INTRODUCING THE HP 2133 MINI-NOTE PC

April 9th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in HP, NOTEBOOK No Comments »

HP Introduces Full-function Mini-notebook PC for Education Market

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To help schools offer affordable computing to every student, HP today introduced a full-function, mini-notebook PC priced starting under $500.

Designed for the education market, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is flexible enough for students to use from the classroom to the family room.

“HP listened to our needs and now is delivering a product designed by education for education,” said Chris Sieger, director of information technology for Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia. “Teachers and technology are the two most important assets in education. HP’s announcement demonstrates that it understands what schools need from industry.”

At slightly more than two and one-half pounds, the HP Mini is smaller and lighter than many math or science books. It includes a suite of wireless,  multimedia and security capabilities to allow students to learn everywhere they go – from class to home, from field trips to vacations.

“Education shouldn’t end at the bell,” said Jeri Callaway, vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group – Americas, HP. “HP believes providing each student with an affordable, creative multimedia tool like the HP Mini will better prepare them to live, learn and work in an information-rich society.”

Business and mobile professionals value the same mobility, usability and cost concerns of the education market. The HP Mini provides mobile professionals a sleek, lightweight device that provides access to information and the ability to collaborate with others as well as to communicate via email, instant messaging or even blogging.

The HP Mini is packed with a combination of features to boost productivity and improve the overall mobile experience, including:

  • Simple, refined design and anodized aluminum shell that is sleek and sturdy yet lightweight;
  • HP DuraKeys, featuring a clear coating applied over the notebook keyboard that protects the finish and printed letters and characters;
  • An HP 3D DriveGuard, which sends a signal to shut down the hard drive upon sudden movement or shock by using a three-axis digital accelerometer chip
    Scratch-resistant display and magnesium hinge bracket
  • A large 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA display, user-friendly full keyboard (QWERTY) and touchpad;
  • Ability to view video, still-image capture, web conferencing or video-enhanced instant messaging with no additional hardware to buy or carry. An optional integrated VGA webcam enables video and still-image capture to allow the addition of photos and video clips to presentations, documents and email;
  • Two battery solutions – three-cell for lightest-weight configurations or optional six-cell for longer battery life;
  • Wireless technologies such as integrated Wi-Fi Certified WLAN and optional Bluetooth™, allowing students to access the Internet as well as communicate via email, IM, chat, VOIP and blogging. The wireless technologies also enable connections at hotspots as well as with Bluetooth devices such as printers, mice and headsets; and
  • Optional Absolute Software’s Computrace allows IT professionals to work with local law enforcement to track and help recover stolen or missing computers, inventory computers district wide and detect changes in hardware and software.

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DETAILED SPECS: 

Operating system
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic 32
Genuine Windows Vista® Business 32
Genuine Windows Vista® Business downgrade to Genuine Windows® XP Professional
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10
FreeDOS
 
Processors available
VIA C7-M ULV processor (1.0 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)
VIA C7-M ULV processor (1.2 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
VIA C7-M ULV processor (1.6 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
 
Memory
 512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
 
Memory slots
 1 SODIMM slot
 
Storage
Hard drive
 120 GB 5400 rpm SATA
160 GB 5400 rpm SATA
120 GB 7200 rpm SATA
160 GB 7200 rpm SATA
4 GB Flash Module
 
Graphics and Input/Output devices
Display size

 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA
 
Graphics
 VIA Chrome 9
 
Integrated camera
 Optional VGA camera
 
Audio, Slots, and Ports
Ports
 Standard:
2 USB 2.0
1 microphone in
1 headphone/line-out
1 external VGA monitor
1 RJ-45
1 AC power

Slots
1 Express Card/54
1 secure digital
 
Audio
 ADI1984HD High Definition CODEC; 24-bit DAC; Integrated stereo speakers; Stereo headphone/line out; Stereo microphone in
 
Communication features
Network interface
 Integrated Broadcom NetLink Gigabit Ethernet PCI Controller (10/100/1000 NIC)
 
Wireless
 Integrated Broadcom 4311AG WiFi Adapter; Integrated Broadcom 4311BG WiFi Adapter; HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology
 
Product specifications
Weight

 2.8 lb (1.27 kg)
 
Dimensions (w x d x h)
 10.04 x 6.5 x 1.05 in (255 x 165 x 27 mm)
 
What’s in the box
Battery
 3-cell (28 WHr) high capacity Lithium-Ion;
6-cell (55 WHr) high capacity Lithium-Ion
 
Power supply
 External 65-watt Smart AC adapter, 6-foot (1.8-meter) power cord included. Total length including external AC adapter is 12 feet (3.66 meter). HP Fast Charge Technology.
 
Manageability
Security management
 Configuration Control Hardware; Memory Change Alert; Ownership Tag; Setup Password; Power-On Password; Kensington Lock Slot
 
Service and Support
Warranty - year(s)

 HP Services includes a one-year standard parts and labor warranty, pick-up or carry-in, and toll-free 7 x 24 hardware technical phone support (depending on model). On-site service and warranty upgrades are also available.
 

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2,000,000 UNITS OF THE HP 2133 UMPC TO BE PRODUCED

February 27th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in NOTEBOOK, UMPC No Comments »

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HP must be very optimistic to place such a big order for their new UMPC, the HP 2133.  According to DigiTimes, the OEMs in Taiwan are predicting that up to 13 million units of sub-notebooks or UMPC will be produced this year.  This is staggering!  Only the price will stop HP from reaching their goals. 

Market insider has revealed that it will be sold at US$630 (RM2,016) which to me is too high for mass market acceptance. 

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FUJITSU ANNOUNCES 500GB NOTEBOOK DRIVE

February 26th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in HARDWARE, NOTEBOOK No Comments »

HOW BIG CAN YOU GO?

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DAILY TECH reported:

“Fujitsu to offer standard height half-terabyte notebook drive.

The capacity war in the hard drive industry is in full force and desktop drives are not the only ones benefiting. Current notebook hard drives are at the 500GB mark with recent launches from Hitachi and Samsung when only about 6 months ago the highest capacity notebook drives weighed in at 250GB.

Today, Fujitsu announced its MHZ2 BT line of notebook drives which includes 400GB and 500GB capacities to compete with the capacity of the front-runners in the notebook drive market.

The MHZ2 BT line features a SATA 3.0 Gb/sec interface and an 8MB buffer. The rotational speed clocks in at 4200RPM which may prove to be a bit slow compared to the 5400RPM, 500GB drives from Hitachi and Samsung. Despite the rotational speed, the average seek time while writing is 14ms while average read seek times clock in at 12ms which is comparable to the competition.

The MHZ2 BT drive dimensions conform to the standard 9.5mm drive height which fits all notebook computers as opposed to the 12.5mm drive height of Hitachi’s 5K500 and E5K500 series drives. The reason for the 3mm of extra height on the Hitachi drives are mainly due to the extra platters required to reach the 500GB capacity, whereas Fujitsu fits three 166GB platters in its drives.

Fujitsu’s MHZ2 BT line of notebook drives shines in the power consumption area as it consumes only 1.8W of power during read/write operations in a SATA 3.0Gb/sec setup, and 0.5W and 0.13W in idle and standby modes respectively.

Fujitsu is aiming for a late May 2008 launch, around the same time-frames as Samsung’s planned launch of its SpinPoint M6 series and pricing has not yet been released. Fujitsu also projects sales of the MXZ2 BT line to hit 20 million units within the 2008 fiscal year.”

I love high capacity drives but at the same time I have a phobia when something goes wrong and I am faced with the huge among of data lost.  But if the data are videos, music, or encyclopedia materials then the loss is not so painful. 

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ASUS EEE PC 4G-X COMES WITH WINDOWS XP

January 26th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in ASUS, NOTEBOOK No Comments »

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The Asus Eee PC is already selling very well with Linux inside.  Now that it is coming with Windows XP pre-installed, it will take it to a new level of sales.  I understand the XP version, 4G-X, will be selling in Japan this week.

The price for the 4G-X is US$468 (RM1,497) against the Linux 4G  of US$399 (RM1,276).

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MACWORLD: APPLE MACBOOK AIR

January 17th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in APPLE, HARDWARE, NOTEBOOK 2 Comments »

We have Nike Air, now get ready for Apple MACBOOK AIR:

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Apple started off the Macworld Expo 2008 with the announcement of the new Apple MacBook Air. The specifications will excite you:

  • It’s ultrathin with .76″ at it’s widest and tapers to a meager .16″ at it’s base.  
  • It weights a mere 3 pounds
  • It has a backlit screen
  • It has a very unique multi-touch trackpad that sports the ability to rotate photos
  • 1.6 or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo,
  • 2 GB ram
  • 80 GB hard drive (or 64 GB SSD). 
  • It only has one USB port
  • It is priced at a reasonable US$1,799 (RM6,116.00). 
  • Ready to ship in 2 weeks.

When it comes to aesthetics we have to give credit to Apple.  They have the knack for matching form and function.  Remember those original ugly looking IBM PCs that we have to swallow until the Mac came along.

If Apple can make the Macbook Air so thin, nothing can stop them from coming out with a better UMPC to fight those Windows versions.

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ASUS EEE NOTEBOOK : 8″ & 8.9″ SCREEN COMING SOON

January 10th, 2008 Mike Hornet Posted in ASUS, NOTEBOOK No Comments »

The Asus Eee notebook must be presently one of the best selling notebooks because of its low price.  But this does not stop Asus from improving on its features.

Asus has informed that they will be rolling out 8 and 8.9 inch Eee notebooks in the 2nd quarter.  See photos below taken from jkmobile:

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 There will be more colours model to choose from and the screen resolution is said to be fixed at 800 x 480.

8.9 inch will look like this:
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