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"I have played with the Iphone, kinda cool but I dont like Itunes and I want a card slot, I own an older IQue 3600, still works, and an HTC Mogul, good but needs the rest of the drivers. I would love to get a hands on thi..."
-- don on Video Of Garmin Nuvifone In Action
Every second you sit there waiting for your laptop to boot is another moment you’ll wish you had back when you’re lying on your deathbed and your life is flashing before your eyes. So we were wondering: how many seconds of your life will you wait for the Atom-based MSI Wind to boot as opposed to a VIA-based system like the HP Mini-Note with XP?
Check out how they both performed in the below video.
A while back, we challenged the fiercest typists in our office to a mini-notebook typeoff with the Eee PC, the HP Mini-Note and the CTL 2Go PC. The HP Mini-Note, with an average word per minute (wpm) score of 53.25, emerged the victor.
Now that the newest mini-notebook, the MSI Wind, has graced our office, we had to put it to the test. Our top type-off typers (say that three times fast), Emily “Key Crusher” Kizer and Avram “The ESC Artist” Piltch, took Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor’s “To be or not to be” test on the Wind and emerged with scores of 80 wpm and 74 wpm, respectively.
Mini-notebooks, such as the Eee PC 900 and the HP Mini-Note, could be the hottest things around since those nude pictures of Lindsay Lohan. But how about the real temperature of these little guys? Do they toast your legs while sitting in bed? Do your fingertips get warm while typing on the keyboard?
After some heated time with the HP Mini-Note, I took it upon myself to do some scientific testing of the small systems. Using a Raytek Mini Temp Non-Contact Thermometer Gun—our new favorite toy in the office—I’ve been testing the heat on four of the most popular mini-notebook models: the Eee PC 900, the Eee PC 701, the Everex CloudBook, and the HP Mini-Note. I also threw in a normal Dell Latitude D630 notebook as a standard laptop variable.
Since laptops have a few different heat-sensitive regions, I took readings on the the underside of the notebook, on the keyboard between the G and H key, and on the touchpad. Each of the readings on the system were taken after the same usage pattern. Our extended usage patterns consisted of three different tasks with the system running on battery power: transferring of 2GB of files from an external USB drive, surfing the Web and playing the same House episode on Hulu.com, and making a Skype video call.
HP should begin selling XP versions of the Mini-Note any day now, but some of us eager beavers couldn’t deal with Vista any longer and “downgraded” to Windows XP ourselves. If you have been following my Mini-Note tales, you know that installing XP is simple, however the issues begin after XP is up and running and you discover all the missing drivers.
HP has finally updated its Web site with the needed drivers for XP, including the all-important Broadcom Wireless LAN Driver. My Mini-Note was without any wireless access for a few days and I have been tethered to an Ethernet cord. Not anymore. I simply downloaded the driver to the notebook from this site and the wireless network tool popped up in my system tray.
I was reading Liliputing’s gripes about the Mini-Note and his number one annoyance struck me:
The Mini-Note heats up so much that you really might want to be careful about putting it on your lap while typing. I haven’t conducted any extensive tests here, but I can say the Mini-Note definitely feels hotter than the Eee PC or most other notebooks I’ve ever actually tried resting on my lap.
I can relate: I have been using the Mini-Note consistently for the past few weeks and, boy, does the system get toasty. Since my review system is an early build, HP relayed that the thermals would be improved; however, Liliputing’s system was a final unit.
All week long, the light sound of clicking has emanated from the Mini-Dome–the battle ground for LAPTOP Magazine’s Mini-Notebook Type Off. Our typing gladiators have faced missed keys, cramped hands and punctuation frustration as they furiously typed Hamlet’s soliloquy on three mini-keyboards.
Avram “The ESC Artist” Piltch, Emily “Key Crusher” Kizer, Jeffrey “Hands of Steel” Wilson and TJ “Furious Fingers” Fink took on the ASUS Eee PC, the HP 2133 Mini-Note and the CTL 2Go PC to determine which keyboard is the best for typing.
Welcome to the third day of LAPTOP’s Mini-Notebook Type Off! To quickly recap, our four typing gladiators are pounding out the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet on the Eee PC, the HP Mini-Note, the 2Go PC and our control laptop, a ThinkPad with a full-sized keyboard. We are filming and posting their results throughout the challenge for your viewing pleasure.
I have finally found the solution to end my Mini-Note Vista woes. Or so I thought. This morning I braved the Windows XP installation on the Mini-Note. I spent a few hours attempting a dual Vista and Mini-Note boot up set up, but I think yesterday’s installation of Xubuntu might have royally messed up the boot-up manager.
Either way, my installation of XP was a success. Thanks to Brad Linder I had very detailed instructions.
Welcome back to the Mini-Dome! In case you’re just joining us, LAPTOP searched all over our office for four typists who were brave enough to take on the ASUS Eee PC, the HP Mini-Note and the CTL 2Go PC in the ultimate type-off challenge.
Yesterday, our typing gladiators took on the ASUS Eee PC with varying results. Emily “Key Crusher” Kizer came in first with 57 words per minute (wpm); Avram “The ESC Artist” Piltch and TJ “Furious Fingers” Fink tied for second with 42 wpm and Jeffrey “Hands of Steel” Wilson took third place with 38 wpm.
Today, our typists enter the conference room with their fingers stretched and ready to conquer the HP 2133 Mini-Note. With a wear-resistant keyboard that’s only 8% smaller than a full size keyboard , the Mini-Note looks like it’ll be a walk in the park compared to the Eee PC.
Check out how our contestants fared and how they scored in the video below and come back tomorrow as our keyboard warriors risk hand cramps to take on the 2Go PC.
My eyes burn and are stuck in a squinting position. And my head, it hurts. This is what happens when you spend four full days working on the HP Mini-Note. For those that have been following my escapades with the HP Mini-Note, Vista has been plaguing me.
Vista proved decent for multitasking, Web browsing, and word processing, but even after several tweaks, it was just not able to handle Skype calls and other, more intensive tasks.
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