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HP Debuts Super Small Sub-$500 Laptop

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 7:49AMBreaking News

HP Reveals ASUS Eee Competitor
The market for cheap sub-notebooks is simply exploding. It all started with the OLPC XO, then Intel jumped in with the Classmate. Soon Asus revealed its critically acclaimed Eee PC, and these low-priced, low-powered (often Linux-running) machines truly started to take the world by storm.

The latest entry into this field is the Hewlett Packard 2133 Mini-Note PC. The Mini-Note starts at $499, for the entry level model with 512 megabytes of RAM, 4-gigabytes of storage, a 1-gigahertz VIA processor, and Linux. At the top of the heap is a $749 model loaded with Vista Business, 2-gigabytes of RAM, and a 1.6 gigahertz VIA processor. The $749 model also comes with a 120-gigabyte hard drive that spins at 7,200 RPM for super fast data access. Many full-sized notebooks only come with 5,400 RPM drives, and most ultra-portables are saddled with a 4,200 RPM drive.

The first batch of reviews are in, and they're all pretty positive. Some complain about the lack of power due to the VIA processor, and the awkwardness of the side-mounted touch pad buttons, but most are blown away by the full-sized keyboard and the 8.9-inch screen that at a resolution of 1280x768 can display a full Web page without any horizontal scrolling, unlike the ASUS Eee.

The Mini-Note sounds like a strong competitor to the Eee and other cheap compact notebooks, but the price does sound a little high. An Eee PC similarly equipped to the lower end Mini-Note costs about $100 less, and for the $749 asking price of the high end model, you could buy a much more powerful laptop, though one not nearly as small.

From Engadget

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OQO's Tiny PC Is First Computer On Sprint's New Wi-Max Network

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 7th 2008 at 11:50AM

OQO Updates Its Tiny PC, Becomes First Device on Sprint's New Wi-Max Network

You may not be familiar with the OQO 02 but the company is making some big announcements today regarding its pre-UMPC UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC). This tiny little device is a getting trio of upgrades that make the miniature Via-powered Windows computer even more lust worthy.

First up is a 64-gigabyte SSD (Solid State Drive). The 64-gig of Flash won't hold your massive collection of illegally downloaded movies, but it will make loading the bloated Vista and other applications dramatically faster. Then the company has fit the diminutive device with a sunlight readable screen, so when it warms up and gets sunny you can take this bad boy to the park and check your e-mail while everyone else does the things you're supposed to do in a park.

Lastly, and certainly not least, the OQO 02 now has Wi-Max, a 4G wireless technology that is just now beginning to see the light of day in the U.S. OQO has partnered with Sprint to make the OQO 02 the first device capable of running on Sprint's Xohm Wi-Max network. Xohm should average download speeds between 2 and 4 megabits per second, more than 2 to 4 times the speed of Sprint's current EVDO network. At speeds like that, streaming high-quality video over the air shouldn't be a problem, and, at last, thank goodness, the difference between access on your home PC and your mobile phone or mobile-broadband-capable computer won't be all that discernable.

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For $12.95 a Month, Zonbu Gives You a PC!

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 19th 2007 at 2:11PM

Zonbu's Small Green PC Costs $99... Kinda
If the previously mentioned Everex available through Wal-Mart isn't green or cheap enough for you, then Zonbu -- a new subscription-based PC service -- may be right up your alley. For about $12.95 a month, Zonbu provides subscribers with the Zonbox, a diminutive little box of a PC that completely embraces the concept of online computing by ditching the traditional internal hard drive for 4-gigabytes of Flash storage. It also leaves behind Windows in favor of a custom-built version of Linux, which tends to be smoother than other operating systems.

According to Zonbu, the Zonbox is also a green computer, thanks to its small size, which uses up half the energy of a light bulb. Zonbu also offers a recycling program should you decide to turn in your computer.

The basic PC runs you only $99 upfront, but you'll also need to sign up for a two-year contract to Zonbu's online storage and support plan, which is $12.95 a month for 25-gigabytes of online storage, or $20 a month for 100-gigabytes (better if you've got a lot of music and movies).

Opting out of the monthly service will bump up the price to of the PC to $249 (for the "Community" box), which is still a good deal cheaper than most PCs. The "community" box lets you install your own programs (unlike the subscription box, which is given access to a bunch of Zonbu-provided programs for word processing, media watching and management, and the like.) The support plan means you'll always be taken care of should there be a problem.

So the ultra-green, ultra compact $99 PC really isn't $99 over the course of two years. But it also isn't much more than a lot of entry-level PCs. If continual tech support, no-hassle program updates, and energy-savings for less than $600 sounds good to you, Zonbu might be for you. Anyone looking for more serious computing power should probably hold off.

From Engadget

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Wal-Mart Sells $300 Earth-Friendly PC

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 19th 2007 at 1:06PM

Wal-Mart's Green Minded $300 PC
Wal-Mart is prepping for the back-to-school season with the Everex IMPACT GC3502 PC, a $298 PC running Vista Home Basic. Now don't get too excited as this computer comes without a monitor and is woefully underpowered for all but the most basic computing tasks. If you just want to read a few web sites, send some email, and maybe do a little word processing, the Everex might not be a bad choice, especially if you just so happen to be a cash strapped college student.

The cheapest PC available through the mega retailer keeps costs down by eschewing the more popular Intel or AMD in favor of the energy efficiency focused VIA C7-D running at 1.5 Gigahertz. And just in case that doesn't mean anything to you, the C7-D is the world's first carbon-neutral processor. Emissions-reducing practices are used during production, and extreme power saving features keep power requirements low during actual usage. Any carbon emissions are offset by VIA's involvement in regional reforestation and alternative energy projects. Another cost saving replacement is the use of Open Office instead of Microsoft's productivity offering. Open Office certainly isn't a Microsoft Office killer, but for word processing and the occasional spread sheet it's hard to go wrong.

Otherwise, this is a fairly complete and standard package for a budget PC. A 80 Gigabyte hard drive, a DVD burner, 1 Gigabyte of RAM, on board audio and video. And of course keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

The low price is made even more impressive considering the absence of "crapware," "bloatware," or "craplets." Whatever you want to call them, these pieces of promotional and trial software are how many manufacturers keep PC costs down by selling "ad space" on your computer's desktop. Recently, however, users have been revolting against the practice. Dell has begun offering de-crapified PCs, and now Everex has proven that computers can still be cheap with out it.

From BetaNews

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