HP Mini 2140
It also ditches Vista in favor of the more suitable XP Home and adds a larger screen to the mix. Altogether, this makes it a much more interesting netbook than its predecessor.
Design and Build
With an all-aluminum casing and a highly usable keyboard (92% of full size) HP’s Mini netbooks have been considered a premium alternative, although it's a bit heavier than the average netbook.
Thanks to the large keyboard, the trackpad buttons have been placed on either side of the trackpad instead of below it, which may take some time getting used to. The Mini 2140 feels very solid and durable in its metal casing, but the metal construction does add slightly to the weight – the 2140 weighs in at roughly 3 pounds.
Performance and Features
What made the previous 2133 iteration much less desirable than the competition was partly the choice of VIA CPUs, which are somewhat slower than the Intel Atom, but most of all it was the disastrous decision to sell the netbook with Windows Vista instead of a more lightweight Linux or XP. Due to Vista’s steep hardware requirements and the low-end hardware in the Mini, it felt very slow and dated. Even worse was that Vista actually inflated the cost of the 2133.
All of these issues have been remedied in this the new 10-inch Mini 2140. It’s faster and costs less while retaining the same excellent build quality. Vista has been replaced by an old fashioned but snappier Windows XP. In terms of performance, the 2140 can be compared with other similar netbooks – it’s enough for web browsing, office work and watching videos, which is more or less what netbooks are intended for.
The Mini 2140 has the usual ports plus one – in addition to the 2 USB, Ethernet, line-in/out, VGA, and a memory card reader it also comes with an Express Card slot. This might not be important for most consumers, but adds some versatility for professional users who may use it for 3G modems and other peripherals. Battery life was good with the 6-cell battery, almost 7 hours, which is below the specified 8 hours and 30 minutes but still acceptable.
Conclusion
On the whole, the 2140 is a big step up from the 2133 with no price premium – in other words it offers a lot of value while being one of the best netbooks currently on the market. Highly recommended.
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