COMPUTING on th GO
This small notebook PC makes it possible for you to work virtually anywhere
PEE KAY
The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC _ vibrant display, generous keyboard size and attractive form. |
Not long ago, market for ultra-portable notebooks belongs to elite class where price is no objection. The launch of Asus Eee PC has forever changed this idea. This year many players try their best to penetrate this newly emerged market. HP has come early and strong with its HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.
Although designed to compete in this so-called low cost ultra-portable notebook market, the unit doesn't look cheap in any way. Full-anodised brushed aluminum casing with magnesium alloy structure makes this silvery machine look very classy and luxurious, actually. At 1.19kg (for the three-cell battery version), it's also very light, although your feeling might betray you because it's heavier than it looks.
Like other ultra-portable notebooks I've reviewed recently, the unit doesn't come with latches - despite its portable nature. The metal alloy hinges are quite firm, however, and overall, the unit is very well built.
At 27 mm. (at front) x 255 mm. x 165 mm., HP 2133's footprint is only 67 per cent of an A4 page. However, such a compact size doesn't hamper the unit from offering adequate connectivities. Ports, located on the left and the right side, include D-sub video out, two USB 2.0, microphone, headphone, ExpressCard slot, SD card reader, LAN, power connector, and a Kensington lock slot. Power and Wi-Fi switches are on the front. While two USB ports might seem too few compared to other notebooks in this class, I feel that it's adequate.
With such size and weight, it's no doubt that you would carry it everywhere you go. To protect the machine's hard drive while moving, HP employs its 3D DriveGuard technology, a 3D digital accelerometer motion sensor that detects and notifies the system software of any sudden movement and sends a command to temporarily park the hard drive. HP claims that the system helps reduce the risk of data corruption or loss by reducing shock to the hard drive by up to 50 per cent. The first thing you would notice upon opening the HP 2133's cover probably is its keyboard. At 101 by 253mm, the keyboard is only 71 per cent of the size of my Lenovo ThinkPad's. The keys themselves are quite large, however. The keyboard is also spaciously arranged, making it comfortable to use, despite its extraordinary flat surface. Understandably, some functions can only be performed in conjunction with the function key, in order to save space. The tactile experience is great. Without mincing words, the HP 2133's keyboard is much more pleasant to use than that of Asus Eee PC.
It's obvious that a machine this small needs to make compromises. In the case of the HP 2133, the designers choose a large keyboard over sizes of palm rest and touch pad. I found the trade off acceptable, even with Thumb Pad's buttons located on the left and the right side of the pad.
Turning the machine on, I found out that it took almost two minutes to complete the boot process, a tad too long for my liking. Once booted, I'm stunned by the unit's screen display quality. This scratch-resistant 8.9in. WXGA screen produces a very bright and vibrant display. Its reflective nature might be a little bit difficult to work with outdoors or in brightly lit environment. Still, it's hard not to like the unit's display. At its maximum resolution of 1,280 by 768, you wouldn't have a problem reading web sites, provided that you can read small text. (You can adjust both resolution and font sizes to suit your needs, of course.) One thing worth noting, for those with tidiness in mind, is that unlike the rest of the body, the screen area is not smear resistant. In fact it's a smear magnet! Stereo speakers, located left and right of the screen, are of good quality. They produce excellent sound, audible for movie watching and music listening.
Under the hood, HP 2133 is powered by Via C7-M CPU running at 1.6GHz, 2GB 667-DDR2 RAM, and a 160GB 5,400rpm hard disk. For speed test, I run PC Mark 05 three times and averaged the results. All tests are conducted in HP optimised mode, a mode in the middle of performance and battery conservation settings. No changes are made to the machine after Windows Vista is installed. No tray icons are removed. The PC Mark 05 result (average) is 751, a low score by today's standards.
This poor test result could have something to do with the combination of the VIA CPU and Windows Vista. Although such performance would definitely fail the HP 2133 as a contender for graphics-intensive and gaming machines, the unit is more than capable for most daily use - word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, net surfing, and the like.
On to the battery test. Like other notebook battery tests, I simply run MP3 files continuously until the machine shuts itself down. In addition to settings used in PC Mark 05 test, the system is set to "no screen off" and "no sleep". And Wi-Fi is set to "off". The battery used in the test is a three-cell battery. (The high capacity six-cell battery is not available at the time of testing.) The machine shuts itself down after 113 minutes - which is quite a short period of time. Battery life is definitely one of the HP 2133's weak points - unless you opt for the six-cell battery.
Heat dissipation is always one of my major concerns when testing a notebook. In this regards, I feel that the unit's bottom temperature is okay. It's only a bit warmer than that of Asus Eee PC. Temperature on the palm rest is cooler than the bottom.
All in all, combination of display quality (bright and vibrant), workable keyboard (size and tactile quality) and portability makes this machine very attractive to use. It's a pleasure to carry this notebook around.
The unit is also large enough to be placed stably on your lap - making it possible for you to work virtually anywhere.
The only real con, unfortunately, is the price.
Only one version of HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is available in Thailand (see sidebar for specifications), and the price starts from 35,900 baht (exc. VAT).
The unit has been available locally since May 2008, and the six-cell battery should be available by the time you read this.
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