HP Mini 210 Hands-on Video: More Style, More Battery Life, More Cloud

HP’s consumer netbook just got a makeover. We wouldn’t call it extreme, but the 2.7-pound Mini 210 is significantly different both inside and out. Like other new netbooks, this one features Intel’s latest Atom N450 processor, which has two benefits. First, the efficient CPU should help the machine get over 9 hours of battery life. Plus, the N450′s smaller package size allowed HP to create a more unified design, although the six-cell battery dips down a bit.

And this is no ordinary-looking netbook. The Mini 210 is available four colors; the Black Crystal and Silver Crystal designs have cool Imprint patterns, and the Pacific Blue and Sonoma Red are solid colors. HP calls it a 360-degree design because these colors and patterns wrap around the entire system, which looks pretty cool. (Check out the video.)

During our brief hands-on time with a pre-production model, we liked the chiclet-sytle keyboard on the Mini 210, which reminds us of the more business-minded Mini 5102. The touchpad couldn’t be more different, however; the buttons are integrated into the pad. In general we prefer discrete buttons, and we’re not sure this implementation will be good enough to change our mind. Read on for more details and to check out the gallery and hands-on video.

Like the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, HP offers a ton of options to trick out your system, including a full HD display and Broadcom CrystalHD Enhanced Video Accelerator for smoother full-screen video playback on sites like Hulu. Other potential goodies include 3G broadband and GPS. (Only the Dell offers a TV tuner.)

On the software front, HP is emphasizing the cloud and multimedia. HP CloudDrive, powered by ZumoDrive allows users to access documents, photos and music (including iTunes libraries and playlists) online. MediaStream lets users stream content form one PC to another over the Web. You also get QuickSync software (for syncing files between two computers over a local network) and QuickWeb (for instant-on Web surfing, powered by Splashtop).

The Mini 210 starts at $299. Stay tuned for a full review.