In the US, HP is offering a 'downgrade to Windows XP' option - we presume the word 'downgrade' is only used to keep Microsoft happy, as for all intents and purposes you'll be giving your Mini-Note a new lease of life by switching to Microsoft's older, wiser operating system. In reality, in everyday web browsing, working with Microsoft Office 2007 and playing videos, it’s no slower than a low-end Celeron notebook for the same price. Having read preliminary reports, we were expecting performance under Vista to be simply ludicrous, with Vista’s interface rendered pixel by pixel. Vistaon the Mini-Note is like putting Pavarotti behind the wheel of a two-seat convertible he'll get from A to B, but the extra bloat means he's not the best man for the job.īut that's the thing - it does get from A to B. It’s a huge shame, as while the extra memory and larger six-cell battery of the higher-end UK model does go some way to making up the speed differential, the ‘upgrade’ to Windows Vista is hardly worth paying for.
The UK seems to have been dealt a poor hand with the Mini-Note while US buyers can choose from a number of customised editions, our choice is simply ‘Linux’ or ‘Windows Vista’.įor us Brits, there’s very little reason to opt for the latter the processor is the same paltry 1.2Ghz chip as the Linux version, with no sign of the 1.6Ghz model in the UK. In order to bring the product to market as soon as possible, HP has opted to use VIA’s single-core C7-M processor a processor family as sluggish as it is dated.
It’s simply too exquisite – too adult – to have been built for the classroom. Its looks beg comparison with the Macbook Air, and remind us of the form factor we all hoped for from Apple. It begs to be kept wrapped in microfibre cloth, protected from wayward compasses and pencil sharpeners that may compromise its beauty. The rock-solid build quality means it’s quite a lot heavier than its rivals – not particularly schoolchild friendly - and aesthetically, it’s a far cry from the creaky white plastic Eee PCs gracing the shelves of Toys R Us or the One Laptop Per Child association’s toy-like XO-1. Take the curvaceous magnesium alloy shell, the near full-sized keyboard or the stunning high-resolution glossy screen. The company insists that the Mini-Note has been designed primarily for education, and though we'll accept that as a starting point, we struggle to believe that every design decision was made so that little Eric could do all his homework on the bus and still have room in his bag for his lunch box.
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