I’m going to be honest. We haven’t been covering netbooks with very much enthusiasm. Why? Because except for a few, they are all the same components stuck in a boring looking plastic laptop shell. I mean how many more models of the EEE will Asus still release? I have lost track already.
There have been a few netbooks however that stand out such as the S101 or the N10 from Asus. Joining them is the new Mini 1000 from HP. With the base price at $399 you get the standard netbook components inside (1.6Ghz Atom, 8GB SSD, WiFi, 8.9″ screen, VGA webcam); what you don’t get is the boring design. HP has designed what I consider to be the best looking netbook yet. A sleek black case with an imprinted design on the top, glass on the display like the new Macbook and a great keyboard (93% full-size) all in a slim case. If that’s not enough to impress, how about options for built-in HSDPA, 3 and 6 cell batteries, and a 60GB harddrive instead of the SSD? I want one.
There will be three versions available. The standard black one comes with Windows XP, 1Gb of RAM, 8GB SSD and an 8.9″ Screen and is available right now for $399. A new Mobile Internet Edition will be available early next year and will ditch XP in favor of a special build of Ubuntu created by HP and have 2GB of RAM standard.The designer red version which we have seen a while back will be available for $699 in mid-december, complete with all the flowery details 
.
Now lets look at the bad things - the 10″ screen is a $50 option, otherwise you get an 8.9″ screen with a plastic bezel around it. Both screens are also only 1024×600, which will not please fans of higher resolutions. Battery life is around 3 hours which is pretty good for a 3 cell. If you decide to get the SSD model you also get a special slot designed for HP USB drives which extend your storage without adding any bulk. Lets hope these aren’t too overpriced.
For more information you can check out the Press release or look at the Mini 1000 microsite. You might even want to go order one at the HP Store.
October 31st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Have you heard that the compaq division will be releasing a HP Mini 700 that’s the same spec, but a slightly different screen, for a rumoured £100 less?
Dunno if it’s true.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/30/hps-compaq-mini-700-thinks-hes-a-mini-1000-only-better/
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October 31st, 2008 at 7:21 pm
it is the one i want.
buying a specced up compaq mini 700 as soon as they become available in the UK.
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October 31st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I totally agree, this is the best looking netbook to date. HP opted for a wider aspect ratio which was a wise choice imo, since it allows for a bigger keyboard while keeping the overall volume low. Keyboards are very important to the netbook category - if I want to just browse the net or check emails I can use my smartphone…
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November 1st, 2008 at 2:34 am
HP Mini 1000 are not aivailble in Europe til janury 2009
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November 1st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Dynamo -
However, you will be able to buy the identical Compaq Mini 700 in the UK in December, which i guess means european availability too.
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November 2nd, 2008 at 2:25 am
I ordered one late last week when they launched. I was considering the Asus S101 but hadn’t quite convinced myself that the design, size and weight savings were worth the premium, and then the HP Mini 1000 was announced. It took me about 12 minutes of checking it out before I realized that it was very comparable to the S101 but ultimately a lot cheaper. In fact, with an online discount code I was able to get the 10.2″ screen, 16GB SSD model for around $450, which means a total savings of about $250 over the S101. It was a no-brainer. Should get the unit towards the middle of the month and I can’t wait.
FYI when looking to buy this, it’s important to remember that there are some upgrades that are worth the price and some that aren’t. First, I opted for the 16GB SSD because it was $40 extra, which I consider worth it for the extra on-board storage. I opted not to get the $50 upgrade to the 60GB hard drive because so far reviews seem to say that the 4200RPM drive makes it a little sluggish. I’d rather have the SSD for ruggedness and battery life savings anyway. The $50 for the 10.2″ screen seems like a necessity for me, but maybe others can manage with the smaller screen. I didn’t want to regret it later. Upgrades that I passed on were the RAM (I have some lying around that I can probably use, and would prefer to get it up to 2GB if possible with some hacks anyway) and the proprietary USB expansion also seems overpriced. I think the Kingston DataTraveller Mini Slim drives will probably fit and end up costing a lot less, if you really need the compact expansion. Otherwise, any ol’ USB thumbdrive will do the same, and you can probably get 2x or 4x the storage for the same price, if you don’t need it to be so compact. I opted for the Bluetooth just because I didn’t want to bother with a dongle ($25 upgrade) but you could probably save money just getting the included wireless b/g card.
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November 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Yeah the Mini 1000 is sexy as all hell… Personally I think it even trumps the S101 by a margin in aesthetics.
But my friend, you missed the biggest bugbear - you want VGA-out so you don’t have to stare at a 10″ screen all day? Care to shell out USD79 for a special HP adaptor - because you’ll have to. This is the biggest turnoff for me (and the 3-cell at this stage). I love the look of MIE though - an XP or Win7/MIE dualboot would be amazing on this machine.
Nice work HP!
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November 3rd, 2008 at 1:25 am
I was going to order an upgraded HP with XP - but then read the Liliputing review of Windows 7 on the MSI Wind so I just emailed HP to ask whether they expect to offer a version with that OS. I’d like longer battery life but don’t want the addtional weight - a 6 cell is rumored due out in January.
This !@#!! market niche won’t stay still long enough to BUY anything - but it keeps getting better
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