HP 2133 Mini Note

We're eagerly waiting to see how the Vista Business version stacks up, when it finally arrives, so we'll post up benchmark results the moment we have them. But, knowing Vista's penchant for crippling low-powered processors and greedily gobbling up memory, we don't expect it to change our opinion.

The 2133's battery life hammers the final nail into the HP Mini Note's magnesium alloy coffin. Sitting idle, with wireless off and the screen set to medium brightness, the three cell battery died one minute shy of the two hour mark.

Turn wireless on, and try using the HP however, and you can expect that to drop to little over an hour. Opt for the 6-cell battery, and stamina will no doubt improve, but its extra capacity will leave it jutting from the 2133's slender rear and add to the weight too.

In conclusion

HP's Mini Note 2133 is a flawed gem. In many regards, it's superb. It looks and feels vastly more expensive than it is and is outstandingly usable for such a tiny laptop. But, while the chassis is excellent, we can't help feeling that HP has comprehensively missed the mark with both the software and hardware. One of the principal attractions of the Eee PC is its supreme user-friendliness; a trait which the 2133 sorely lacks.

Replace the decrepit VIA processor with one of Intel's forthcoming Atom chips or, dare we say it, add a Windows XP version to the lineup and, for many people, the 2133 would have little trouble in deposing the Eee from its pearly white throne. But until the HP can boast battery life and performance ample enough to match its finely honed figure, Asus' Eee will remain our budget laptop of choice.