HP’s Mini Note looked the business when we took it out of its box. Then we turned it. Our test unit was running Windows Vista Home Basic (with retail versions of the Mini Note initially shipping with Windows Vista Business), an odd decision due to Vista's heftier system requirements, especially with cheaper version of the Mini Note having only 1GB of RAM. HP have plans to release Windows XP, Linux and Home Basic variants sometime down the track as well as customisation options. Already we were wanting a slightly more powerful XP version, but it still looked the goods in its current guise. The pre-production unit HP gave us came with a VIA C7-M processor running at 1.2GHz. The Mini Note also features an 8.9 WSXGA screen with a resolution of 1280x768, 1GB of DDR2 memory (it supports up to 4GB but you must have a single 4GB module for this) and VIA's Chrome9 HC integrated graphics card with up to 256MB of shared memory. There’s also a rather generous 150GB hard drive installed. A 1.3 megapixel webcam is located above the screen but there is no built-in optical drive, although that’s not a huge surprise. All of this hardware is packed into 1.27kg package including when used with the included 3-cell battery. The battery lasts for a maximum of a little over two hours (2 hours 17 minutes to be exact), which isn’t the best for a sub-notebook. For those needing a batter boost have to option there Mini Note with a 6-cell battery that lasts around five hours. A few benchmark tests proved the performance was adequate for a sub-notebook but nothing earth shattering. First up, in the Windows Vista Experience benchmark the Mini Note scored 1.7 out of 5.9. Not great, but largely because of the VIA C7-M processor. On 3DMark03 the Mini Note managed a score of 315 3DMarks, and scored 500 PCMarks in PCMark05. Not great results by any stretch of the imagination, but the Mini Note was aimed squarely at the user who spends most of their time word processing or using the Internet. The build quality of the Mini Note was rather impressive though. A brushed aluminium theme is used throughout with the only exception being the screen that is surrounded by a glossy black finish. The keyboard is of the same build quality and style that you'd find in other laptops in HP's range with the keys being impressively responsive and coated to give a smooth feel. Interestingly, HP have opted to place the left and right click buttons on either side of the trackpad, rather than the more common location below. There’s a vertical scroll located on the right hand side of the trackpad to save space. The trackpad itself is a bit too small vertically and can be frustrating when used for lengthy periods of time. The connectivity options on the Mini Note are the bare necessities. There’s VGA out, a USB+ port (used to provide additional power to devices via USB and is also compatible with stock standard USB) and mic and headphone inputs. You’ll also find a Kensington lock port, DC in, Ethernet port, USB port, SD card slot and ExpressCard slot. 802.11ab/g wireless and Bluetooth support round out the connectivity. HP have taken a slightly odd route with a well built but pricey sub-notebook justified by quality build and Windows Vista. The market however calls for competitive price more than anything else. Despite the price, we found the Mini Note to be an enjoyable computing experience but would never have picked a VIA processor for it.
