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HP has made its first foray into the low-cost subnotebook market that was kicked off last year by Asus with its Eee PC.
The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, which is being pushed out to the educational market, is slightly heavier and larger than the Eee, but is also more rugged. It sports a "scratch-resistant" 8.9-inch WXGA screen, while the Qwerty keyboard has a special coating to protect the letters from wear.
Also featured is HP's 3D DriveGuard technology, which uses a signal from a three-axis digital accelerometer chip to turn off the hard drive if the laptop is dropped suddenly. The notebook comes in an aluminium shell and weighs 1.27kg.
Talkback
the whole appeal of these mini PCs is price, they were supposed to appeal to budget users.
HP's offering, if you include VAT, works out £350, what's the appeal when you can get a fully featured laptop, with Windows Vista for £300?
The Eee on the other hand costs just £219 and is even better looking! so what is it that HP think will make their machine competitive?
I guess that HP is being careful not to introduce a product that might compete and undecut its mainstram products. Still the HP name will convnice some people to part with their cash despite the cost difference.
The really intersesting thing here is this is a desktop where the default option is Linux - the long-awaited rise of the Linux desktop seems to actually have arrived but in a way that not many people predicted. It didn't come from companies announcing whole sale migrations but rather from this kind of low-end hardware erroding the Microsoft's hold on the market in a kind of death from a thousand cuts.
G'day harpless - couple of points. Firstly, you'd be lucky to pick up the Eee right now for £219 - in fact, you'd be lucky to pick it up at all, thanks to Asus's supply problems. It can currently be found second-hand or on eBay, but the sellers are generally wise to the shortage and are mostly charging way more than it should cost.
Secondly, HP's machine can't be lumped in with those other cheap but fully-featured laptops - it's a heck of a lot smaller than they are, and the price for most subnotebook PCs is still pretty premium. Also, you really want Vista?
"... what's the appeal when you can get a fully featured laptop, with Windows Vista for £300?"
Can I draw your attention to the following article before you start singing the praises of an operating system that's rapidly becoming obsolete: http://tinyurl.com/5tlpyf
I agree with david.
HP doing this being the size they are and with the respect that they have will really make these devices future alot more sound. Obviously people want small laptops like the Eee so it inevitable but the HP laptop will bring a whole new level of build quality that hopefully others will follow.
Also the entry level with Linux will be for the right reasons, HP are such a company that they dont need to offer linux, they can just charge you the extra for a windows liscence and people will buy regardless. Not like Dell who introduced Linux as a way simply to increase profit.
Harpless sometimes i think you should follow the words of Homer, thats Simpson not the Philiosipher. "Never say anything unless your sure everyone else thinks the same" (or near enough)
Hi David, I guess what I am trying to understand is what will give HP the edge here? Clearly it won’t price.
Your first point (availability) might give them an advantage but it’s temporary.
The HP brand is worth a few points but not enough for the £130 difference.
People who choose a laptop on the basis of its small size tend to be up-market consumers, I doubt this is for them since they can afford better machines in the same size range.
My reference to Vista is purely to do with familiarity; the average consumer, for now at least, is more familiar with Windows systems, if given a choice they’re more likely to choose a Windows machine over a Linux machine.
When the new Eee 900 - a better point of comparison for its screen size etc than the Eee 701 - comes out, it will cost around the same as the HP. Maybe a bit less. The price of both will, of course, come down with time, but nonetheless the HP isn't as highly priced as you may think.
Secondly, I'm not ragging on Windows per se (well, not today at least) - it was Vista I was referring to specifically. XP and I still get on fine, all things considering. My personal view is that Linux is almost at the point where it's easier to use than Windows - it really is darn close, and I can testify to this as someone who started using it for the very first time just a month or two ago.
Build quality for one and it looks a lot more stylish than the others which will tempt business users. Can you see sales people and MD's walking around with a XO or Classmate! Didn't think so. They're customers would think they'd just been to Toys R Us.
Also HP aren't new to making small devices, but now they're making it affordable and offering it as a product everybody likes.