Finally, here HP 2133 comes
This might be a sub-notebook you are waiting for, so am I. But, could it be an Eee PC killer? I bet it is since it has HP logo on its lid–I’m not telling you that HP is better than Asus, you know what I mean–and it will sell through brick-and-mortar store everywhere, unlike Eee PC which is not that ubiquitous.
Okay first important thing first, spec and price comparing to Eee PC 700 series:-
HP 2133 mini-Note Eee PC 700 series CPU VIA C7-M (up to 1.6GHz, 128 L2 Cache) 900 MHz Intel Celeron M ULV 353 @ 630 MHz RAM 512MB-2GB PC5300 512MB/1GB PC5300 Display 8.9″ WXGA (1280×768) 7″ WVGA (800×480) Screen type Super Glossy Matte Hard drive 120/160GB 5400 or 7200rpm SATA or 64GB SSD or 4GB PATA Flash module 2/4/8GB SSD Expansion ExpressCard/54, SD slot SD Slot Dimension (W”xD”xH”) 10.04 x 6.5 x 1.05~? 8.86 x 6.46 x 0.846~1.4 Weight 2.63-3.23 lbs 2.0 lbs Keyboard 92% full keyboard crampy full keyboard Port VGA, Ethernet, 2xUSB VGA, Ethernet, 3xUSB Wireless 802.11a/b/g or b/g or bluetooth 802.11b/g Battery size/life 3-cell (28Wh) 2:15hr6-cell (55Wh) 4:11hr 4-cell (44Wh) 2.8hr
4-cell (52Wh) 3-3.5hr Price $499 — 1GHz CPU 512MB RAM 4GB Flash SLED OS
$749 — 1.6GHz 2GB RAM 120GB 5400rpm Vista Business $299 — 2G model
$399 — 4G model
$499 — 8G model
As you see, HP 2133 looks much more professional, has a lot more variety configurations than Eee PC and there are a lot of advantages over Eee PC but a few things that are worse than Eee PC is just a vital factor–weight & price. I mean for $499 you almost get nothing in HP 2133 perspective but you could get 8GB model and still 2.0lbs sub-notebook with Eee PC. For the top one, that’s $749–I think it’s not only a bit too steep; that price you could get ThinkPad T61 if you don’t mind portability or add about $150 more to get Thinkpad X61 which is about the same weight or lower as well and surely better in any terms.
Also, there are a lot of folks crying of HP choosing VIA C7-M over newcomer Intel Atom or VIA Isaiah. IMHO, HP 2133 boot time with Vista Business, which is about 1:20min — according to a clip @notebookreview.com, is not that bad. It might not as great as Eee PC did, but considering Vista boot time is slow as default. I think this trading off with 4-hour-battery life is more than satisfied since I have a full shutdown few times a month anyway. Sleep & hibernate will come to take that role instead, just wait and see how good VIA chipset is about power consumption at a deep sleep state.
In brief, I don’t know yet if this is a real good deal. I got to see in person first; I hope it will hit brick ‘n mortar store around soon, then we will know. Timing might be a vital factor here since if Eee PC is around in the store first, it will be a tough job for HP indeed.
For more info & photo & videos, check out at NotebookReview.com
Popularity: 9% [?]
Dell Outlet Impression…
Recently I just had a chance to grab one of newest machine available on Dell Factory Outlet (so, it’s absolutely not new in a normal sense.) I have no idea whether or not I will be impressed and there are a lot of possibility to end up with returning this back since I have not really good experience with refurbished stuffs. For instance, refurbished Blackberry Pearl from TigerDirect was one of my bad experience. It had tons of scratches and flexes all around the body. Also, the system was freezing randomly all the time, even reset couldn’t help from that.
Why? why do I have to buy from this channel again?
- First, it’s cheaper;with the same spec, I could save almost $200 and that is based on $599 based price–so that’s around 30% off.
- Considering this as a computer; it surely is easier to fix. I mean most parts are available; you could change it if there is something wrong. And that doesn’t require any knowledge–just brave to try, I guess. If you are not good about this, just ask–there are a lot of great community in the cyberspace. If it was mobile, PDA or any small gadgets, when it’s dead, it’s 95% dead.
- You also are likely to feel getting a new machine. That feeling is so good, isn’t it?
Okay then, now you may wonder what I have ordered. It’s Dell Inspiron 1525 with this brief spec:-
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2330 1.6GHz 1MB L2 Cache (Merom)
- 15.4″ WXGA (1280*800) matte screen [no dead/stuck pixel]
- 1GB DDR2-667 RAM (2*512MB)
- 160GB Hard drive SATA 5400rpm
- 2MPixel webcam
- DVD Burner
- Vista Home Basic
- Recovery DVDs — Windows Setup DVD, Dell Recovery DVD, Driver CD, etc.
All these, I got $407.15 + $19.99 shipping = $427.14 which is not bad at all. It’s less than what I paid for my Eee PC and it is hardly beaten by others with this price point. You know what? After this order, I don’t think I will ever buy brand new laptop again if I choose Dell as a choice. Not only is the price my impression, but also…
(click to see larger images)
- I ordered on Friday, Feb 29, 2008 4:42pm and I got it on Monday, Mar 3, 2008. That’s 3 days including Saturday and Sunday!! I thought NewEgg is quick, but this is astonishing.
- Virtually no scratch–you have to look thoroughly in order to see only a few of them.
- They give every discs they should while some vendors don’t care about this, even with a new purchase.
- It’s fast! after uninstalling bloatwares — Norton Antivirus & Google Desktop; only 2.
You may wonder how it can be fast with 1GB RAM on Vista, I have no idea too. But it seems working as fast as my ThinkPad X61 Tablet with Core 2 duo L7700 1.8GHz with 3GB RAM. Boot time from complete shut down is just around 40s to get login screen and about 30s extra for complete loading. Just so you know, this is the first Dell I ever touch & play in my room I will post more thought of Dell computer in the future though.
In short, if you are going to purchase a new system, don’t overlook this channel. It’s just great as it originally is. The system works flawlessly; there is nothing to worry about. Kudos to Dell for giving us an outlet plus coupon =) I’m truly impressed.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Lenovo ThinkPad X300: back to Premium!
Oh, man! this ThinkPad is so cool. It’s almost no compromise in design with countless features, such as ThinkLight–I really missed it, Roll Cage, Stainless steel display hinges, shock mount HDD, LED backlight, mic, camera, fingerprint, spill resistant keyboard, 802.11n, Bluetooth, Opt. WiMax/WWAN in this small chassis which is also hardware removal/installation friendly.
Battery light is also great as well with
- 4.3 hours with 3-cell battery (3.13lbs)
- 6.5 hours with 6-cell battery (3.32lbs)
- 10 hours with 6+3-cell batteries (3.51lbs)
I have no idea about 6+3-cell batteries how it would be though–thru dock? However, 6.5 is impressive already, you maybe just carry another battery, then you will be all set. What you are sacrifice is faster CPU, instead they choose to pop Intel Core 2 Duo LV 1.2GHz 4MB L2 cache. I prefer longer battery life as always though.
BUT, sadly I couldn’t afford it. With the premium price tag–$2,700. That’s super far beyond my reach. At least, ThinkPad X300 is a dream machine of most people. I wish Thinkpad X200 will be almost the same with HDD and low price tag as X61s or X70 will be out soon.
X300 Brochure leaked via Forum.ThinkPads
X300 take apart via Forum.ThinkPads
update (Feb 26, 2008): After coupon and else, we could actually get this cool ThinkPad around $2,100-2,200. Not bad, not bad at all! (but still couldn’t afford it :-/)
Popularity: 4% [?]
