HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC

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The netbook history

Even though the HP Mini 1000 is only a few months old, Hewlett-Packard was actually an early player in the Netbook field. The company's business system side came up with the Mini-Note 2133 in spring 2008, with a solid, brushed-metal chassis and a nearly full-size keyboard. Unfortunately, this predated Intel's Atom CPU, and rather than using the Celeron processor that came with the very first Netbooks, HP went with an underpowered Via C7-M, which pretty much killed any chance it had of becoming a mainstream product. Now that the plastic-clad, Atom-powered consumer version has become a hit

The Asus EEE PC was my first introduction to the new "netbooks". A small, truly portable mini-computer. Many see Asus as the first producer of netbooks, but it was the first with the Netbook. However, we can safely say that Asus really forced the breakthrough in this computers genre . The first copies of Asus excelled not of brute force. The entry level models were equipped with a Intel Celeron processor with a display of only seven inches and a small SSD drive. Moreover, these entry-press with a Linux distribution called Xandros.

Fun to start with, but not special. Especially for the more advanced user Xandros offers few possibilities. Fortunately, soon came the Windows versions on the market. But the major manufacturers like HP and Dell, especially successful in the business market, saw a market as small laptop and soon introduced some models. HP initially stormed the market with the mini-note 2133, with various performances in memory sizes and a VIA C7 processor with clock speeds ranging between 1.0 and 1.6 Ghz.

With the introduction of the Atom platform by Intel, specially suited for these netbooks because of its low power consumption, a new model from HP is not lacking. Because I was a little tired of the sparse Asus model what I had I decided to sell my attention to shift to a model of HP, the 2140. The choice was simple for HP, it's my favorite hardware manufacturer.Small Wonder. Big Possibilities. The ideal companion PC for the highly mobile professional, this fully functional HP Mini comes with all the features to keep you ultra-productive while staying ultra-mobile.

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General impression of the HP mini-note 2140
The HP mini-note 2140 is available in various designs. I chose the least expensive copy because others were only equipped with one gigabyte of additional memory and / or a license for Windows Vista. For my use, the internal memory of 1GB more than enough, and Windows Vista I'm still not broken in, so I was happy that HP still XP licenses with their hardware sales.

Further specifications will not lie about. A 10-inch screen with built in webcam, 160 GM SATA drive, a wireless network on all major speeds and can even connect a gigabit LAN adapter and do not forget the Intel Atom N270 processor. These specifications had not noticed me that the screen also has a 'shiny' layer. This is nothing new, but for me. Very broke, I was not at the opening of the box. I prefer to view the content of the screen than to myself (in reflection). Advantage for this type of screen is that, at full brightness, a crystal clear image.

Since the first model, the mini-note 2133, I was very impressed because of the tight design of the device. Because admit, the view would also of course. The housing looks good but also solid. The metal accents give it a sleek appearance.

Fortunately, HP is not forgetting the device equipped with various connectivity options. Due to limited space, the mini-note two USB 2.0 connections. In principle this should be sufficient. Possibly, this course can be extended using a USB hub or something like that. There is also an SD slot and a ExpressCard/54-slot if there still needs to expand.

I would still be a significant disadvantage. This is the 3-cell battery. This means in practice a spacious two hours, but sometimes that is obviously not enough. Certainly not when the brightness of the screen that takes higher pressure and are, for example Wi-Fi communication is sometimes necessary to slightly more battery power.

HP has the option still a 6-cell battery you over six hours would be, but this course has a price tag of just over 100. Furthermore, the battery is still on my wish list for soon to be acquired.


Because the mini-note is of course somewhat larger than the first generation EEE PC I from the outset, the comparison is to pull the keyboard a little more out. Now I have certainly not 'fat finger' but that of the Asus EEE PC was too small even to me. A welcome progress in this latest generation, though the keyboard of its predecessor, the 2140 even larger.

Because Hewlett-Packard never the cheapest manufacturer of hardware have been avoid the mini-note 2140 is not a relatively significant price tag. The three models are available starting at a suggested retail price. If you have money on this course, you get an excellent netbook in return.

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Features

• Genuine Windows Vista or Windows XP.
  
  • Featuring Genuine Windows for a familiar and intuitive environment.
  
  
  
• Minimized size. Maximized productivity.
  
  • Starting at 2.62 lb/1.19 kg and only 1.05 in/27 mm thin, the HP Mini 2140 is designed to go where you go without weighing you down. Don’t be fooled by its size; this small wonder keeps you ultra-productive.
  
  
  
• See bigger and better.
  
  • With a 10.1-inch diagonal widescreen display in a 16:9 aspect ratio, similar to many newer TVs, you can choose between a standard resolution (1024 x 576) or a high-definition display (1366 x768).
  
  
  
• Cut the cords and stay connected.
  
  • Stay connected where you need to work with integrated Wi-Fi Certified WLAN and optional Bluetooth wireless technologies. Access the Internet, email, IM, or chat—at school, at home or at your favorite hotspots
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• Built to last.
  
  • The simple, refined design and all-aluminum case make it sleek, sturdy and lightweight. Features such as HP DuraKeys, magnesium alloy support structure, and HP 3D DriveGuard make a durable mini-note PC that can go the distance.

Performance

Important is how the device operates in everyday use. Without boring everyone with meaningless benchmarks I can reveal that the mini-note does his work fairly quickly. The available memory, 1 GB is enough for Windows XP Home quick work to do. But it is not what you expect from a netbook. I myself do not see this as a full desktop replacement that you extended your school is doing, whether it is a great task for a netbook given the format.

The Mini 2140’s performance is right in line with that of other Intel Atom N270 machines we’ve tested recently. Futuremark PCMark05 failed to return a result (a problem we’ve had with other Atom netbooks), but the machine’s score of 133 on Cinebench 9.5 and 815 on Cinebench 10 are average for Windows XP-based netbooks. The Mini 2140 needed 27 minutes and 11 seconds to complete our Windows Media Encoder 9 test and 22 minutes and 35 seconds for our iTunes test. Those results are in line with others in its class, but as we’ve said before, they’re glacially slow compared with even bargain-basement traditional notebooks.

The machine could not complete the Futuremark 3DMark06 graphics benchmark, but given the double-digit scores we’ve seen from other netbooks that use the same Intel 945 chipset integrated graphics, we doubt we missed much. The included three-cell battery delivered 2 hours and 13 minutes of runtime on our video-loop test, which is below average compared with other netbooks we’ve tested (some of which, admittedly, came with extended batteries). HP also offers an optional six-cell power pack, effectively doubling the machine’s AC-free abilities. And speaking of options, HP also offers a USB-powered external optical drive that shares the Mini 2140's sleek look, as well as an optional Bluetooth mouse and Bluetooth headset. You can order the Mini 2140 with Windows XP (Pro or Home), FreeDOS, SuSe Linux, or even Vista Business or Home Basic (at which point you would want to upgrade the standard 1GB of RAM to the machine’s maximum of 2GB).

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Conclusion

Plus Points

• Design
• HP Illumi-Lite display
• Windows XP Home license

Downsides

• 3-cell battery
• Quite pricey

As discussed in this review is HP not known for producing cheap hardware. Yet you have the money for a stylish device in the house despite the limited battery fine job. It is a complete device with all the features you would expect from a netbook. An absolute must for anyone who is looking for a decent netbook.