HP Gets More (Net)Bookish with the Mini 1000

The Mini 1000 comes in three flavors, ranging in starting price from $379 to $699, and is available at retailers worldwide starting today, in the standard version, anyway.

When it first introduced the Mini-Note 2133, HP said it was targeted for the education market. It was pretty emphatic that the 2133 was not intended to compete with the Asus Eee PC, the first and defining netbook, in the consumer space.

But the 1000 series is targeted right at that market. Why the change? Why else? While not giving specific sales figures, HP now the sales of the 2133 "exceeded all expectations." Well, duh, there's your reason right there.

The new HP Mini 1000, Mini 1000 MIE (coming in January), and the Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition (coming soon) are very much intended for consumers.

As opposed to the 2133 with its VIA C7 CPU, the Mini 100 line comes with the more netbook-ish Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz CPU.

HP describes them as follows:

• The HP Mini 1000 features a piano-black finish with HP Imprint swirl design is pre-installed with Windows® XP Home, making access to the web, critical files and PC applications easily portable. It includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® wireless capabilities. Versions with 3G capabilities are expected to be available in December.

Configuration choices include screen size – 8.9-inch or 10.2-inch diagonal BrightView display – and solid-state or mechanical hard-drive options.

• The HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition comes in vibrant red with a peony-flower inspired design that reflects the globally acclaimed fashion designer’s Spring 2009 collection. It seeks to satisfy the highly mobile, Internet-centric fashionista and features a 10.2-inch diagonal BrightView display.

Its design was first unveiled on the runway of Tam’s Fall 2009 Fashion Week show in Battery Park in New York, although many on the scene mistook it for a purse rather than the companion PC that it is. Tam labeled it the world’s first “digital clutch.”

The Vivienne Tam Edition companion PC runs Windows XP Home, making the web, critical files and PC applications easily portable. It includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. Versions with 3G capabilities are expected to be available in December.

• The HP Mini 1000 with MIE (Mobile Internet Experience) is a uniquely simple, mobile Internet companion. An HP-developed interface makes it easy to enjoy digital content – videos, photos, music and email – on demand and on the go. MIE comes loaded with instant messaging, email and Skype for online video chat, making it easy to enjoy social-media experiences anywhere consumers are connected.

Applications enabling browsing, email and online video are pre-loaded and run from the MIE dashboard, minimizing startup time. Favorite websites that are added to the dashboard stay live, and the taskbar makes it easy to switch between programs.

The HP Mini 1000 with MIE runs the Linux operating system. It includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities.

So, the 1000 is the base, the Vivienne Tam edition is about bling, and the MIE version has a Linux OS and is sort of like a super-duper Palm Foleo.

While the MIE is Linux-based, HP doesn't want the end user to know that. The HP MediaStyle interface is available on it. HP says it will keep users from ever having to interact with the actual OS.

Carlos Montalvo, vice president of marketing for the Personal Systems Group at HP said:

"It's important we made sure that Linux does not manifest itself to the user."

In other words, most users don't know (and don't want to know) Linux, and we don't want to scare them off.

While $399 is the starting price for the Mini 1000, it should be noted that HP's "recommended" version of that netbook, with more RAM, larger screen, larger HD, etc. comes in at $524.99. So keep that in mind when thinking about this netbook.