Photos: Hands-on with the HP Mini-Note 2133

Guess what, gadget fans? We've just got our hands on the first HP Mini-Note 2133 in the UK, and we thought we'd share it with you in these gorgeous pictures. But before we do, we feel it's only right to tell you a little about it.

Physically, it's slightly bigger and heavier than the Eee PC. It too uses an 8.9-inch screen running at 1,280x768, but the larger chassis means the screen looks smaller than it actually is. The upside is that HP's been able to cram in a much bigger keyboard, which -- unlike the Eee's -- is fantastic to type on.

Taking a look around the chassis, you'll find a webcam, twin speakers on either side of the screen, a D-Sub video port, two USB ports, mic and headphone jacks, ExpressCard and SD card readers, and an Ethernet port. There's also a hard-wired switch at the front for activating and de-activating the wireless adaptor.

Unfortunately, it's more a case of style over substance with the Mini-Note. Our sample uses 1GB of RAM alongside a weedy 1.2GHz VIA C7-M CPU, which isn't as quick as the 900MHz Pentium M in the Eee PC. Oh, and it runs Windows Vista, which really doesn't help things on the performance front.

The 2133 is available to order now, priced at £350 with Linux and £410 with Vista. Have a look at the pics and sit tight for an in-depth review in the next couple of days. -Rory Reid

Update: Read our full HP 2133 Mini-Note PC review. 

Here's the Mini-Note 2133 next to a remote control we found lying around, for scale. It's bigger and heavier (1.3kg) than an Eee PC 900, but we won't hold that against it. It's not as if lifting the thing will give you a hernia.

Again, next to a random remote control, but this time with the screen open. Notice how the display looks quite small in comparison to the keyboard section? That's what you get when you make the chassis bigger and flank the display with a large bezel. Incidentally, though, the speakers on the Mini-Note 2133 are pretty good -- better than most larger laptops, in fact.

The bigger they come, the harder it is to make typos. The keyboard on the Mini-Note 2133 is awesome. It's not quite as good as, say, the keyboard on a MacBook Air, but it absolutely annihilates everything in its size and price bracket.

The keyboard may be a winner, but the mouse trackpad is a flop. There's not much room left over, so HP has had to make it exceptionally shallow and place the selector buttons not underneath, but on on either side of the trackpad. And unlike the Eee PC 900, there's no multi-touch. Meh.

Here on the left of the laptop you'll find ExpressCard and SD card readers, a USB port, an Ethernet port and the power socket. Note the little blue LED -- it tells you whether you've pushed the plug in properly.

The left side is a little less cluttered, but just as interesting. There's a D-Sub video output, a vent for expelling hot air, another USB port, plus mic and headphone jacks.

Here's the power supply unit. It's about the same size you get with 12-inch and 13-inch laptops.

And finally, here's the bottom of the Mini-Note 2133. You might prefer to rip off those unsightly stickers, but there shouldn't be much complaint about unsightliness of the vents -- they're not that bad, actually.