HP Mini 210 With Windows 7

The HP Mini 210-1090NR 10.1-Inch Netbook is prepare to be noticed when you take this Netbook out on the town. Small, slim and stylish, the HP Mini 210 lets you surf the web, stay connected, and be entertained wherever you go. Amp up the fun by playing videos and music or showing off your photos. Exclusive, integrated software keeps you in sync with your life by letting you e-mail, chat, and instantly access your files from anywhere. Take just what you need And leave the rest on your primary PC. At less than one inch thin and starting at just 2.69 pounds, this ultra-compact PC won’t weigh you down. You’ll enjoy a 16:9 10.1″ diagonal Bright View Infinity display and nearly full-size keyboard

HP Mini 210-1090NR Technical Details

• Intel Atom Processor N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
• 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 DIMM)
• 250GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA
• Genuine Windows 7 Starter, * Up to 9.75 Hours of Battery Life

HP Slate tablet unveiled

Microsoft has pulled back the curtain on an HP-crafted tablet computer during its CES 2010 keynote. The HP Slate, as shown by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, looks to offer a portable computing package that is oddly nestled between the functionality of a smartphone and netbook.

The Slate will run Windows 7, and reportedly sports a multitouch display, an accelerometer, and speculation suggests that it's powered by an x86-based processor. The prototype shown during Microsoft's keynote was running the PC Kindle app, hinting that the Slate may try to take a bite out of the e-reader market -- much like Apple's "rumored" tablet is expected to.

Apart from press shots and a brief teaser video , very few details are available, except that it's due sometime later this year.

HP Pavilion All-in-One Desktop MS214in

Continuing with our reviews on space-saving All-in-one desktop PCs, today we have the HP Pavilion MS214in, which is a middle tier model that seems to be better than the NetOns. Let's put it through its paces to see what it can deliver.

Design and Build

The HP MS214in has the same design as most HP laptops and desktops. The combination of glossy black with silver has become a trademark of HP now, and makes it looks quite elegant. The design of the stand is similar to that of the Apple iMac. It isn't carved out of metal, but the build of the plastic body is pretty decent.
The 18.5-inch widescreen has a resolution of 1366 x 768 and the display portrays colors quite well. HD movie looked pretty good on it but we felt that the maximum brightness was a bit too low for our liking. This is especially evident when you're sitting in a sunny room. A speaker strip placed right below the LCD panel emits fairly audible sound with decent clarity. A webcam above the screen delivers decent clarity and a speedy frame-rate.
The peripheral ports are placed conveniently at the sides. On the left, we got two USB ports, a card reader and headphone/microphone jacks. On the right, we have a tray-loading DVD writer and buttons to increase or decrease brightness. There isn't a button to turn the display off though, which is slightly disappointing. The rest of the ports, including a LAN, four USB, and an S/PDIF are placed at the back.
Another sore point that needs to be mentioned is that, unlike most all-in-one PCs we've seen, the HP Pavilion is powered by a chunky adapter that adds to table clutter. We'd rather have liked it to be integrated into the body so that a single power cable would run to the electric socket.
Unlike the HP Touch-smart 300, this model comes with a wired keyboard/mouse set. The keyboard provides an average tactility but the mouse is quite comfortable to hold and operate.

Performance

The HP MS214in is powered by a dual-core AMD Athlon X2 that runs at 1.5 GHz. That, along with the 2 gigs of RAM and a 7200 rpm drive, keeps Windows 7 Home Basic running at a fair pace. But the Home Basic version doesn't have Windows 7s full Aero UI that apart from looking fancy also improves usability.
The ATI Radeon HD 3200 is an entry-level dated graphics chip. It's better than Intel's onboard GMA4500 graphics, but definitely not suitable for running modern games at their fullest settings. This was evident when we ran the Street Fighter IV benchmark. At max settings, it belted an un-playable 11.7 frames per second. Thus, games that are a couple of years old can run smoothly with toned down settings.
The power-draw of this PC while idling ranged between 42 to 44 watts. On full load, it shot up by just 10 watts, drawing a steady 55W. It consumes almost half power as compared to its elder Touchsmart 300 cousin. That's comparatively low power consumption for an entire PC. This is possible thanks to the power-efficient Athlon 3250e processor. Another reason could be the lower-than-usual max brightness.
Due to the older AMD chipset used, it has only support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b and g. This could be a problem if you're using an 802.11n router, as you wouldn't get the faster connectivity that 802.11n standard supports.

Price and Verdict

The HP Pavilion All-in-One MS214in Desktop is priced at an MRP of Rs. 37,000 + taxes. Since this is a niche segment device, such pricing can be expected. An entry-level Lenovo IdeaCenter A600 (30112VQ) model also costs the same. But it comes with a faster 2 GHz Intel dual-core processor, a bright 21.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel) display and a 500GB hard drive. It'll be a good choice if you want to watch a lot of HD content. The only sore point is its Intel X4500 graphics, but it's not like you will be able to play heavy-duty games on the HP either.
There aren't any major flaws that should stop you from buying the HP Pavilion All-in-One. But there's nothing great about this PC as well. And as said above, the Lenovo A600 gives you more value for your money.

Specifications

HP, Toshiba 'Core i3' laptops not pricey

Thought that the newest laptop technology is always priced at a premium? Think again. Due in the next few weeks from Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Gateway and a host of other PC makers, some of the first laptops using Intel's new Core i3 processor will be priced as low as $700.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts January 7, PC makers will debut laptops using Intel's freshly minted Core i3 processor, as was previously reported. Core i series processors are based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture. In 2010, the chipmaker will move most of its processor lines from the current Core 2 technology to the Core i design.

Core i3-based laptops are, in a word, cheap. Cheap in the context that these are systems using a brand new processor based on a new Intel microarchitecture--in the past, this kind of technology has commanded a steep premium. A system from HP now posted on online retailer eCost is priced at $865. And a Gateway laptop listed on Canadian retailer Future Shop is priced at $730 Canadian dollars or about $694 U.S. dollars.

And add a Toshiba system to the mix (priced at $799 Canadian dollars or about $763 U.S. dollars). The Toshiba Satellite (PSLS6C-00F005) packs the same Core i3 processor but uses a 16-inch screen, according to a posting on Future Shop.

HP Core i3-based Pavilion laptop (WA786UA#ABA) as listed by eCost:
•Processor: 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330m
•Display: 15.6" LED
•Memory: 4096MB DDR3
•Hard disk drive: 320GB 7200rpm
•Optical drive: DVDRW
•Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
•Video card: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator HD
•Price listed by eCost: $864.99

The $694 Gateway system has the same screen size (listed with a 1600 x 900 native resolution) and memory configuration as the HP laptop but ups the ante with a 500GB hard disk drive and, most interestingly, uses an as-yet-unannounced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 graphics chip instead of Intel's graphics silicon.

Gateway Core i3-based laptop is below $700(Credit: Future Shop)
Product specifications aside, one of the most anticipated laptop technologies at CES this year is Arrandale, the codename for Intel Core i series mobile processors targeted at the mainstream laptop market. The Arrandale-based Core i3 is the first mainstream Intel laptop processor to combine two processor cores and a graphics function together in one chip package (previously, the graphics chip was in a separate chipset), resulting in better overall power efficiency.

And the new built-in graphics technology will offer better graphics performance than current technology, according to Intel. The chipmaker will try in earnest to prove this at CES with plenty of demos showing off Arrandale's graphics prowess. (Though not all PC makers are convinced that Intel's new graphics technology is the way to go, as evidenced by Gateway's decision to use a discrete ATI graphics processor from Advanced Micro Devices).

One thing worth noting is that the Core i3 won't have Turbo Boost technology, which speeds up and slows down individual cores to meet processing and power-efficiency needs, respectively. This will only be offered in higher-end Core i5 and i7 processors--including Arrandale i5 models. However, the Core i3 will have Hyper-Threading, which can double the number of tasks--or threads--a processor can execute. This is not offered in current Core 2 chips.

What you get (pros) and don't get (cons) with the Intel Core i3 mobile processor:
•Pro: graphics built directly into the CPU, which means better overall power efficiency
•Pro: improved graphics performance over current Intel 4500MHD graphics silicon
•Pro: Hyper-Threading
•Pro: Intel's newest 32-nanometer chip technology
•Con: no Intel Turbo Boost
•Con: not four cores, only two
•Con: relatively small cache memory size