Tuesday, July 21, 2009
HP Mini 110 Unboxing and First Impressions Video
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:30 AM
This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the HP Mini 110 XP Edition [Affiliate], running Windows XP SP3. This netbook is a second-generation unit, following on the heels of the HP Mini 1000 released in 2008. The HP Mini 110 that I'm looking at features a 1.6 Ghz Atom N270 processor, 1 GB of DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 2 GB), a 160 GB 5400 RPM hard drive, integrated 802.11b/g WiFi (but no Bluetooth), and a 10.1 inch LED Anti-glare (matte) 16:9 aspect-ratio wide-screen at 1024 x 576 resolution, driven by an Intel GMA950 graphics processor.
There's a webcam of unknown resolution (likely VGA), and the finish is "Black Swirl". "White Swirl" and "Pink Swirl" are also available. There is no CD/DVD drive, and the version I'm looking at has a 3 cell battery. Prices start at $329 USD from HP.com.
In terms of how the HP Mini 110 compares to it's predecessor, the Mini 1000, I'd say it's superior in all ways but one: it's a bit thicker at the back. This added thickness is more than offset by the fact that the storage jumps from 80 GB and 4200 RPM up to 160 GB and 5400 RPM. An extra USB port has been added, which is useful for external optical drives that require two USB ports for power. The RAM remains easy to upgrade to 2 GB, and it uses the same CPU and chipset. The particular unit I was sent lacks Bluetooth, but it's an available add-on. And best of all, the HP Mini 110 is available with an HD screen option (1366 x 768).
Additionally, the 6-cell battery will come out the back on the Mini 110, unlike the 6-cell battery on the Mini 1000 that came out the bottom and added a significant amount of thickness to the overall unit. 3-cell batteries are fairly anemic, and while I haven't done any battery tests yet, I suspect I'll see the typical 2 to 3 hour lifespan I've seen on every other netbook with similar hardware. 6-cell batteries should be mandatory on every netbook, and the products should be designed accordingly.
Got questions? Ask away and I'll do my best to answer them.
Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys photography, mobile devices, blogging, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He's still searching for the ultimate netbook.
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