The Technicist

HP Mini 1000 - I told you so...

So, lo and behold, what do I happen to find but Laptop Magazine's review of the new HP Mini 1000. My, that was unexpected now, wasn't it...

Anyhow, the full specs:

• 10.2" LED backlit WSVGA (yes, thats right, 1024x600 resolution) screen
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom (like everyone else)
• 1GB RAM limit on XP, 2GB RAM limit on MIE/Ubuntu (more on MIE in a bit, but standard fare here)
• 60GB 4200RPM 1.8" hard drive or 8/16GB of flash - now this is interesting. 1.8" drives are horribly slow, and don't have much storage capacity, but they needed it to be thin and cheap. But so, soooo slow, as if netbooks didn't have enough performance issues to begin with. At this point, I'd be leaning towards the 16GB SSD and an 8GB SD card...
• Black plastic casing, with a patterned back, and apparently the best netbook keyboard ever. Is HP's MiniNote line the ThinkPad of netbooks? Its increasingly looking so, as far as quality and keyboards go.
• Led up to this with the previous point - excellent build quality, even with the plastic casing.
• 3 cell battery at the start, not until January will there be a 6 cell battery. Expect 3 hours of life on the 3 cell, and correspondingly, 6 hours on the 6 cell. Disappointing on the wait time...
• As far as ports go, HP has taken the Apple route and cut things. Theres only two USB ports on here, and VGA out requires an adapter.
• Also - a note on styling. This thing looks FANTASTIC, and is extremely compact dimensionally, especially when compared to the rather chunky EEE 1000H. However, it can't touch the much more expensive <s>Mini MacBook Air</s> EEE S101.
• Starting price is $399, or $379 with MIE, and the Vivenne Tam edition will come in mid December for $699. I'd suggest picking up the aforementioned EEE S101 if you have the insane urge to drop $700 on a netbook. Or a lightly used Sony TX series, really.

MIE - its a proprietary build on top of an Ubuntu codebase. It has some of the features of the Instant On operating systems (like, uhh...instant on?) for quick booting, and runs a GUI similar to that of the TouchSmart OS used in their TouchSmart touchscreen PC. Oh, and unlike the Instant On OS's that many systems now have, MIE is actually a full OS, based on Ubuntu. Sadly, its proprietary, and not open source. Losers.

Now, the real potential dealbreaker here for me, at least, is the 1.8" hard drive (don't they have 5400RPM 1.8" drives already?) and the low amount of flash available (for example, the EEEs have 40GB SSDs as options...), and to an extent, the unavailability of a 6 cell battery for the time being. However, with that said, the styling, build quality, and keyboard are major pluses in favor of the HP. It'll be interesting to see whether HP's gambles work in the marketplace.

HP Mini 1000 - what we know thus far

So, with the Mini 1000, there's not a lot of info that is actually official or concrete, but a lot can be determined through some reasonable hypotheses. So, lets go through the list of what we know, or rather, what we can safely guess.

• 10" screen, very likely LED backlit. Probably WSVGA (1024x600) resolution, potentially WXGA (1280x768) res.
• very likely has the Intel Atom processor and GMA950 graphics chipset of many other netbooks, as opposed to the VIA C7-M of the original Mini-Note 2133
• Flash memory will be available and a hard drive option is very likely, as with the 2133
• Similar keyboard and mouse designs as the 2133, this is both very good (the 2133 keyboard was as good as it got for a netbook) and not so good (the mouse buttons are placed on either side of the touchpad).
• Plastic casing, lighter and slightly thinner than the 2133 (the 2133 had aluminum casing)
• $379-399 starting price, $100 lower than the 2133
• Special "Vivenne Tam" Artist Edition model available in red, coming in December

There is also word (from the leaked portion of a LaptopMag article) that the Mini 1000 is a consumer-centric spinoff model, and that the business oriented 2133 is getting its own update as well. It will presumably keep the aluminum casing and higher resolution screen, albeit at a higher price point than the 1000. No word on specs for the 2133 replacement, but it potentially keeps the VIA architecture and will likely also get a screen size bump to 10".

The embargo is up on the 29th and James Kendrick of JKontheRun says he'll probably be seeing these in person on Tuesday when he goes to the HP offices, so we shall see at that time!

HP Mini 1000 shows up on HPShopping.com

HP's update to their popular MiniNote netbook has shown up on their consumer website, HPShopping.com. Called the Mini 1000, it appears to share a similar design to the older MiniNote, though it is now in a black colour. This likely means that in the move to the consumer side, HP has ditched the aluminum build for glossy black plastic like on the competing Aspire One, Dell Mini, and EEE <insert arcane model number here>. Based on the model number, it would be safe to assume it has a 10" screen, as reported by James and Kevin at jkontherun last month. While the MiniNote used a very high resolution (full WXGA, 1280x768) 8.9" screen, I would assume that the Mini 1000 (too many Minis....) has the same 10.2" 1024x600 (WSVGA) LED backlit screen as the Wind, S10, the EEEs, and whatever else. A starting price of $399 puts it a full $100 cheaper than it used to be, and at the exact price point of the Wind, S10, and EEE 1000H.

Clicking on the photo does not take you to any product page, and simply leaves you at the "Notebook" section, where, interestingly, I discovered that the dv3500 is no longer up for CTO, making Best Buy the only place you can get it for the time being...But I digress. As far as specs on the Mini 1000 go, I would assume they have seen fit to upgrade from the Via C7-M (yea, VIA, remember them? They kinda got lost in the Atom flood...) to the newer Isiah 64bit processors, which were pin compatible with the C7M. However, there were previous rumours that HP would be switching the MiniNote to the superior Atom processors, so that may have happened as well. However, that would make the Mini 1000 very average as far as spec sheets go. But again, this is the best looking netbook on the market today, so HP may not even need a superior, or even just interesting, spec sheet to get attention for their netbook.
Update: as noted below, its extremely likely that the Mini 1000 will feature Intel Atom processors. Last month, HP showed an Artist Edition MiniNote featuring Atom and a 10" screen, slated for availability this December. It seems likely that it will be the Artist Edition version of the Mini 1000.

Interesting detail - it says "starting 2.25lbs and under 1" thin". I figured this was about average for the netbook class, but, looking at the specs for the previous HP MiniNote, the lightest previous configuration was 2.63lbs and the MiniNote was 1.04" thick at its thinnest point. So HP has lightened the Mini up (likely due to the plastic casing as opposed to aluminum), and slimmed it down. How this will affect overall build quality and solidity of the machine remains to be seen.

LaptopMag has posted a hands on video of the Mini 1000, but it won't be available to see until the 29th of October (Wednesday), which is likely when the Mini 1000 is embargoed until (thanks for the slipups, HP and LaptopMag!). However, in the article blurb, you can find this: "At long last, HP has finally released a follow-up (actually, two) to its flagship netbook, the 2133 Mini-Note. The newest model, the Mini 1000 (starting at $379; more on prices below), won't replace t..." Essentially, this says that the Mini 1000 is just a consumer centric update, while the business model will be updated as well, and presumably will keep its aluminum build and its higher price tag. Sadly, no deets on the specs yet. However, there was a pretty good clue given by HP last month when it showed the "Vivienne Tam" Edition MiniNote, which had a 10" screen and an Atom processor inside. It was, at the time, said to be "available in December 2008", which means that its likely just a painted version of the Mini 1000. So, we have our processor! Now to guess the screen resolution, and whether or not it will have a hard drive standard. My bet is WSVGA like everyone else, in the interest of cost savings. The storage is much harder to guess. I think they should start it at 16GB of flash, with a hard drive as a no cost option for those who want it. The much lower starting weight indicates the presence of flash memory as at least an option on the Mini 1000, but its not possible to say how much or at which price point it will be available.

Meta-liveblogging the Apple MacBook event

9:40 - eagerly awaiting the start.

9:59 - Now starting! Can't wait for the new MacBooks.

10:00 - His Jobsness is onstage!

10:01 - "Exciting new notebooks", but first they are going to talk about Macs in general.

10:03 - sold 2.5 million Macs last quarter, record sales, as usual, etc

10:04 - Macs are better than PCs.

10:07 - Tim Cook is being extremely smug about how well Apple is doing - calling Vista a reason Macs are selling better, playing some new mac ads, the whole 9 yards.

10:08 - 17.6% of US retail marketshare. Thats got two qualifiers - US and RETAIL. Apple has insanely productive retail stores, and the US is by far their largest market. Overall computer marketshare is still under 5% worldwide.

10:10 - His Jobsness is back out, and hes going to talk about notebooks.

10:12 - building up to the new Brick manufacturing process by talking about how the current MBP is built.

10:15 - the MacBook Air was built using the Brick method? interesting...So they intentionally held off on explaining it until now.

10:16 -  made from a single piece of aluminum, etc - you get the idea. However, if, like the MB Air, the new MB/MBP don't have a removeable battery, there is going to be a major problem.

10:18 - nVidia 9400M integrated gpu in this thing? We'd better be building up to the MacBook - otherwise there will be problems. Unless this gets paired with something else in the MBP....

10:20 - multi touch glass trackpad, with NO BUTTONS. The button is...the whole pad? This is really sexy, and really ambitious. If they don't pull it off well, the whole laptop is pretty much screwed.

10:22 - Ok, new MacBook Pro! Lets hear it.

10:25 - Backlit keyboard, magnetic latch, the new Brick architecture, multitouch glass keypad, led backlit display, glass covered screen, mini display port.

10:26 - they are handing out the top casing that we saw in the spyshots before, just to show people how light they are.

10:28 - ok, there we go - they are pairing the 9400M integrated gpu with a dedicated 9600M GT. However, its just switchable graphics like the Sony SZ, nothing much new here. For a second, I thought they were going to go hybrid SLI.

10:31 - easy access hard drives from under the battery, mini display port can drive any display (but you'll need adapters...)

10:34 - $1999 - 2.4GHz/2GB/250GB/SuperDrive and $2499 - 2.53GHz/4GB/320GB/SuperDrive. Both models have the 9400M/9600GT combo and 15.4" wxga+ screens.

10:36 - 9400M and Montevina processors, and display port now on the MacBook Air, along with a 128GB ssd option. 1.6 and 1.86GHz cpu speeds.

10:38 - Glass screened 24" Cinema display - $899, has speakers and "everything you need".

10:39 - MacBook gets a $100 price drop and....thats it? No, no its not. They're releasing a "mini MacBook Pro"?

10:40 - So its like a MacBook Pro 13", except its still a MacBook. I'm confused - does this replace the white MacBook, or does it slot over it?

10:41 - 9400M, 5 hours of battery life, minidisplay port, glass trackpad, everything else thats on the new MBP.

10:42 - Ok, it slots over the old MB, at $1299. Base model at 1299 - 2GHz/2GB/160GB/9400M. Up for the $1599 model and you get a 2.4GHz processor, 250GB hard drive and a backlit keyboard.

10:48 - Documentary on the manufacturing process. Boring. However, there are no matte displays in the lineup anymore - this is somewhat disappointing.

10:52 - Close friend after looking at the new MBPs - "I think the MacBook air still looks better." I can't say I disagree - the colour scheme of the new ones are so 2004.

10:53 - His Jobsness' blood pressure - 110/70. I take it that means he isn't actually dead yet.

10:55 - Q and A session with the creators. I'll post the details and such afterwards.

The Completely Redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro

The best shots yet of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro, both to be unveiled during Apple's event next Tuesday, have been leaked onto the web, including the above Apple advertisement/promotional image, which proclaims the completely redesigned MacBook Pro, with a $1799 price tag, a $200 drop from the outgoing model. Based on the full frontal image, we can see the magnetic lid latching system taken from the MacBook and finally removing the unsightly release button from the front of the MBP. We can also see the sloping profile, a la MacBook Air, except this time with a thicker base to accomodate the larger components. Proportionally, it also looks a bit thinner than the MBP, though this may be a visual effect created by the sloping sides.

More shots of the MBP:

 

 

 

Based on these pictures, we can see that the MBP will be, as previously suspected, moving towards the MacBook/MB Air style keyboards with separated keys and such. As far as ports go, it looks like two USBs, MagSafe power adapter (behind the RJ45 and is cut off in the picture), a mini-DVI (...why...? They do have enough space for a full DVI, or an HDMI...), ethernet and telephone ports, audio in, headphone/audio out, ExpressCard, what appears to be the IR port, and a covered up port that looks to be either a full DVI (theres already a mini-dvi though) or an eSATA port. Some have suggested two mouse buttons finally, though I wouldn't hold my breath for it. Two USB ports is almost criminally low for a 15.4" notebook (mine has 5 USB ports...) but we'll see how the gamble pays off for Apple.

So thats the top of the line MacBook Pro, what of the mainstream - and extremely, EXTREMELY popular (especially on the UW campus) - MacBook? Pictures follow:

 

 

Looks to be made in the same visual style as the MBP, now with aluminum build; hopefully this will seriously reduce weight - one of the major failings with the current MacBook is that it weighs 1lb more than every competing 13" notebook. Again, like with the MBP, this has 2 USBs, MagSafe, an ethernet port, mini-DVI, audio in/out, and the IR port, but the MacBook loses the RJ11 (telephone) jack, the ExpressCard (the current MB doesn't have it either), and the covered up port, whatever it may be. Only having 2 USB ports isn't such a big deal for a 13" notebook like the MB, but its still low. Also, it looks like the MacBook will share the same keyboard as the MBP and MB Air, which hopefully means the MacBook will have a backlit keyboard as well.

And not to forget the newest member of the MacBook family, the slim (but no longer the slimmest) MacBook Air. While it will be getting an update, probably to the Centrino 2/Montevina mobile architecture, based on the pictures, it doesn't look like much will be changing on the design front.

 

So those are the latest pics of the new MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. There is a thread on the Notebook Review forums about these pictures, here. The original Chinese website from where these shots were sourced is here, though the translation is next to worthless. 

The Apple Event to unveil these new notebooks is next Tuesday, October 14th, and I will be on hand to liveblog...the liveblogs....(Meta-liveblogging for the win!) and provide my idle musings as the event unfolds.