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Yugatech reviews the MSI Wind U100 and gives a generally favorable verdict.

If you looked at these specs (including possible upgrades to 2GB RAM and 320GB HDD), they’re very comparable to a lot of entry-level 12.1? to 15.4? laptops from last year. In a way, we can now say that the MSI Wind has a good potential to be a primary laptop (see related story on Intel Atom here). The design is simple yet elegant with a glossy finish on the screen lid so expect it to be a fingerprint-magnet.

Given that the Wind comes with a generous 10-inch screen, it can be considered enough for most to serve as a primary computer. Remember that for in some markets, netbook manufacturers are targeting those whose use would be as a primary computer, rather than as a secondary/portable one. Given the relatively lower prices of netbooks, as compared to, say, a full-featured 14-incher, I would find this reasonable.

When I first got my HP Mini Note, it came pre-loaded with Windows Vista Business. Sure, I like Vista on my other, faster, machines. But on the Mini Note, Vista really crawled. Startup was about 2:30 minutes, and the system was generally lagging in terms of responsiveness.

And so I decided to install Windows XP. I called up HP support to ask if this was possible, and they said they did provide free XP “downgrade” discs, but that they were out of stock at that time. So I just used an old copy of Windows XP Home lying around (which I installed on my old computer which I was no longer using), installed the drivers, and the system was running smoothly. Bootup time was about 50 seconds (up to usable state!), with some tweaks and fixes. And the system was generally more responsive than with the original Vista installation.

I got two discs with the package that the courier dropped off yesterday: the XP install disc, and the driver/application disc.

HP mini note XP discs

I decided to overwrite the existing XP installation, since I thought the new XP install woudl come pre-loaded with the drivers. sure, I don’t like the usual stuff that pre-loaded OSes come with, like Antivirus software, apps, utilities, and the like. But I was in for a surprise to learn that the HP install disc was just the usual Windows XP Service Pack 2 installation. The OEM version didn’t even say “HP” (whereas on my other netbooks, like the EeePC 900, it said “ASUS”).

Installation was quick - at about 45 minutes. I then stuck in the driver/app DVD and installed all the drivers. I was a bit selective with the add-on apps I installed, since I didn’t want some of them, particularly because they just added to bloat (like Norton Antivirus).

One gripe I have is that when Windows Setup formatted the new partiiton for installation, it renamed it as drive D. So now, the Vista restore partition is drive C, while the system drive is drive D.

But overall, the “downgrade” process was painless, and Window XP is very usable on netbooks.

DailyTech reports that Lenovo is set on competing in the netbook market with its upcoming IdeaPad S10. The S10 will come in 10.2 inch widescreen form factor, and will sport the Intel Atom N270, whch runs at 1.6 GHz. According to Lenovo, the S10 will be super-slim. Pricing starts at $399 for the lowest-spec’d model.

The notebook will be sold in two different configurations. The first has 512 MB of memory and an 80 GB hard drive. The second, which likely be priced somewhat higher, ups the memory to 1 GB and features a 160 GB hard drive. No solid state drive options have been announced yet. Both configurations come with Windows XP preinstalled, courtesy of Microsoft’s stay of retirement on XP for ultra-portables.

Lenovo will also release 9-inch versions of the IdeaPad in some markets, and also plans to bundle some models with Linux instead of Windows XP.

Okay, so I didn’t really get to post my observations for the past couple of days. Been busy with a whole lot of things. Let me just list down some points I noticed.

I’ve been playing with the Mini Note’s accelerometer, and I’m pretty much surprised it works as well as it’s supposed to. If you try jerking your Mini note around while turned on, the hard drive LED will turn amber, which means the drive is automatically parked to prevent the heads crashing. I don’t think you need any additional software or drivers for this, but HP’s 3d drive guard driver lets you control whether the accelerometer is on or off.

I do have “drive guard” markings on my B1256, but I can’t figure out how to turn it on, or if it actually exists on my bigger laptop.

Also, I notice that the touchpad isn’t as big as it appears. The surface area is small enough as it is (compared to my EeePC 900’s). But the actual tracking area is even smaller. You have to touch the touchpad about one centimeter from the edges before it detects movement. And I thought it was the whole area! I think I’ve been spoiled by my EeePC’s touchpad, with its size and multi-touch functionality. The EeePC’s touchpad plus the Mini note’s keyboard would definitely make a winer out of any netbook.

I also noticed that you don’t have the option of turning off the bluetooth only or the wifi radio only with a switch or even with software settings. On my B1256, HP gives you the option to switch on or off either WiFI, bluetooth, or both at the same time. This translates to added battery juice when you’re using just one. One could turn BT or WiFi only off in BIOS, but that would be too much of a hassle, having to reboot the computer.

Lastly, I’ve been scouring local retail stores for sleeves that would fit the Mini note, to no avail. HP’s Mini note is one of the more expensive netbooks around and you’d think that they would include carrying accessories. Both my EeePCs came with sleeves. Acer’s Aspire one has a sleeve. The MSI Wind comes with a zip-up sleeve. The Mini note? Nada.

I’ll be returning this review unit soon. Perhaps I’ll get myself my own Mini note one of these days.

So I got to install Windows XP on the HP Mini Note as I wrote I wanted to, yesterday. Installation was a breeze. I had a USB combo drive which I got when I bought my Asus EeePC 701. The installation actually lasted a shorter time than I remember it did on my other computers. It was about an hour or so, including copying of files and actual setup.

I didn’t remove the Windows Vista Home recovery partition, so I can always just revert to default settings before returning the Mini Note. It is, after all, a review unit. That’s unless the next one in line would agree to receive the Mini Note with XP loaded.

As expected, XP is amazingly nimble on this machine. Startup is about 1 minute and 10 seconds. About 1 minute from cold boot to login screen, and another 10 seconds to load startup programs. Vista is, after all, a resource hog. Even with the 2GB RAM, the system has other bottlenecks that Vista simply cannot handle well.

So far, I would say that the HP Mini Note + Windows XP (or perhaps the Suse Linux version) + the 6 cell battery pack = great netbook.

More observations today. I’ve updated Windows Vista with the latest online updates (which include updated drivers for the graphics chipset) and it still seems to boot up slowly. It takes about 2 minutes from power-on to usable state. One minute from cold boot to login screen, and then another minute or so for startup settings and programs to load. I don’t think it’s Vista per se, because my Presario b1200 loads up Vista in under a minute.

On a plus side, though, the Mini note seems to consume very little power when in standby mode. And resume from standby state is also quick–quicker than on my other laptops even. So this could compensate for the long cold boot time. You can just put it to standby, and slip it into your bag (or sleeve, or whatever) and wake it up, for on the go computing.

Still, the system feels sluggish overall. I usually hand the Mini Note over to my wife when she needs to do some quick browsing, and she complains about the speed!

Next task: I’ll be installing a copy of Windows XP, to see if that helps in the speed department. I’ve been reading reports that the Mini Note does very well on XP in terms of bootup time and responsiveness.

I’ll report on the results as soon as I finish the install process.

I picked up HP Philippines’ review 2133 Mini Note unit last Friday and I’ve been trying to explore the ins and outs of this well-hyped netbook. For one, judging from various and mixed reviews online that the Mini Note is slow, I didn’t set my expectations too high. Opinion was that the choice of processor, mated with Windows Vista, made the Mini Note sluggish. Also, the Mini Note heated up to more-than-comfortable levels.

Above: laptops and netbooks stacked for size reference. Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note, HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS

Above: laptops and netbooks rounded up for size reference. Clockwise from left: HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS, Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note

I guess I’ll be reviewing the Mini Note with these assumptions always in mind. After all, perhaps the strongest point of the Mini Note is its durable anodized aluminum housing and its excellent almost-full-sized keyboard.

I guess you can’t win ‘em all.

Here are my observations so far:

• Screen resolution is great. It’s the same as with my regular-sized (12″, if you call that regular-sized) Compaq Presario at 1280×768 pixels. This means you can fit in more, but the pitch is small. The pixels are all packed in the 8.9″ widescreen. First thing I did was increase the DPI setting to 120+ and install a no-squint Firefox extension that increases text and image size by default.
• Keyboard is excellent for typing. While I’ve already grown used to my EeePC 900’s tiny keyboard, the Mini Note’s keyboard is definitely an improvement. I especially like how the right shift key and other non-letter keys are sized just right. With other netbooks, these are positioned and sized differently. Heck even on my Presario B1200 the right shift key is just as big as the letter keys–sometimes I miss the shift key and press the UP button instead. Here on the Mini Note I don’t experience such accidents.
• Touchpad is terribly small. The placement of the clickers is also non-intuitive. I would’ve also preferred if the touchpad were placed smack in the middle of the computer instead of a bit to the left (and center-aligned with respect to the space bar). This is the case in my Presario and even my Asus EeePC. The placement of the clickers requires two-handed operation. I usually click with my left thumb or forefinger instead, which is actually a good way to start learning touchpad use for mouse users.
• It’s large, relative to other netbooks I’ve encountered. While the larger form factor and the heft are forgivable, I can’t seem to understand why HP chose to bundle in a full-sized brick for charging. It’s actually the exact same brick as my Presario B1200’s. So the total weight of the Mini Note + charging brick + AC plug would be about 4 pounds, or approximately as heavy as my 12″ laptop.
• Battery life leaves much to be desired. The Mini note comes with a 3-cell battery pack, which will give you up to 2 hours of life. In contrast, my old Asus EeePC 701 gave me 3.5 hours uptime. My Asus EeePC 900 gives me the same 3.5 hours (which I’m able to extend up to 6 hours with the use of the 701’s battery which I sometimes use as spare. the 6-cell pack can be bought as a separate accessory, but that would add to the (already high) cost, and of course the weight and size of the unit. Note that some netbook models (like the EeePC 901) have battery uptimes of 7-8 hours.

Really, there are lots of ups, and there are lots of downs. And that’s just the first day. Or actually the first few days, as I’ve actually summarized my observations throughout the weekend. Let me post more as I try everyday tasks (and living) with the HP Mini Note.

Liliputing reports that HP may be planning to create an inexpensive version of its 2133 Mini Note ultraportable. Citing an APC interview with an HP executive, it seems HP is having a stab at the lower-end to mid-range netbook market.

“From a retail perspective we’re looking at a similar device (to the 2133) but at a lower cost” said Jerel Chong, HP Australia’s Market Development Manager for Notebook PCs, at today’s launch of HP’s business mobility products for the second half of 2008. “It won’t be as durable but it will be cheaper”.

There is no clear information at this point, though, whether HP will stick with Via or switch to other chipsets, like the recently-introduced Intel Atom. Recall that the current Mini Note has been considered underpowered (even compared to the mobile Celeron-M processors that first-generation EeePCs use). With a new generation of Mini Notes, it is possible that HP will switch to other technologies.

Liliputing reports that Asus has announced two new upcoming models in its EeePC line: the 1000HD and the 904HD.

The Eee PC 1000HD is pretty much just like the Eee PC 1000H, but instead of an Intel Atom CPU, it features an Intel Pentium M Dothan CPU running at 900MHz … you get a 10 inch screen, 80GB hard drive, 1.3MB camera, 6 cell battery, and Pentium processor.

But then Asus goes and names another new model the Eee PC 904HD. And while that model has a 9 inch display and a hard drive, as you’d expect from the name, it features a 900MHz Intel Celeron CPU. I’m so confused!

I am with Liliputing that the “HD” suffix likely means “hard drive” and “Dothan,” which the Pentium-M and Celeron-M. What I’m wondering about is why Asus chose to use The Pentium-M and the Celery (err, celeron) on these models rather than the new Diamondville “Atom” chipsets? Perhaps due to shortage in Atom chip supplies?

Still, with 5-hour marketed battery life, the 904HD and 1000HD seem to be able to use the P-M and Cel-M chipsets quite efficiently.

Yugatech recently published a roundup of 9-inch netbooks that are on retail in the Philippines market. These include the Acer Aspire one, HP Mini Note and the Asus EeePC 900.with the addition of the MSI Wind 10-incher for reference.

According to Yuga, the Acer Aspire one comes out the winner, considering the price factor, with the MSI Wind also a “nice option.” The EeePC and HP Mini Note are lagging here, perhaps particularly because they are already dated models. Asus has reportedly chosen to forego selling the 901 in the Philippine market, but will instead launch the 10-incher 1000 next week.

Yugatech has a similar round-up of 7-inch netbooks here.

(image credit: Yugatech)