HP Android Netbook

It's too bad that working for HP doesn't give me the opportunity to play with neat toys like this. Yes, I know it has some issues with the form factor (the display doesn't swivel around to make the thing a convertable tablet?), but it would be lots of fun to play with. And of course, they're not releasing it in the US, which tends to be the way that HP goes with non-Microsoft powered devices. This HP-MS buddy buddy thing is kind of annoying at times.

The harsh reality of netbooks and other laptop musings

I spent two posts drooling over the new HP netbook, and contemplating how awesome it would be to have one. Recently, I was at Costco, and I discovered that they had it for sale. After messing around with it in person, I can say that it does have the best keyboard I've ever seen on a netbook (aside from the HP 2133, which has a nearly identical keyboard). While the 2133 has more solid construction, the Mini 1000 has an easier to read display because of the lower resolution. And of course, the Mini has a better processor.

All that's pretty standard; however, after typing on the keyboard for a little bit, it dawned on me that it reminded me of using the Sony Picturebook, which I had back in the day. The formfactor was awesome, and I could carry it everywhere, but it had one fatal flaw: typing on the keyboard for more than an hour was generally a bad idea. My hands hated me after I spent a good part of a day coding on the thing. Since most of the point of having a computer for me is to actually be able to input information, I think I may have come to the realization that although the HP netbooks are cool and have a decent size keyboard, trying to use one will probably only end in pain. So I think that's the end of my netbook dreams.

Of course, now I'm looking at the EliteBook 2530p. But I can get the 2510p much cheaper (like $900) refurbished via HP's employee plan, so that might be a better idea, despite not being quite as neat as the 2530p.

Only vaguely related: In wandering around looking up details on the 2530p and 2510p, I discovered a a page about HP's laptop naming scheme, which would have been really useful when I was choosing what laptop to be provided with for work. As it is, I ended up with an 8510w, which while really fast, has the main problem of being way too heavy. It also has an insane 1920x1200 resolution on a 15" screen, and with my crappy vision, that's just too much. I have to run it at 1440x900 in order to be able to use it.

More HP Netbook news

Because I'm insanely excited that HP is making a computer that I actually want, here's even more coverage. Linux Devices has some impressive pictures of the Linux version, and hints that the Linux one may even have higher specs than the Windows one. Imagine that. Even better, Laptop Mag has a video of the Linux one in action. Apparently, the Linux thing is based on Ubuntu, which is promising. Here's the weird thing: No one on HP's internal Linux mailing list seems to know anything about the Linux software on this thing (or they're not allowed to tell the rest of us), which is really odd. Anyways, hopefully I'll find out more as January approaches.

Mini Note 1000 actually released

HP has released the new Mini Note 1000. It actually looks pretty nice, and has an Intel Atom in there as well as an Intel graphics card, so it should be pretty easy to get running with Linux. They also made it available with a 10" screen, which is a big improvement. Yes, it's still only 1024x600, but that's not all that bad, especially in something that weighs 2 pounds. I'd like to see what reviewers say about its battery life, and how it stacks up against the Dell offering. (Though it probably makes more sense for me to snag the HP one, since I actually get a discount on that. =)

According to a couple of news sources, they will be releasing a version with some HP custom Linux on it. That's pretty cool, but I'd still have to pave it and put Ubuntu on it. Which means that the one that comes with a Windows license might end up being a better deal, especially if the Linux one is only available with low end hardware.

HP Mini Note 1000 leak

Apparently, pictures of the new Mini Note 1000 accidentally ended up on the HP shopping site. I'm still intrigued by the possibilities of getting a nice tiny laptop, and if this one uses the Nano as rumored, it'll make it higher up on my wishlist than the 2133 did. Hopefully it will also have better Linux compatibility, my coworker spent a good amount of time searching and recompiling before he got X working in Ubuntu. (And if I can't run Ubuntu, I don't want it. ;)