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Geekonomics

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by Nicholas Aaron Khoo, Singapore

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The "HP Mini"

Apr 11, 2008 10:49

Last night, this geek went to the private bloggers launch of the "HP Mini" (as it is now affectionately called) at the Mezza9 bar Hyatt hotel.

At first, I was pretty sure I was going to write about this machine vs. the ASUS Eee PC. But after a first take of the sleek design, I just dropped the idea. Although the performance of the HP Mini on Vista has been observed to be rather weak by Dan, I was quite blown away by the whole design of this nice little machine, especially how it's supposed to be a mini and yet have almost a full-sized keyboard, unlike other UMPCs--which really really reminds me of my ole' PowerBook G4!

Some of my friends who have bought other UMPCs have been using them considerably less due to the comfort factor. On very close examination, this is one mini-note that will likely not have the same problem! The sleek finishing gives its a strong, sturdy heft and hardly feels like a sub-US$500 notebook. Well done, HP! Looks like you're going to have a winner here like how the TC1000 was a big winner, at least for this geek (I kept the TC1000 after five years even though I've sold all my other laptops!)! Winner not so much because of the technical specifications, but the amount of effort spent on the design--the keyboard, heat dissipation, usability, and how the whole machine seems to be built perfectly for the mobile lifestyle.

I can imagine that for its great design, small footprint, and low price, it will become a second laptop for many folks. Families with a few kids can now possibly afford a laptop for each kid to learn and grow up with. I for one can't wait to get one as a second laptop (in May when it's launched) when I want to travel lighter, say, for holidays and not for heavyduty work and stuff. By "lighter", I must qualify that this machine ain't exactly "featherweight" at 1.19kg, but it's definitely going to be much easier to pack for the road!

Now, what else can you do with a small and pretty machine like this? How about 'sunbathing' with it?

Now I can totally imagine Mac lovers getting this machine just because the keyboard feels so close to a MacBook! You guys can have Linux or just a low-cost second notebook to bring around for surfing and email. After all, you can now use Safari on the Vista!

Some photos:

Estee, Nicole, and Jean

Tech65 doing its podcasting.

I'm having problems extracting some of the photos I took last night (think my SD card is dying!!), so maybe more on this machine and the event over the weekend! In the meantime, you can check out the technical specifications here and more on the party over at Van Tan's blog as well as the HP Mini blog. Boy, was it nice to catch up with all the bloggers again!

TGIF, everyone!

melvin
(I love this picture of Melvin taken from Van Tan's blog)

Small disclaimer: HP did not pay for this post. Darn, there weren't even door gifts or lucky draws!

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DapperDave

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DapperDave says...
I find it amusing and sad that every conclusion drawn forth regarding the HP mini is the size of the keyboard and the sleek case being the main reasons why this is such a good ultra portable.
Almost everyone compares to the eee 7" model when the ubiquitous statement is made that the "HP is a sub 500.00 laptop", even though every one that has been tested and written about is closer to 800.00. I don't understand how you can compare apples and oranges or two different computers.
What should be discussed should be why HP chose to limit the size of their LCD sceen because the overall size of the box is larger, why they chose to use sub par processors, why every machine tested is a LOADED version etc. I think people should wait for the PC900, Acer and Dell to enter the market in May before they fall all over themselves to buy this machine. You may end asking yourself later, why did I buy this HP when I could have purchased a better platform for less $$ if I would have waited 2 or 3 weeks. Just my .02

Apr 11, 2008 22:37

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Geekonomics

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Geekonomics says...
Hi DapperDave, thanks for the comment! Actually, the first question I asked was the screen size LOL but HP said something like next time will have bigger sizes.

I did ask the product manager about the VIA architecture and the response was the target audience, cost/budget, energy requirements and heat output affected the choice of the architecture.

Actually at the event, it was hard to test the performance, but the look and feel really impressed. And like my all-time favourite TC1000, although the performance was weak, I kept it for almost 5 years now and still love it for its usability and how it adapts to my mobile lifestyle.

I think this product, given it's nice design, performance aside, looks set to be another winner for me.

Hopefully Acer and Dell will come up with even better specs and pricing, but I'm quite doubtful that they'll come up with a better design and build.

Apr 12, 2008 01:32

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About Nicholas Aaron Khoo

Nicknamed "Gadget Boy" by friends at age 18 because he used to scribble Grafitti on a PalmPilot faster than most would type, Nicholas Aaron Khoo is web developer turned technopreneur and Singapore tech blogger who also pretends to do strategic advisory for tech startups and 'un'Fortune 500s (when he's not pretending to be the gadget-loaded Batman). A digital nomad, his tech interests range from gadgets, games, tech trends, social media, security, and just about anything that runs on 1s and 0s. See his industry affiliations here.
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