ wants to sell it.
I'm surprised how very little battery time the HP gets though - my little Fujitsu ran for over 4 hours on the regular battery, and would probably have easily done 7 hours with an extended battery.
Ever heard of kilograms, mrs. Washington? Don't let you medieval units confuse us, the people of 21st century.