![]() If you've never used Linux before, that may make for a daunting first few hours with the 2133. Our test unit came with Novell's Suse Linux 10 pre-installed, but unlike Asus, HP has made zero attempt to customise the installation to make it more accessible to beginners. Both the SKUs have the same core specification, but the Windows Vista version adds a 6-cell battery and makes up for Microsoft's licensing costs with a 50 price hike. In the UK, HP offers the Mini Note 2133 with the choice of Linux, in the form of Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.1, or Windows Vista Business. Wired connectivity is complemented by Bluetooth and 802.11bg Wi-Fi. Look to the right and there's Ethernet, an ExpressCard/54 slot, an SD card reader and another USB port too. Look to its left-hand edge and you'll find USB and VGA ports, along with the usual headphone and microphone sockets. There's no hint of the slightly grainy quality on Asus' panel either, and instead the 2133 provides image quality that is bright and crisply defined.Ĭast your eye around the 2133's frame, and it's rather well appointed with ports and connectors. It shares the same 8.9in diagonal of the Asus Eee PC 900, but where even Asus' premium Eee has to make do with a 1,024 x 600 pixel screen resolution, HP's answer boasts a glossy 1,280 x 768 panel. ![]() The trackpad may be a little disappointing, but the Mini Note's display goes some way towards making amends. ![]() The light, indistinct feel of the buttons doesn't help matters either, though in its favour, HP has wisely included a button to disable the trackpad, to prevent errant thumbs pushing the cursor around whilst typing. The HP's tall buttons are set hard up against the trackpad too, so if you rest a thumb on the leftmost button you'll find that same thumb leaning across the trackpad's bottom corner and occasionally interfering with the cursor. If, like us, you're accustomed to guiding the cursor with a finger, and resting your thumb on the left button, poised to make a quick click, then it can cause problems. It's a change born of necessity, but it takes a little getting used to. ![]() With only a thin strip of chassis left fallow below the fine keyboard, the buttons are forced to either side of the trackpad. If you're one of those for whom the Eee's keyboard was just that bit too small, then the HP boasts the keyboard your fingers have been waiting for. There's not quite the depth of travel that you'd find on larger laptops, or desktop keyboards for that matter, but in a laptop this size, the positive feel and comfy layout is by far the best we've encountered. The 2133's silvery keys stretch right to the edges of its chassis, but apart from the shrunken Function keys and the diddy little cursor cluster, all the alphanumerical keys are, amazingly, full-sized. We've moaned time and time again about the Eee's tiny keyboard, and it seems someone at HP has been listening. Stop trying to physically assault the Mini Note's hardy little frame and you'll find it continues to impress in other key areas. If there's anything to moan about then, it's that the HP's bulletproof frame isn't matched by the slight wobble in the display's chrome-effect hinges, but it's no deal breaker. Similarly, grab the HP's tiny lid between two hands and, barring a tiny bit of give, it's startlingly resilient. We prodded and poked at the lid as hard as we could, but to no effect. There's a little flex in the base if you really tug at it, but the display is incredibly rigid and offers the 8.9in panel plenty of protection. Compare it to the plasticky, slightly creaky frame of the Asus' Eee, and it's in a different league entirely. But, let's be honest, 1.2kg is still far from overweight, and that weight also serves to make the 2133 feel impressively sturdy.
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