HP's Linux sub-notebook spied on web HP's going after the Eee PC with a compact laptop that sports an 8.9in display and more connectivity options than the elfin Asus machine currently offers. So says Engadget, which has posted some pics and a very basic spec. HP Compaq 2133 UMPC? HP's Compaq 2133: like the Eee, only more shiny Image courtesy Engadget The …
Heystoopid, forget the Libretto, this is the Sony Picturebook, all over again.
Original Picturebook:
http://www.ultranote.com/index.php/content/view/11/38/
Final model:
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PCOM/PCG-C1MSX/
they started with a Pentium 166 (IIRC) model somewhere around 1999-2000, and finished with a 933MHz (again, IIRC) Transmeta Crusoe model somewhere around 2003-2004.
The similarly-dimensioned Libretto (and a few other competitors) were copies of the Sony design.
Of course, the Picturebooks tended to cost $2000+, new. I paid £600 for the C1XS model (P2/400) I used for several years, second hand from eBay.
Fantastic system, though. Wonderfully built, incredibly reliable. I wish they'd kept making them, but they now just have the U line of UMPCs and the T line of 10.4"-screened conventional laptops.
Shame it's from a company with such a poor laptop reliability record. I'd also like to know if this statement turns out to be correct:
"Most interestingly, HP reportedly said that "you won't even need to consider this purchase," adding that, "you'll buy it like a handphone without a thought""
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/hp-rumored-to-be-prepping-umpc-lifestyle-accessory/
@Adam Williamson
it's scary how they kill good ideas. hp did a tiny notebook before
the omibook 300
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/personalsystems/0037/
completely original but every new version added weight and features till it was just another crap laptop.
The beauty of the Eee is that it *doesn't* have a hard disc or any other noisy, whirring stuff. Kudos to HP for issuing it with Linux, though, but it will need to be cheap - there are an awful lot of quality ex-corporate lappies looking for homes at reasonable prices these days...
It rather reminds me of those gorgeous but RIDICULOUSLY expensive little Sony Viaos (quite a market for those on eBay if you like small laptops), but as mentioned earlier HOW MUCH? I'd love a little wireless second browser machine for when I don't want to be tied to the desktop, and the Eee is tempting me primarily 'cos it's so darn cheap it's almost an impulse buy! The only thing holding me back really is the teeny screen.
@James:
> The beauty of the Eee is that it *doesn't* have a hard disc or any
> other noisy, whirring stuff.
The Eee does have a fan.
My main problems with the Eee are the screen size, battery life and the presence of the fan. This thing apparently fixes at least one of those.
Shame it's HP though. I've been boycotting them since they refused to let us return a scanner that was physically broken on arrival (i.e. broken off bits of plastic visible in the works) until we had run their diagnostic software, which we had no computer capable of running. We threw the thing in a skip and vowed not to buy anything from them again.
8.9" LCD at 1366x768, ExpressCard, Mini-Firewire? these parts cost quite a bit of money, so I don't expect that this baby will be sold for anything less then 800-1000$. If they'll sell it for $600, I'll buy two!
EEE's selling point is it's price $400 for an ultra small simple PC without parts that costs a lot. If Asus will replace the LCD with an 8.9" LCD at 1366x768, then expect EEE price jump to around $600-700, not less
Definatly not in the same price band as the eee. With the specs to run a full version of Vista on it, this thing is definatly not in the same (or close) pricing as the eee. The Linux version will be cheaper yes, and with the SSD as an option, it seems pretty much that it will be very lucky if its the friendly side of £400. Damn nice though :)
I have a sony tx2, a colleagues has a Sony TZ, and two others have Toshiba R500s which has become our ultraportable of choice. the R500 is definitely the best - the Sonys are light but feel fragile, and the R500 also wins because there's a docking station for it!
paris? because we're talking about skinny lighweights!
Nice work HP, but I have to wonder why so much of the upper lid is wasted. You could have sealed my purchase by using for a larger screen..
FWIW, I'm still using an old Sony NV505VE, with a 10.5in diagonal and 13/16in height. The form factor is idea, and the weight is also under 3lbs. Had to replace the battery of course, and install Ubuntu to work with only 200MB RAM, but other than that, and the speed (333MHz), it works for everything a road warrior needs.
I will say that even at 2.8lbs it was difficult to carry through India due only to the external power adapter. I've never needed speakers, CD/DVD, or any peripherials other than the VGA port, 802.11, ethernet, and Bluetooth (pccards).
I'll continue to wait for that sweet spot in the sublaptop market, with a 10in screen and <3lb weight since I know it'll be here in the next year or two. If not from ASUS or HP then possibly Casio or Sony.
In the late 90s people would be considered a complete nutcase if they as much as ask for websites to be accessible in browsers other than IE.
Even well into this century it was hard to obtain hardware specifications to produce alternative software even for servers.
Workstations have posed problems until quite recently, with support for non-MS software only on selected sub-standard models.
Now vendors are starting to announce brand new models available with a non-MS OS without reservation even for "exotic" hardware like built-in webcams. And it's not just low-end junk any more either.
Is MS loosing it, or is it market-regulation finally working?
Not so much evolution as Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot I think.
The sudden arrival of low cost low spec machines that do most if not all of what the casual computer user wants are being supplied with Linux because XP is on the way out, and Vista has too high a set of specifications to run anything near the level that any rational person would expect on these. Microsoft must be furious. (hehe)
Come June, Microsoft will have to think very carefully. Do they..
A) Discontinue as planned and hope people buy lots of nice powerful systems that will run Vista?
B) Keep XP, as they need a low end OS for the low end systems that do all people really want. Not because they dare not risk Linux getting a foothold, but "because they have been listening to their customers and want to give them the opportunity to use a high quality operating system and associated software"...
C) Release "XP ultra mobile" for the ultra portable and low cost market with some means of keeping it from infecting the Vista market by hobbling it on more powerful machines, or removing services that would make it an attractive option for all us Vista don't wannabes.
Personally, my money is on B, but I'm hoping for A. Anything that gets Linux on more desktops is good in my books. If only the makers of these computers could have waited another six months.
Hmmm, I can remember - way back - having a secondhand Libretto 30 with Jap Keyboard & a mere 20MB of RAM, wouldn't run with WinME, had to use W98. It was a slow, but useful, travelling companion. It was a place to store my digi-pix with a back-up to an external "Viagra" Disk.
I just wish that ""reghardware.co.uk"" used **DECENT** sized fonts - I'm ancient & am appalled at the huge difference in font size here compared with other sections of this e'Zine. Why do we have to strain our eyes when {say} this column takes up less than **50%** of my screen's display area !!!!
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