Ultramobile HP Mini-Note starts shipping next week

HP has announced that it will start shipping its ultramobile laptop, the Mini-Note, next week.

The Mini-Note, also known as the HP Compaq 2133, features an 8.9 inch screen, and weighs just 1.3kg.

The lowest price version will cost $499, not quite low enough to put the Mini-Note in direct competition with the Asus Eee PC.

Like the Asus Eee, the Mini-Note features Wi-Fi and USB ports, and is available running Linux or Windows.

Unlike the Asus Eee PC, which uses an Intel Centrino chip, the Mini-Note uses a microprocessor from Taiwan-based Via Technologies. At 1.6GHz, it is powerful enough to run Windows Vista.

Additional mature features include an aluminium case, a shock-resistant hard-drive (available in 120G-byte or 160G-byte sizes), and a spill proof keyboard.

With the standard 3-cell battery, battery life is approximately 2 hours. This can be doubled by installing the optional 6-cell battery.

Via will be delighted to have been chosen by HP as it had been struggling to win orders from the top PC makers because of strong competition from Intel.

The announcement that HP has chosen Via is especially significant considering that Intel is due to release a low-cost Atom chip designed for ultramobile laptops in the third quarter of this year.