DigiTimes is reporting that HP has tapped Inventec to build a 10 inch laptop using an Intel Atom CPU. The report says the PC will sport a 1024 x 576 pixel display which honestly sounds a bit… crazy. HP’s current Mini-Note lineup uses an 8.9 inch, 1280 x 768 display. I’d be surprised if HP decided to build a new laptop with a larger, but lower resolution screen.

While I’m taking the DigiTimes report with a grain of salt, it also says that the new computer will be available with hard drive and solid state disk options. DigiTimes says the PC will be available during the first quarter of 2009, which sounds about right. I’d be surprised if HP didn’t update its Mini-Note lineup by then.

The Computex technology trade show starts on Tuesday, and while there will be over 1700 exhibitors, there are some companies and products that are worth keeping a closer eye on than others.

Asus

Asus will probably introducing a few dozen devices at Computext. OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but over the past few weeks the company has let loose with some limited amount of info about its upcoming Eee PC desktop, two new laptops, and a Wii-mote inspired remote control.

• Eee PC 901 - This will be the first mini-notebook from Asus sporting an Intel Atom CPU. We haven’t seen an official price or list of specs yet, so I suspect that Asus will release those this week. The 901 is rumored to have a price as high as $650, which is a far cry from the mythical $200 laptop the company first promised last year. But you get what you pay for, and in this case that could mean longer battery life and better performance.
• Eee PC 1000 - Asus will also be introducing its first mini-laptop with a 10 inch display. No word on the processor, price, display resolution or release date.
• Eee Box - A few web sites have already gotten their hands on the upcoming Eee Box or EBOX. This desktop computer will likely come in Windows XP and Linux varieties. Both will be tiny by desktop standards and lack an optical disc drive. While it might be tempting to stick one next to your TV and use it as a media center, the noisy fans and relatively slow CPU will limit their utility for home media center use. Plus, you know, that lack of an optical drive. On the plus side, hard drives will range from 80GB to 250GB. There’s no need for solid state memory if your PC is going to be sitting in one place most of the time.

Acer

We’ve heard next to nothing about the Acer Aspire One — the upcoming low-cost laptop from Acer. A few leaked photos hit the web last week, but that’s about all we have to go on. No word on pricing, availability, or specs. Stay tuned.
MSI

The MSI Wind laptop is probably the most exciting subnotebook since the Asus Eee PC. The computer sports an Intel Atom CPU, up to 7 hours of battery life (if you believe the official specs), a full sized keyboard, and a 10 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display. The computer weighs less than 3 pounds, which means it’s a bit heavier than the competition, but still small by today’s notebook standards. And best of all, the Linux model will reportedly cost just $399 while the Windows XP version will sell for $549, making the MSI Wind one of the most affordable computers on the market without sacrificing performance. MSI also plans to release a desktop version of the Wind.

Dell

We’ve known for a while that Dell was going to be entering the low-cost ultraportable market. It’s still not 100% clear whether Dell’s upcoming subnotebook will be available in developed markets or if it’s just meant for distribution in developing nations (think the OLPC XO Laptop). But we do know one thing for certain: It sure looks pretty. Gizmodo’s Brian Lam talked CEO Michael Dell into letting him snap a few photos last week, and the company followed up with a few press shots of its own.

HP

Last we heard, HP doesn’t plan to offer an updated version of the HP 2133 Mini-Note for another 5 months or so. But with the Intel Atom CPU coming out in June and the VIA Nano processor set to launch not long after, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a little something from HP next week. While the Mini-Note has the most attractive screen and keyboard of any existing low-cost subnotebook, the sluggish VIA C7-M CPU really drags down the computer’s performance. If HP can upgrade that chip soon, it should be able to hold its own against Asus, MSI, and Acer in this space.

I’m sure there will be a few other exciting announcements. At the very least, we can be certain that some of the less well known computer makers I’ve been covering for the past few months will be presenting their PCs at Computex. But for now, I’d say Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and MSI are the companies to keep a close eye on. What do you think? What computers and companies are you hoping/expecting to hear more from next week?

Update: As Josh points out in the comments, Dell and HP are not on the exhibitor list. I wouldn’t put it past either company to make an announcement to coincide with Computex. But it’s kind of wishful thinking on my part that HP might announce anything this week. Dell, on the other hand… yeah, that might be wishful thinking too. But it does look like they at least have a prototype, since Michael Dell was carrying one around with him last week.

HP doesn’t ship a case or even a slipcover with the HP 2133 Mini-Note. The computer comes with very little packaging, which I appreciate. But when you open the box, all you’ll find a computer, battery, power cord, and a disc or two. That’s it.

Since the Mini-Note is smaller than most laptops, if you throw it in a typical laptop case it’s going to slide around a bit and it’s more likely to get scuffed up than a 12-15 inch laptop. You might be able to find a case for a portable DVD player that’s the right size. Perhaps you could order a custom slipcover or case if you can find one. Or if you’ve got a crafty streak, or better yet, a spouse with a crafty streak, you could make your own.

My wife runs an Etsy store where she sells curtains, bags, and other knit and sewn items. A while back she had been kind enough to make me a padded case for a digital audio recorder, so I asked her to make me a padded case for my Mini-Note. My computer fits snugly in this case, which I can then throw in a backpack or other bag without worry.

Farrah doesn’t plan to make laptop cases on a regular basis, but you can check out some of her other items at her Etsy store.

Tired of watching Japan get all the cool new gadgets before they’re available in the US and Europe? Well, sometimes we actually get a first crack at new toys in the west. Case in point, the HP Mini-Note has been available in the US for weeks, but it’s just now starting to ship in Japan.

As I reported earlier today, Lee over at the MiniNote User forums has posted a custom version of Ubuntu 8.04 that includes out of the box support for the HP Mini-Note’s WiFI and video hardware. The MinBuntu download link is pretty slow, but after a few hours of waiting (im)patiently, I managed to get a disc image.

But since I don’t have a USB CD-ROM drive, burning it to a disc wasn’t really an option. I was hoping to mount the ISO under Windows XP on my Mini-Note using Virtual CloneDrive and install MinBuntu using Wubi. But while the full version of Ubuntu 8.04 includes Wubi, it looks like it’s missing from this image.

Luckily, there’s one thing that this image does that the standard Ubuntu install disc doesn’t: It installs perfectly using the PendriveLinux method. Basically, all you have to is download the Ub8convert.exe utility from PendriveLinux using a Windows system and follow a few easy steps. When it comes time to copy your ISO, just copy the MinBuntu ISO file into the Ubuntu8 folder and keep following the directions.

When you go to boot your MinBuntu liveUSB the first time, everything should work right out of the box, including the WiFi. But more importantly, you’ll get past the bot screen. A few weeks ago I tried making a liveUSB using a full Ubuntu image, and instead of bringing up a full Linux desktop, I got a screen full of nothing. What you’re supposed to do to prevent this is force Ubuntu to use xvesa, but the PendriveLinux splash screen looks different from the typical Ubuntu 8.04 splash screen, making it harder to choose this option. You can install Ubuntu from within Windows using Wubi. But then you’ll have to configure your wireless and video drivers manually, which is a bit tricky for Linux newbies.

So as of today, I’m going to say that the easiest way to shoehorn Ubuntu 8.04 onto the HP Mini-Note without a CD-ROM drive is to download MinBuntu and follow the PendriveLinux instructions for creating a LiveUSB. If you’re not running Windows, PendriveLinux also has instructions for creating a persistent USB installation (meaning the disk will save your changes), from a liveCD or from Linux.

Installing Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron on an HP Mini-Note is about as easy as downloading the ISO, burning it to a CD and hitting the install button from Windows or booting from the LiveCD. But getting the WiFi, sound, and graphics drivers working properly is another story.

The Asus Eee PC 900 has only been available for a few weeks, but Asus is already planning to launch its next, next generation Eee PC on June 3rd. DigiTimes reports that’s when the company will launch the Eee PC 901, which we caught a first glimpse of just a few days ago.

A few weeks ago I remarked that the HP Mini-Note, like most laptops, gets rather warm when you place it on your lap. In fact, I think the Mini-Note gets hotter than pretty much any other computer I’ve used. Joanna Stern of Laptop Magazine agreed that the Mini-Note at least feels hotter than most laptops. But she decided that her first impression wasn’t good enough and so she went about conducting an actual honest to goodness test, with a thermometer and everything.

Update: Upon closer inspection, this is not a restore disc image. Rather, it’s a disc image that contains the software HP added to SuSE Enterprise Linux for the Mini-Note. Theoretically you could download and install SuSE on your own and then use this disc to restore your system to the state it was in when you bought it. But if you’re not married to SuSE, I’d recommend checking out MinBuntu instead.
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HP has finally posted a disc image you can use to install SuSE Linux on a Mini-Note. That means the Mini-Note support page is starting to look like it should have the day HP released the Mini-note.

Most of the HP Mini-Note reviews and writeups have focused on its performance with Windows Vista or XP. And while I ordered the version running SUSE, I installed Windows XP within a few hours of opening the box. So I never got the chance to compare the out of the box Linux experience on the HP Mini-Note with the out of the box experience you get from an Eee PC. Fortunately, Mini-Note User has posted a video comparing the startup times on each machine.

As is stated in the video, the comparison isn’t really fair. The Eee PC 900 loads a simple user interface in just a few seconds while processes continue to load in the background, while the Mini-Note loads a full desktop environment. But the net effect is that the Eee PC is usable about 20-25 seconds after you hit the power button, while you have to wait up to 90 seconds to get a usable desktop on the Mini-Note running SUSE.

While it’s not clear from this video which Mini-Note we’re looking at, SUSE only comes on the $549 and $499 models, which means this unit has either a 1GHz or a 1.2GHz processor. If it’s the $499 unit, it might also have the 4GB SSD option instead of a hard drive, which would actually speed up the boot a bit.

HP has three new options for anyone who wants to order a pre-configured Mini-Note. The low end machines are pretty much the same, but once you’re willing to spend $729 or more you get the option to “downgrade” from Windows Vista Business to Windows XP Pro. I won’t get into all the specs, but the prices now range from $499 to $819.

A few days ago HP started posting Windows XP drivers and software for the Mini-Note on the company’s web site. But there were a few things missing, most notably the audio driver. Sure, you could configure Windows XP to use the Windows Vista driver with a little tweaking, but it’s not a perfect fit.

You can pick up an HP Mini-Note with a 1.2GHz processor and 120GB hard drive for just $50 more than the 1.0GHZ/4GB SSD version. But if you buy the lower end model and then later decide you want a higher capacity hard drive, it’s pretty easy to upgrade. HP Mini Note PC has step by step instructions, and a few photos showing the upgrade process.

If you’ve been holding out for HP to offer the Mini-Note with Windows XP preinstalled, I’ve got mixed news. The bad news is that HP will not be selling Mini-Notes with XP already loaded. The good news is that starting around May 15th, the company will offer a “downgrade” option that will let anyone who buys one of the Windows Vista Business models ask for as Windows XP installation disc and a driver disc.

In some ways, this is actually better than getting XP preinstalled, because you’ll have an XP disc that you can use to reinstall the operating system if something goes wrong. But it’s a bit funny to see HP selling a computer that has no CD/DVD drive and then throwing in two CDs.

If you don’t want to buy a USB CD-ROM drive, you can follow my instructions for installing XP without an optical disc drive. But I’m guessing that a lot of less tech-savvy customers will decide it’s too much work to install XP and just stick with Vista.

[via MiniNoteUser]

HP has finally gotten around to posting Windows XP drivers and support software on its web site. I know I wasn’t the only person to install XP within hours of unboxing the Mini-Note. But now you don’t have to rummage around to find drivers that work properly.

Honestly, the only problem I’ve noticed is that I get an error sound when booting Windows which I’m pretty sure is just my computer’s way of letting me know that I’m using an audio driver that was designed for Windows Vista, not XP (I already turned off the visual notification box that popped up to tell me this every time my computer booted).

There doesn’t appear to be a Windows XP audio driver on the web site, but I’m wondering if it might be bundled with the VIA chipset drivers of the HP software update tool. I plant to install both of these packages and see what happens, but since I don’t intend to do a clean install of Windows XP right now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell for certain what each package does.

Update: As of 10:26pm on 5/5, HP appears to have pulled the XP drivers down again. But I suspect they’ll be back online soon, perhaps with a working audio driver.

Update 2: And Tuesday morning the XP drivers are back online. I still don’t see anything that says sound, but since I already have a working Vista sound driver installed, I can’t tell if any of the new drivers would have enabled audio. If you’re doing a fresh install of XP, let us know if and when sound starts working when you start installing these applications and drivers.

[via HP 2133 Guide]