Functions of hp 2133 computer keys. Communication capabilities and interfaces
If you're desperate to find a productive and compact laptop under $1,000, then HP's new ultraportable Mini-Note 2133 will be your savior. This incredibly compact subnotebook has a stunning 8.9-inch (22.6 centimeter) screen, a nearly standard keyboard, a traditional hard drive, and some pretty remarkable specs. Is this “mobile fighter” good enough? Let's take a closer look at it and find out.
Construction and design
The HP 2133 Mini-Note has a great design - a solid body and an attractive appearance. The brushed aluminum and very durable plastics do a good job of hiding fingerprints and keeping the laptop's weight down to just 2.86 pounds (1,300 grams) in the starting configuration. Thanks to some charm and fairly good equipment, the HP 2133 may be of interest to business class consumers, but still, it is primarily aimed at young people. One look at the Mini-Note and this becomes obvious. Who wouldn't want to come to class with an inexpensive sublaptop that also has an almost full-size keyboard?
The 8.9-inch WXGA display is excellent and easy to read. However, due to the protective coating, it sometimes casts glare. Nothing about this laptop feels cheap, and the wide variety of ports further expand its capabilities. Mini-Note, depending on the modification, is equipped with hard drives of various capacities, and the VIA C7-M processor with ultra-low supply voltage allows you to significantly increase the time battery life laptop.
As mentioned earlier, the keyboard is slightly short of standard size. It's 92% the size of a full-size QWERTY keyboard, which is quite impressive for such a small form factor. Compared to the Asus Eee PC, it is much more comfortable to type on. However, the touchpad can be awkward, especially the placement of the buttons that simulate left and right clicks on a mouse.
As you can see in the photo below, the power and wireless indicators are very neat. They light up blue when turned on, and change color to orange when turned off.
Display
Compared to screens on other subnotebooks in the sub-$1,000 price range, the screen on the HP 2133 Mini-Note is outstanding. Most laptops (regardless of size or price) would benefit from a screen like this. Contrast is excellent, backlighting is smooth across the entire surface without any blurring at the edges, colors are deep and clear, and viewing angles are relatively good. Moreover, the 1280x768 resolution is exceptional considering the small size of this laptop. The text is a little smaller than most users would prefer, but this is a minor inconvenience when you consider the fact that the entire web page can be displayed on the screen, i.e. exactly as it was intended for her.
The only point regarding the Mini-Note screen that raised concerns was the use of an additional protective layer of glossy plastic on the screen. While this layer of plastic helps protect the display, it does cause an unfortunate by-effect– significant reflection. This isn't a traditional glossy screen, it's a screen with a separate glossy layer overlaid on it. When viewing an image, the eye automatically moves from the image on the screen to what is reflected on the glossy surface of the second layer above the screen. Since these images are on slightly different focal planes, viewing images on this screen can easily produce headache and excessive eye strain.
Performance and Benchmarks
When you're impressed by the design and design of the HP 2133 Mini-Note, you expect equally impressive performance from this tiny titanium. Unfortunately, performance is the only area where the Mini-Note falls short. The announced VIA C7-M 1.6 GHz processor should provide excellent speed for general computing tasks. In reality, web pages render slower than expected, and when multitasking, everything is painfully slow. So, most processor-intensive applications, such as Photoshop, or video encoding programs, simply “didn’t like” the VIA processor.Battery
Overall, the HP 2133 Mini-Note has done a solid job in the area of power management. By connecting to a wireless network and browsing the web in "balanced mode" power and 50 percent display brightness, you can get 2 hours and 15 minutes of battery life with a standard 3-cell battery. With a 6-cell battery with extended service life, using the same settings, you can achieve an indicator of 4 hours 11 minutes of battery life. As a result, with an increased capacity battery, the Mini-Note becomes an excellent mobile companion. The only possible negative point in using a high-capacity battery is that it has larger size and protrudes from the bottom of the laptop, increasing both its weight and size. However, there is also a positive side to this – a comfortable ergonomic angle when typing on the keyboard.
Widget from SocialMart
Conclusion
The HP 2133 Mini-Note is one of the most impressive mini-notebooks ever made. Unfortunately, the positive impression of the amazing design and serious range of functions is spoiled by the underpowered processor and the price, which puts this mini-notebook on par with superior 12-inch models such as the HP TX2000.HP managed to create the only expressive ultraportable laptop on the market... and then decided to equip it with a weak processor. Despite the low performance of the HP 2133 Mini-Note processor, it is a pretty good solution that could be perfect for students, university teachers or businessmen. In the event that HP decides to replace VIA processors with new processors Intel Atom or alternative processors from Intel, Mini-Note will become the undisputed champion in the subnotebook market.
Advantages:
- The most attractive mini-laptop with 8.9 inches (22.6 centimeters) screen- Excellent construction quality
- Almost full-size keyboard
- Availability of ExpressCard slot
Flaws:
- Insufficiently powerful VIA processor- Windows Vista may be too much for the VIA processor and video card
- Strange placement of touchpad buttons
- The screen is too reflective due to the second glossy protective layer
- The aluminum and plastic body gets too hot
- Overcharge
After the first glance at the HP Mini laptop, one is tempted to call it a netbook, by analogy with the Asus 3E. However, representatives of the developer specifically emphasized that the term “netbook” has already been patented, and the correct name for the device is a mini-laptop. This is also indicated by the logo located above the screen. This does not change the essence of the matter. The device turned out to be very light and compact. It is almost half the size of my Asus S5200N subnotebook, which also cannot be classified as a giant.
Positioning
Initially, HP Mini was positioned as a laptop for students, but later the company revised the target audience and significantly expanded it. In practice, the result was a device intermediate between a desktop PC (or a powerful laptop) and a communicator (smartphone, Internet tablet). HP Mini is capable of completely replacing a standard-sized laptop when working remotely (from a power outlet) and, in my opinion, is an ideal device for a journalist, student or designer. The idea of using HP Mini in my design work was inspired by my neighbor, who often has to demonstrate his work in the customer’s office. His first reaction to this device was the question: where can I buy this miracle and how much does it cost? The easiest way to find answers to both of these questions is on the Internet, since the price of a device can vary quite a lot depending on the type of device and point of sale. The price on the website (www.price.ru) for HP Mini ranges from 13,900 to 21,400 rubles. Surely you will find other prices for this gadget.
Equipment
The cardboard box in which the mini-laptop arrived for testing contained only the laptop itself, a power cable and brief instructions in Russian. The kit intended for implementation does not include additional components, so the package is the bottleneck of this device.
System features
The HP Mini laptop is built on a VIA C7-M processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz. Possible options are 1.0 GHz or 1.6 GHz. Has 1 GB on board random access memory(option – 512 MB and 2 GB). There is only one slot for a memory stick.
VIA Chrome 9 is used as a video adapter; the case contains a Hitachi HTS542512K9A300 ATA hard drive with a capacity of 120 GB, which is divided into two logical partitions. The main partition of 102 GB contains the system and user data. The second logical partition with a capacity of 9 GB contains information for system recovery. Windows Vista Basic was selected as the operating system, the performance index is 1.7. I can’t say that all applications are fluttering, but I didn’t find any obvious slowdowns or freezes. Naturally, if you don’t load your laptop with high-resolution video, which a desktop computer can’t always cope with. An option that seriously loads the system is opening a couple of dozen windows in the browser or trying to do complex work in Photoshop. It goes without saying that the mini-laptop is not suitable for heavy modern toys, if only because a DVD drive is not included in the package. Therefore, I have defined the following range of tasks for myself: surfing, checking email and ICQ (Skype) during remote events, preparing reviews when working at home. Situational – watching movies before bed. The mini-note copes with these tasks perfectly.
On a personal note, I would add that if this mini-laptop had received a permanent registration from me, then Windows XP would have been immediately installed on it, since, in my purely personal opinion, Windows Vista in the Basic version is purely a “show-off” and an exorbitant expense system resources.
Design, dimensions, controls, build quality
The dimensions of the laptop are 255x165x27 mm, weight - 1.3 kg. With such dimensions and weight, the laptop fits perfectly even in a small bag. The main difference between the HP Mini and Chinese crafts is the high-quality magnesium alloy body, which gives the mini-beech a stylish look. Actually, the body is exactly the feature by which, as the saying goes, they “greet”. When folded, we have a small rectangular metal box with rounded edges. The standard battery also fits into the overall design and does not protrude beyond the perimeter of the case. This is the time to go through the available connectors and expansion ports. On the front edge there are sliders for turning on the laptop and activating wireless networks; next to the power slider there is a hard drive activity indicator.
On the right side there is a connector for Express Card/54 expansion cards, under which there is an adapter for connecting SD memory cards, covered with a plastic plug. A little further there is a USB port and a connector for connecting an RJ-45 network cable. Closer to the end there is an adapter for connecting the power connector, equipped with a small LED indicator. In the very corner there is a slot for installing a security lock.
On the left side there is a VGA connector, a USB port with an additional power connector and two connectors for connecting external headphones and microphone. There is a ventilation grill in the middle part of the right side panel; additional ventilation connectors are located on the bottom of the case.
The assembly is very high quality. All parts fit perfectly, nothing creaks or loosens. The case material protects the laptop from accidental scratches. At least for the month that this laptop accompanied me to all events, there were no traces on the case from communication with other objects in the bag. Accordingly, fingerprints on the laptop body are also not visible. The matte metal surface hides grease marks well, and to remove dust you just need to run your palm over the surface of the lid. Overall, the HP Mini gets an excellent mark for its appearance and can serve as a role model for similar products.
Cooling system
The basis of the cooling system is a metal case, which itself dissipates heat well. Therefore, there are not many ventilation holes - one on the left side edge and two on the bottom panel. During operation, the laptop does not heat up much, at least when watching a movie lasting more than two hours, there was no particular discomfort for the knees, but the laptop was not found. The laptop coped with two hours of viewing even when placed on the soft surface of a sofa. At the same time, there was practically no heat dissipation through the ventilation holes on the bottom edge. However, the laptop did not freeze, did not overheat, and continued to work. So a metal case is not only a stylish, but also a completely functional solution.
Screen and multimedia capabilities
The screen diagonal is 8.9 inches with a resolution of 1024x600. The screen has good viewing angles and high matrix contrast. You can work with the laptop quite comfortably in bright light; in direct sunlight, the screen fades noticeably, but remains quite readable. The screen resolution allows you to watch movies with virtually no black bars around the edges, and good viewing angles do not require careful selection of the location of the laptop when working with it. The quality of the matrix is at a high level, and, to be honest, I did not even expect to find a screen with such characteristics in what is essentially a budget product.
Along the edges of the screen there are stereo speakers that provide fairly high-quality and loud sound. Of course, you can’t expect voluminous bass from a mini-laptop, but for high-quality movie soundtracks, the built-in speaker system quite enough.
The multimedia capabilities of the laptop include the WEB camera, which is located in the upper part above the logo. For a device with advanced network capabilities, the presence of a built-in camera means the ability to make video calls without additional devices.
Keyboard
The keyboard unit is another attractive point of this mini-laptop. Despite the small size of the case, the developers managed to place in it an almost full-fledged keyboard with standard-sized keys. Almost all letter keys and number keys are the same size (17x17 mm), with function keys being smaller. Of course, there is no additional digital block. In the lower right corner there is a block of navigation keys that allow vertical and horizontal scrolling. In the upper right corner of the keyboard there is a Caps Lock indicator.
The keyboard has the ability to adjust the screen brightness and speaker volume. There is a button to completely mute the sound. The keyboard spans the entire width of the case. The touchpad has two buttons on the sides that emulate the right and left mouse buttons. On the right side of the touchpad there is a scroll bar that allows you to quickly move the cursor around the screen. To turn off the Touch Pad, use the button below the space bar. With a little skill, controlling using the Touch Pad does not cause any difficulties; alternatively, you can use any small mouse for control.
The size of the keyboard buttons, the spacing of the keys and their travel allow you to comfortably type large amounts of text, while the only disadvantage of this layout is the small surface area for placing your hands. Again, this is a drawback only for those who are used to resting their hands on a hard surface, since I type text with my hands suspended, this drawback is noted only as purely theoretical.
Networking capabilities
Initially, the HP Mini has a LAN port (100/1000 Mbit) and a Wi-Fi adapter for working with wireless networks. The version of the mini-laptop provided for testing did not have a Bluetooth module. With a wireless access point, there was no need to use a cable connection to connect to the Internet. But the Wi-Fi adapter was used constantly, both at home and during meetings outside the home. Searching for wireless networks and connecting to them is implemented traditionally; for any found access point, you can remember the configuration settings.
To transfer data from your PC to your laptop, you can use a network connection, a traditional flash drive, or the built-in SD card adapter.
Battery life
Full charge The complete battery (3 sections) is reached in two hours, while in offline mode the laptop lasted about three hours. During testing, the Wi-Fi adapter was turned on, and typing was accompanied by active surfing. System performance was set to the maximum level. The second way of testing was to watch a movie lasting more than two hours. The laptop also coped with it without additional battery recharging. The laptop was constantly used during away (from home) events lasting up to 3-4 hours. At the same time, the maximum operating time in energy saving mode was more than 3 hours. So for me the battery life indicator turned out to be quite acceptable. If you need a longer battery life, then it makes sense to think about an additional, more capacious battery.
Operating experience and impressions
Immediately about what I didn’t like. The most important thing is the very meager delivery package of the test copy. That is, the absence of a branded bag, system recovery disks and similar important things (an external USB drive, for example). And if the absence of a drive can be explained by the desire to reduce the cost of the final device, then the absence of a bag and disks looks quite strange. At least for such a gorgeous-looking gadget. But to be completely honest, I also coped with the lack of a bag completely calmly. The laptop turned out to be so small that it easily fit into my small bag along with the unit charger. I will divide all other impressions into categories (smiley). So:
- Text printing is very good. Comfortable keyboard big buttons with a soft move, minimal time to get used to.
- watching video. Satisfactorily. Video in standard definition plays back without delays; the HP Mini is of little use for watching video in high definition. The low frequency of the processor and graphics core affects it.
- audio playback. Excellent acoustics for this type of device. There is no bass, but no one promised a fairy tale.
- surfing. Quite comfortable. A high-quality screen with good viewing angles, a Wi-Fi interface and the ability to work from anywhere in the apartment.
- gaming capabilities are in their infancy. The laptop is more suitable for casual games, and also for games with simple graphics. Heavy gaming content is clearly not for this device.
To summarize, I would like to once again note the stylish and practical appearance, a good range of communication capabilities and a comfortable keyboard. HP Mini is head and shoulders above the quality of products from Chinese manufacturers. Only an inflated price can prevent it from becoming a bestseller.
We would like to express our gratitude to the company Computers and Peripherals LLC for providing us with a mini-laptop for testing.
Editorial gg brings to your attention the first one on the Ukrainian Internet full review HP 2133 Mini-Note is a premium netbook based on the VIA mobile platform. ASUS Eee PC became the founder of a separate branch of laptops - the so-called netbooks, not very productive, but extremely compact and very inexpensive. IN Lately all manufacturers have released their models designed to compete with the Eee PC. HP Corporation was no exception. Its budget subnotebook HP 2133 looks extremely promising, but can it stand up to the extremely successful MSI Wind PC?
Configuration
Screen: 8.9 inches, 1280x768 pixels, glossy CPU: VIA C7-M 1.2-1.6 GHz (in our copy 1.2 GHz) Graphics adapter: VIA Chrome9 IGP RAM: 1-2 GB (in our copy 1 GB) HDD: 80-160 GB (in our copy 120 GB) Wireless adapters: Broadcom BCM92045 (Wi-Fi b/g) Expansion ports: ExpressCard/54, 2xUSB, VGA, LAN Card reader: SD/MMC Dimensions: 255x165x27 mm Weight: 1.2 kg (with 3-cell battery) operating system: Windows Vista Business The cost of the considered configuration in Ukrainian retail will be about $650.Appearance
As usual, acquaintance begins with the exterior. The HP 2133 does just fine with this, since the outer shell of this subnotebook is entirely made of aluminum. Yes, yes, we were not mistaken - this is not metallized plastic, but aluminum.
Inside, silver plastic is used, but very high quality painted. The keyboard is also silver, but the frame around the screen is black and glossy. Overall, the laptop looks much more expensive than its actual cost.
Involuntary respect is evoked by the attention of Hewlett-Packard engineers and designers to detail. For example, the power and wireless network control buttons are made in the form of nice sliders that are illuminated from the inside.
Everything is intuitive: when the wireless network is on, the slider glows blue; when it’s off, it glows orange. And the Caps Lock indicator is made in the form of the letter A glowing from the inside, located above the keyboard.
Dimensions and weight
The dimensions and weight of the laptop are small, as befits an ultraportable solution. The weight does not exceed 1.5 kg, and its dimensions make it easy to carry even in a small bag. The 65 W power supply is small in size, its weight is 280 grams, and the cable weighs about the same. Thus, the total traveling weight is within 2 kg, which is quite tolerable. For comparison, the weight of a typical 14-inch laptop with power supply and cords is about 3 kg. Out of curiosity, we compared the sizes of the HP 2133 and the 12-inch IBM ThinkPad X30. It turned out that the laptops are almost equal in width, but the HP 2133 is much smaller in thickness and depth.
Connectors and communications
There are not many connectors, but more than enough for an ultraportable laptop. In addition to two USB ports, LAN and a VGA output for an external monitor, the HP 2133 is equipped with an ExpressCard/54 slot. This makes it possible to use, for example, a UMTS modem with it without occupying USB ports.
Keyboard and touchpad
The HP 2133 keyboard is simply great. The keys are large, with a clear press and a fairly short stroke. Personally, I didn’t need to get used to it - I was immediately able to type text at a fairly high speed. In this parameter, HP's budget subnotebook is head and shoulders above MSI Wind. Suffice it to say that the text of this review was written entirely on the HP 2133.
Unfortunately, we tested a sample intended for sale in the UK, so we cannot say anything about the keyboard layout of those samples that will be delivered to Ukraine. Personally, I hope that the HP 2133 will be supplied with an American-style layout - i.e. with a long left Shift and horizontal Enter. But I didn’t like the touchpad at all, unlike the keyboard. It's too widescreen. The keys are located on the sides; you need to get used to this arrangement. In addition, the surface of the touchpad is too smooth, the finger often slips. However, it is quite possible to use it on the road. The touchpad, by the way, is equipped with a shutdown button, which allows you to type text without fear of the cursor jumping caused by accidental touches on the sensitive pad.
Screen
The HP 2133 display, like the keyboard, is definitely one of its strengths. Firstly, the “adult” resolution immediately attracts attention - 1280x768 pixels. Secondly, the screen brightness and contrast are very good. Only the viewing angles let us down, especially the vertical ones, but this is generally typical for laptop matrices. Unfortunately, the top of the screen is covered with a protective layer of plastic, which glares a lot, so it’s unlikely to work outdoors. However, everything is fine in the room.Noise and heat
During operation, the laptop becomes noticeably warm, but not hot. Even on a hot summer day, working with it does not cause any discomfort. But what’s really annoying is the disgustingly buzzing cooler that turns on after the laptop warms up and doesn’t turn off.Performance
The laptop is equipped with a VIA C7-M processor with a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz.
Its performance leaves much to be desired. To test performance, we used the wPrime benchmark, which allows you to measure performance in multi-threaded environments. The HP 2133 Mini-Note completed the task in 239 seconds. For comparison, the Core 2 Duo ULV U7500 (1.06 GHz) performs the same calculations in 94 seconds, and the ancient Pentium IIIm 1.2 GHz in 182.
The benchmark built into Windows Vista (Windows Experience Index) rated the computer's performance at 1.7 points, with the processor being the weak point.
The subjective experience of working in Windows Vista on the HP 2133 is far from pleasant. The system is often thought about even when performing basic operations, from which we can conclude that the VIA C7-M processor and the latest Microsoft operating system “are incompatible things.” The “high” operating speed is partly to blame for the insufficient amount of RAM for Vista. Fortunately, this is easy to fix: the HP website has all the necessary drivers to work with Windows XP. Despite the leisurely nature, the laptop is great for working with office applications, the Internet, mail, etc. Watching videos in 640x480 resolution and listening to music in MP3, OGG and FLAC formats also did not cause any difficulties.
Multimedia
The laptop is equipped with an integrated webcam. The picture it produces is very decent and quite comparable to the results of the webcam built into MSI Wind. Another plus of the laptop is the very loud built-in speakers, which look directly at the user and therefore create a noticeable stereo effect. I liked that even at maximum volume they do not wheeze. Of course, you can’t really listen to music on them (bass, like all laptops, is completely absent), but you can watch a movie without using headphones or external speakers.Battery life
Our HP 2133 Mini-Note was equipped with a 3-cell battery with a capacity of 2600 mAh (28 Wh).
The battery life turned out to be predictably short. The measurements were carried out using our own methodology.
Unlike the MSI WInd, the HP 2133 will be available in several configurations, with many of them coming with larger 5200mAh 6-cell batteries. Accordingly, to get the operating time with a 6-cell battery, the numbers on our graph must be multiplied by 2.
Bottom line
The bottom line is that we have a beautiful, durable and truly portable laptop with an excellent screen, a very comfortable keyboard and good set communication ports. Some may say that these advantages are hidden by low performance, but, in our opinion, the performance of the HP 2133 is more than enough for simple tasks (office, Internet, mail, etc.), especially if you replace the power-hungry Windows Vista with the more unpretentious XP . Low battery life can be cured by choosing a modification with an extended battery. Overall, we think the HP 2133 Mini-Note is worthy of our Editors' Choice award.
In general, it is not very clear what class of devices the HP 2133 Mini-Note belongs to. At first glance, this is a typical netbook: in a folding case, with a small 8.9-inch screen, a “close to full-size” keyboard, a touchpad and a built-in camera. And inside there is only a single-core processor, without discrete video.
But this is only at first glance. The manufacturing company itself clearly hints that this device belongs to the class of small laptops and has all the functionality of its larger counterparts. And the proof of this is the rich finishing materials of the case (the aluminum cover alone is worth it!), 2 GB of RAM (while most analogues have either 1 or 1.5 GB), a large 120 GB hard drive (there are options with speed spindle rotation speeds of 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm), a built-in accelerometer included in the laptop’s shock protection system, as well as a wide selection operating systems: from Linux to Windows XP and Vista. Where have you seen a netbook with Vista?
What is inside?
Hewlett-Packard chose an unusual platform for its netbook: the VIA C7-M processor and the VN896 chipset from the same manufacturer. Due to the rare use of this bundle for truly global products and, as a result, consumer ignorance of the platform, we will dwell on these components in more detail.
The VIA C7 line of CPUs was introduced to the public back in 2005 as a replacement for the outdated generation of VIA C3 processors. The code name of the processor core is the biblical Esther (Esther), common for Taiwanese.
The new core based on the CoolStream architecture has an improved prediction unit, a 16-stage pipeline, support for MMX/SSE/SSE2/SSE3 instructions and an anti-virus NX bit, as well as a full-clock floating-point unit (FPU), 128 KB L1 cache and expanded to 128 KB 32-channel exclusive L2 cache. The number of transistors increased to 26.2 million.
The architecture is said to support multiprocessing (up to 4 processors). This fact gave rise to rumors about the upcoming multi-core version of the C7. As of today, these rumors have not been confirmed, but given that Intel will soon begin shipping dual-core Atoms, we can assume that VIA’s “dual-core” is not far off.
During the development of VIA C7-M processors, special attention was paid to encryption and security issues. Another improvement, first introduced in the VIA C7-M, is TwinTurbo PLL technology, which consists of the use of two phase-locked loops (PLL, phase-lock loop), which in turn allowed VIA to announce the implementation of dynamic adjustment of clock frequency and core voltage processor depending on the load during one clock cycle. This same dynamics made it possible to introduce VIA Enhanced PowerSaver technology, which, according to official statements, provides a reduction in the C7-M’s energy consumption by up to 50% and an operating time of more than five hours from a standard battery.
Thus, VIA C7-M (Esther), which is produced in compliance with the 90-nm process technology, using SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) technology and Low-K dielectrics, turned out to be quite compact and economical. The dimensions of the chip core are only 30 sq. mm. The thermal package of the VIA C7-M with a clock frequency of 2.0 GHz is stated at only 20 W, and the 1.5 GHz version is stated at 12 W. Moreover, the power consumption of the 2.0 GHz chip in standby mode does not exceed 100 mW, and the average power consumption is stated at less than 1 W.
Entire VIA VN896 chipset
... and schematically
As for the motherboard, we have summarized all its capabilities in a table. However, I would like to immediately note that the capabilities of the VIA VN896 are not just sufficient, they are redundant. At least for a netbook. And another interesting feature of the chipset is that in addition to branded processors, it also supports competitive ones from Intel.
| Possibilities | VIA VN896 |
| Supported processors | VIA C7-MIntel Pentium M / Celeron M / Core Solo / Core Duo / Core 2 Duo |
| Hyper-Threading support | Eat |
| FSB | 667/533/400 MHz |
| RAM | DDR2 667 / 533 / 400DDR 400 / 333 |
| USB 2.0 High Speed | USB 2.0 High Speed |
| Maximum RAM | 4 GB |
| PCI Express | 16x, 1x |
| Connection of the north and south bridges | V-Link (533 Mb/s) |
| Graphics core | VIA Chrome9 HC IGP |
| Display support | LCD panel, TV and CRT monitor at the same time |
| Drives | Built-in SATA and PATA controllers, RAID support |
| USB | Up to 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports |
| Net | 10/100 Mbit adapter |
HP 2133 Mini-Note is equipped with processors with clock frequencies from 1.2 to 1.6 GHz. The latter was installed in our copy. In addition to it there is a two-gigabyte RAM module. The VIA Chrome 9 IGP chip is responsible for working with graphics in any of its manifestations, which is capable, albeit not without difficulty, of working even with shaders (by the way, the built-in “atomic” graphics GMA 950 of the Intel Mobile 945GSE chipset cannot do this). True, in order to fully deploy, the VIA Chrome 9 IGP does not have enough of its own memory: it only uses a small piece of RAM (up to 256 MB).
VIA Chrome 9 management driver. Lots of tabs, but no confusion
Together with a sufficiently large hard drive (from 80 to 160 GB), the laptop can cope with graphical interface Windows Vista.
And it copes: Vista comes standard with the netbook. However, our test sample ran under Windows control XP.
Appearance and Usability
Initially, the laptop was created as a small personal computer for schoolchildren and students. Hence the presence of shock protection when dropped, which includes a built-in accelerometer and an extreme parking system for the hard drive's read heads.
HP branded utilities. The latter is responsible for protecting the hard drive.
It seems logical to use an aluminum case, which is also designed to protect the system from shock. True, it does this poorly: the HP 2133 Mini-Note is quite covered in scratches, and even with occasional gentle falls, small but deep dents remain on the lid. It's time for HP to make the aluminum alloy harder.
However, the appearance of the netbook turned out to be so successful (including due to following HP’s corporate style) that it was not positioned as just the first computer for a child. Now it is an ultra-mobile and ultra-portable PC, including for serious business, - an image item.
The back panel is solid, easy access can't access components
The HP 2133 Mini-Note case is somewhat reminiscent of Apple MacBook Air, but naturally looks much thicker. With a standard 8.9-inch matrix, the body is wider: this made it possible to increase the area of the keys and place speakers on both sides of the display.
The latter, by the way, stand out not only aesthetically, but also for their “inhuman” volume. Of course, there’s no bass to speak of here, and even the mid-frequency range is reduced, but the volume is really decent.
In terms of ease of input, the HP Mini-Note PC 2133 is one of the most ergonomic devices. All thanks to the special shape and size of the keys. On a regular laptop, the buttons have a flat or curved shape, while on the Mini-Note, on the contrary, they are concave. This allows you to type text just as accurately as on a standard keyboard with smaller buttons than usual. True, the size itself is only 8% smaller than the standard one.
Another convenience of the keyboard is... the battery. The fact is that it protrudes downwards by several centimeters beyond the plane of the bottom cover, thanks to which the HP 2133 Mini-Note stands on a flat surface at an angle. It looks like the keyboard is on raised back legs. Comfortable.
The touchpad is also good. Its surface area is large, there is vertical scrolling (this is indicated by the vertical stripe on the right). The only thing I didn’t like was the buttons on the touchpad: their presses are not registered. On the other hand, however, they are tight enough to prevent accidental triggering. What caused great surprise was the key located above the touchpad, which disables the touchpad. The fact is that even expensive full-size laptops do not always have it, but here it is a netbook. Nice.
According to many consumers, one of the most basic components of a netbook, if not the main one, is the screen. It is its parameters that either allow you to comfortably work with an image that is small in physical size, or completely turn you away from the device even on the store counter. In our case, we are talking about the first option. The bright, high-contrast 8.9-inch screen allows you to display the same amount of information in width as a regular fifteen-inch matrix (resolution 1024 by 600 pixels). The screen does not occupy the entire panel on which it is located: part is given over to the speakers on the sides and the VGA webcam at the top. I liked the display in operation: in comparison with the Acer netbook, it had to be tilted to a smaller angle for comfortable work.
This is what they look like standard applications on the HP 2133 Mini-Note screen.
The “ON” button resembles a latch and is located on the front panel. Next to it there is a hard drive activity indicator, and on the opposite side there is a similar “latch-switch” for the wireless network module. Here, too, there are some peculiarities: the turn-on and Wi-Fi diodes have a shifted focus and cast light about five centimeters from the laptop. It looks beautiful at night.
Communication capabilities and interfaces
Although the HP 2133 Mini-Note was initially created with inexpensive components, no skimp was made on communication capabilities.
The most relevant for us network adapter gigabit Broadcom NetLink Gigabit Ethernet. To connect via a wireless network, a Broadcom WLAN adapter that works in Wi-Fi networks using 802.11 a/b/g protocols is also useful. There is support Bluetooth interface 2.0.
Another feature that is rarely found among competitors is a connector for working with ExpressCard/54 expansion cards, which makes it possible to use, for example, a GSM or 3G module from a third-party manufacturer.
In addition to all of the above, the laptop does not have such a rich set of expansion connectors: two USB (one on each side), VGA (on the left) and a card reader (on the right) with the ability to work with SD and MMC memory cards.
Objectively
Subjectively, the laptop works quite quickly, without any major complaints. The laptop plays video and music without problems, works with texts and web pages, and even refused to run the old Quake 3. Moreover, unlike the recently tested Acer Aspire One, the netbook quickly coped with the installation of a flash drive (in about 20 seconds) and a Bluetooth module (45 seconds).
In the synthetic PC Mark 05 test, the HP 2133 Mini-Note showed standard results comparable to the “atomic” platform. Naturally, the platform is to blame. The ratings are as follows: overall performance - 966 points, processor test - 969, memory test - 1076, disk subsystem test - 4250. On average, 1.2 times less than the Acer Aspire One. But we must remember that the latter could not fully pass all the tests, that it has worse functionality and, most importantly, subjectively (in real applications) the HP 2133 Mini-Note works two times faster.
I was very surprised by the screen tests (the matrix was made by AUOptronics). It would seem that a budget device should not have a high-quality screen, but that was not the case. The color rendering coefficient dE is 2.97 (ideally up to three). The brightness is low - 128 cd/sq.m. But the contrast was pleasing at 557:1 - a result that is not even available to many desktop monitors.
Scope of delivery and autonomy
The HP 2133 Mini-Note package is simple. In addition to the netbook itself, it contains power cords, a power supply, and a system recovery disk. Unfortunately, there is no cover provided.
The laptop's autonomy is excellent: the battery life in economy mode (when working with a word processor) was 4 hours 17 minutes, and when watching videos it was exactly 3 hours. The manufacturer equipped the battery with a built-in four-section LED charge indicator, also a completely atypical solution for a budget laptop.
Conclusion
HP 2133 Mini-Note is primarily unique in its concept. The machine is distinguished by many solutions that are completely uncharacteristic of full-size laptops in the highest price range. And it is the feeling of quality that will appeal to the vast majority of users. As practice has shown, there is no point in being afraid of VIA’s outlandish platform: in real applications it turns out to be faster than the “atomic” one. True, here we also need to take into account the large amount of RAM. Finally, the HP 2133 Mini-Note is the only netbook that allows up to 4 hours of battery life with a standard battery. So even if the HP 2133 Mini-Note formally belongs to the class of netbooks, its entire design suggests that it is a full-fledged laptop. It's just that the screen is small.
Prices for the HP 2133 Mini-Note range depending on the OS and internal hardware from 13,000 to 23,000 rubles.
Competitors
The main competitor of the HP 2133 Mini-Note is, of course, the Acer Aspire One. This one is notable for its radically different, glamorous appearance and “nuclear platform.” You can read the detailed test.
Another analogue is MSI Wind U90. Technically, it is a complete copy of Acer (same platform, no Bluetooth), but externally it is somewhat different.
The RoverBook U800 looks a little worse compared to this trio. It is made on a weaker AMD CS5536AD platform with a low-power 500 MHz Geode LX800 processor. True, even despite its budget, it has Wi-Fi, a 60 GB hard drive and 512 MB of RAM.
Finally, the third and most serious competitor is the Asus 901. This device is also based on Atom, but features a hybrid memory system (4 GB Flash memory + 16 GB SSD storage), support for Wi-Fi Draft-n and 1.3 - megapixel camera.
© Pavel Moskvin, Test laboratory
Article publication date: December 18, 2008
| Tweet |
Our VKontakte group - join us!
Prompt and exclusive information - in 140 characters! Subscribe to our channel:
Follow @Mobiset
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
comments powered by Disqus
See also:
Posted by: Anton Litvin
I am writing now from my copy (2133). By the way, I’m writing quite quickly! :))
For the last two months, the asshole, it hasn’t loaded - Vista’s explorer.exe crashed (four months without an antivirus), but now they installed XP SP3, and I took a new look at this COMPUTER! =) If under Windows Vista the continuous CPU load was 60-80%, and the cooler did not stop working after five minutes of operation (and holding hot aluminum on your knees is painful!), then with XP the cooler almost does not turn on, and the minimum CPU load is in the resource monitor task manager does not exceed 7-9%.
Previously, the most I did was listen to music and surf the Internet at the same time. OR just leisurely looking through the photos in silence.
Now I work in Photoshop CS3, listen to music and at the same time download something from the Internet without any special slowdowns and am very happy about this opportunity! =)
It's nice when your eyesight allows you to work on a high-resolution 9" monitor. For most people, it's better to stick with standard 1024x600.
All versions have glossy protective plastic “a la Macintosh”, and this sometimes infuriates, especially in the sun, when visibility tends to zero (don’t even look for the cursor). The colors are dull, color rendering is typical for cheap LCDs. But no one demands more in our case, and the clarity and contrast of the display are really at their best.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the device is... aluminum! =) Sanded, non-marking, shiny gray, and black periphery of the glossy screen. It was the appearance that attracted me one day at a shop window, and I forgot about the competitors. Image, gentlemen! Holding it in your hands, opening and closing it, savoring the keys in front of your friends is pleasant both tactilely and psychologically. Large keys receive special attention in reviews for a reason; they are really comfortable! Can't compare with cardboard buttons from Asus. :)
The only thing I would like is to have a button on the right side, and not on the left... But I think all beeches only have it on the left.
The touchpad with scrolling does not work for me - the working area is flattened vertically and looks like a small horizontal strip. Well, figs, I use a folding mouse. :) It's great that there is a button to disable the touchpad and both of its buttons.
The battery... well, not 4 hours, but it always lasts 3.5 from quiet work. By the way, the fact that the battery sticks out (in my case) helps not only to type text, but also to cool the computer brain. It gets in the way in the bag, of course... But it’s convenient to hold a closed beech tree by it. You can’t put it open in your hand as confidently as the same Acer... But if necessary, there are zero problems.
The screen opens to about 120 degrees, which is enough in most cases. Even lying on your belly you can work, but if you put it on your knees you have to move it to the very edge away from you. But the letters are small, and the screen is small...
The last thing I want to say concerns the two USB ports. This is not enough. Beech is partially cut off from the world! :))) The consolation, at least, is that there is already enough good in it so as not to include too much external nonsense. :)
Posted by: HPman
By the way, I had the very, very first EEE - it was better in terms of price-quality ratio. And he was faster too.
Posted by: Goscha
I bought it and used it for less than a month. I DIED - I thought it had gone into sleep mode, nothing. I turned on the power indicator, but the disk activity indicator did not light up and there was silence. It looks like the BIOS has crashed. As it turned out, this is a problem with most laptops in this series. I took it to the service.
Posted by: Dante
and where it is written about the motherboard, then it is possible to replace the processor with a dual-core one?
Posted by: Lektor
Here I am sitting with him. Honestly, I was only upset by the view, the headlights slow down in large locations XD But figs with them, with games, I’m shocked by the beech - it works faster than a computer with applications. I’m VERY pleased, I don’t regret it, the design is super, I don’t like the appearance of the MSI, the Acer is nothing like that, but it’s just not my thing, the Asus doesn’t have very good speakers, but yeah, it has a strange screen, it seems small or something, incomprehensible in general, but when I saw HP I immediately fell in love, I don’t need anything, I’m not interested in laptops at all, let him bigger screen, but you can’t really drag him to work. A solid A in terms of functionality.
Posted by: Evgeniy
"in economy mode 4 hours 17 minutes, when watching videos - 3 hours exactly."
What battery does this come with? 3 or 6 section?
Posted by: vladimir
Is a high-capacity battery manufactured for HP2133?
Posted by: Lanston
Good stuff. I used to think about taking Asus or MSI. Now I don't think...
Posted by: VitalX
Everything would be fine, but the phrase “curved shape” struck me. Where did the author learn Russian?
Memory
RAM size 0.5...2 GB Memory type DDR2 Memory frequency 667 MHz Number of memory slots 1Screen
Screen size 8.89...8.9 " Screen resolution 1024x600 Widescreen yes Touch screen no Multi-touch screen no LED screen backlight no 3D support noVideo
Video adapter type built-in VIA Chrome9 video processor Two video adapters no Video memory type SMAStorage devices
Optical drive No DVD Storage capacity 8...160 GB Hard drive type HDDExpansion slots
ExpressCard slot available Standard ExpressCard ExpressCard/54Memory cards
Flash card reader There is Compact Flash support No Memory Stick support no SD support yes SDHC support no SDXC support no miniSD support no microSD support no microSDHC support no microSDXC support no SmartMedia support no xD-Picture Card support NoWireless connection
Wi-Fi yes Wi-Fi standard 802.11g WiDi support no Bluetooth optional 4G LTE no WiMAX no GPRS support no 3G no EDGE support no HSDPA support noConnection
Built-in network card There is Max. LAN adapter speed 1000 Mbit/s Built-in fax modem No Number of USB 2.0 interfaces 2 USB 3.0 Type-C interface No USB 3.1 Type-C interface no FireWire interface no FireWire 800 interface no eSATA interface no Infrared port (IRDA) no LPT interface no COM port no PS/2 interface no VGA output (D-Sub) yes Mini VGA output no DVI output no HDMI output no micro HDMI output no DisplayPort output no Mini DisplayPort output no TV-in input no TV-out out no Connecting to a docking station no Audio input no Microphone input No Audio/headphone output No Microphone input/headphone output Combo No Audio output digital (S/PDIF) NoNutrition
Operating time 2.1 h Battery type Li-IonInput Devices
Positioning devices Touchpad Keyboard backlight NoSound
Availability of speakers yes Availability of a subwoofer No Microphone presence No Sound adapter chipset Intel High Definition AudioAdditionally
GPS no GLONASS no Webcam yes Fingerprint scanner no TV tuner no Remote control no Kensington Castle no Stylus no Metal body No Shockproof housing No Waterproof housing no Length 255 mm Width 165 mm Thickness 27 mm Weight 1.1 kg Additional Information There are two configurations with screen resolutions of 1280x768 and 1024x600Please check before purchasing specifications and equipment from the seller
