By Darius Chang
27/05/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050495,62054370,00.htm

To differentiate its laptops, HP decorating the top lid with unique HP Imprint designs. The just announced HP Mini 110 not only sports an HP Imprinted lid, but also provides a choice of black, white or pink covers.
The Mini 110 has a similar form factor as the Mini 1000 and, indeed, sports the same Atom-based chipset and 10.1-inch display under the hood. However, this is where the similarities end. Instead of a 1.8-inch harddisk, the Mini 110 comes with a standard laptop-sized 2.5-inch storage that not only come in larger capacities, but delivers faster data transfer speeds. The display can also be bumped up to an optional 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution for viewing high-definition content.

The last line may have you asking: Why bother with high-resolution screens when the Intel Atom chipset can render only standard definition content? The Mini 110 is one of the first Netbooks to be equipped with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video accelerator which allows the minilaptop to run high-definition videos. To keep your files and emails updated with your desktop or laptop, this Netbook also comes with a copy of Syncables for online synchronization. The Mini 110 is offered in either Windows XP or the cheaper Linux flavor. The black model will available in Asia from May 28, while the other color options will appear in store starting June 30.

The HP Pavilion dv2 made headlines as the first AMD Neo-based laptop. However, for a single-core machine without an internal optical drive, its asking price of S$1,299 considered a tad too expensive. The new model may make a little more financial sense as it can now be configured with dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 or Turion Neo X2 chips that offer better multitasking performance. That latter are brand-new processors which target the Netbook market with an affordable price point, but offer better performance than its Atom competitor. However, due to its small L2 cache you might find video editing and RAW image processing a little tough even for these new chips. The dual-core Pavilion dv2 will start appearing in Asia-Pacific markets from June 1.

Besides the laptops, HP also introduced its new All-In-One, the Pavilion MS200, which will be available only in the China market. Starting at US$599, this machine is based on the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor with up to 4GB of RAM. The unit comes with a built-in DVD writer as well as Draft-N Wi-Fi connectivity. The Pavilion MS200 is slated for an appearance in China stores from July.

New products

Model name	In a nutshell
HP Mini 110	Wow factor: Available in three color options, the Mini 110 comes with an optional video accelerator to render high-definition videos. Notable features: Intel Atom processor 10.1-inch LED-backlit display Integrated Intel GMA graphics card or Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video accelerator HDD storage Windows XP or Linux operating system Expected: May 2009 Price: Starts at US$299
HP Pavilion dv2	Wow factor: With a dual-core chip now running under the hood, the Pavilion dv2 has been given a significant multitasking performance boost in addition to its HD video-rendering capabilities. Notable features: AMD Athlon Neo X2 or Turion Neo X2 processor 12.1-inch LED-backlit widescreen display ATI Mobility Radeon X1250 graphics card HDD storage Windows Vista operating system Expected: June 2009 Price: Starts at US$699