New Laptop

Reviews 120 Comments

Check out my new laptop.

It’s a HP Mini. This baby is smaller than a text book, slightly larger than a novel and weighs lighter than a dictionary. Compared to most normal laptops, this gadget is a midget.
For a frequent traveller like me who is always needing a laptop on the go, it is just awesome.

I love the MacBook Air, but it’s too expensive and too powerful for what I need to use it for.
I like the Asus EeePC too, but it’s too small, too weak and too cheap-ass looking for me to wanna carry it around.
The HP Mini strikes the balance. Not too fast, not too slow, not too expensive, comes with heaps of storage space, but most importantly, impresses me enough on the cool factor to wanna show it off.

It comes with all the bells and whistles including a miniscule webcam, which HP has cheekily hidden underneath the flush black surface of the inside.
That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Just be careful if you’re the kind who like to stay the same room in the same hotel all the time.

Despite being slimmer than Kate Moss on diet, the thing that immediately sold me on it was that the laptop’s keyboard is almost as big as a full-sized one. That to me is obviously very important.
Typing on the HP Mini is a joyous experience that I seldom experience with other implementations of shrunk-down keyboards.
It’s also spill-resistant, which is a good feature to have if you have the tendency to shoot liquid everytime you use your laptop.

Of course lah, the HP Mini ain’t perfect. If I really wanna nitpick, I’d say the only real complaints I have are that the trackpad is ridiculously clumsy to use, the acrylic LCD screen is annoyingly glaring, and the boot up time to Windows Vista is still a little longer than what’s comfortable.
Run too many intensive applications at once and the HP Mini slows to a tortoise crawl.

Obviously, this is a low-powered laptop. Everytime the HP Mini lags, I was brought back to the reality that it was never meant to function like a normal full-featured laptop.
But hey, if all you need to do is surf the web, browse for photos and update your blog, then those are small concerns to most people. It is still an excellent unit for people like me who need a midget laptop easy enough to carry around, without paying the price tag of a full-powered machine.

Don’t ask why I’m dressed like Harry Potter

The HP Mini is just one month old and is still in such phenomenal demand that it triggered a worldwide shortage. The first batch arrived in Malaysia last week, and was almost for its launch.
Lucky for me, I happen to be one of the few to own one right now.

And I’m happily lugging it with me over my week-long Gawai break to Bali. 🙂
To all kennysia.com’s Iban readers, gayu-guru gerai-nyamai.

120 Replies to “New Laptop”

  2. my father wont let me read the neil strauss book!!!!!!!!! he hid it somewhere in the house and i canot find it ald!! :((
    how big is the HDD lar!never tell! and just uninstall the damned vista and put in xp.

    Reply

  4. Kenny ahhh,ur Gawai wishes for Iban readers only ka?? Bidayuhs & Orang Ulu celebrate Gawai too mah…

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  9. tis is way too small. convenient to bring ard esp for travelling but nt so comfy to use. anyway, it resembles the com toy for children 😛

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  11. how much is the mini laptop cost? looks slim enough for me too….but after reading ur review on the laptop esp on the performance….makes me think twice to purchase it…hmmmm

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  16. It been 8 years I never back to Sarawak to enjoy Gawai celebration. Take this opportunity to wish all Dayak friend in Sarawak. Happy Gawai 🙂

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  18. Selamat Ari Gawai to all celebrating the festival.
    I am wondering about one thing.
    Do they give brown packets during this festival, like ang paos during Chinese New Year 😉

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  23. the specs looks like it’s too slow to do much, apart from surfing etc.
    i think the toshiba portege R500 would have fared better.

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  27. i thought ee pc rocked, but that just changed my mind:) i already have a 12 incher wif me so i dont need a feather light contender

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  28. “Despite being slimmer than Kate Moss on diet, the thing that immediately sold me on it was that the laptop’s keyboard is almost as big as a full-sized one. That to me is obviously very important.
    Typing on the HP Mini is a joyous experience that I seldom experience with other implementations of shrunk-down keyboards.
    ————————————————-
    Kenny,
    Of course-lah, you have a “ten-fatty fingers”.
    🙂

    Reply

  31. haha… was waiting for u to post about this…
    what a joy to see u post about that mini…
    but i cant find it at hp site… donno i look at the right place bo

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  32. This is good product placement. Is this a post about a laptop or about “The Game” by Neil Strauss AKA “Style”. Maybe we will see some of Kenny’s David Deangelo DVD’s and copies of “Mystery Method” soon. And followed by a ‘field report’ of Kuching PUA scene 😉 Could this explain the Harry Potter clothing? hahaha!

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  34. the celeron in the asus eee outperforms the via chip used in the HP.
    but i DO agree the eee doesn’t look as classy 😛 no way i’m bringing one to a business meeting.

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  37. Haha. ok. Who’s gonna start whinging about why Kenny didn’t have the heart to donate that money spent to charity?

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  38. nah…compared to the EEE it’s too expensive for not much improvement. In Singapore you can almost buy 2 EEEs for a HP mini-note. And besides the trackpad buttons at the side are kinda strange and abit plasticky. But I can see why it wins over the EEE in terms of looks.

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  44. I’m still reading that book, and I’ve watched that stupid pickup artist reality show.
    (It’s funny how we’re all focused solely on either one of the two things featured on this post)

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  47. vista sux! i’v got one laptop wif vista, 1GB ram, but slow like tortoise crawl, MOST OF THE TIME! still thking of changing it back to xp, or upgrade the ram will do.. if that’s not my personal pc, i oredi smacked it into pieces.. gerammnya~~
    btw, this HP mini onli costs RM2,399 according to Kenny’s pacmee.. worth of money definately..

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  48. “It’s also spill-resistant, which is a good feature to have if you have the tendency to shoot liquid every time you use your laptop.”
    errrrh.
    LOL?

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  57. Dear Kenny,
    why u dun blog abt Nicloe anymore?
    U could written a love story abt tat.
    when i read yr first blog, i was so touched.

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  60. Did you pay for your mini laptop or was it given to you FOC? Since you wrote so much about the laptop, there is a possibility that it was given to you FOC. Do you normally shoot liquid onto your laptop whenever you use the laptop to surf? Hmm.. I suggest you see your family doctor on this matter because you might be overly active and you need some medication to tone down your raging hormones!!! Just a friendly advice and you dont have to thank me for that.

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  63. Kenny,
    Did you get the version with 2GB of RAM, the 6-cell LiIon battery, and well, Windows Vista?
    No mention of what the thing cost you, so it would be interesting to see the price differential for Linux vs. Windows (configuration differential too).
    Is the HP easily modifiable? I.e. can I replace the RAM myself?
    I presume there is no fan/cooling unit? The Via CPU’s are quite cool…
    Keyboard good? 92% real size? That makes a lot of sense… Most important part of the laptop. Along with the screen… WXGA, so is it really 1366×768 resolution?
    Well, if you’re interested, look forward to the Dell Mini Inspiron: http://www.bytebot.net/blog/archives/2008/06/03/dell-mini-inspiron-new-asus-eeepcs-its-the-keyboard-silly
    Kind Regards

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  64. Kenny,
    What happen to yr Perth Nicole?
    Still on or off?
    Why u stop writing about her?
    I think yr earlier blogs were much more real n touched.

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  69. so Kenny,
    this laptop plus your new audio car system…
    confirm eat grass laaa for the next few months. Haha

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  71. Kenny,
    Have you filled up your petrol already? Don’t shoot too much liquid in front of your laptop, ya…..
    🙂

    Reply

  75. Wow.. looks good, I’m aiming for a laptop of this size too as my current DELL has attributed to my nagging shoulder pains.. “ouch”
    There’s PC fair next week in Singapore.. zooming my attention on Asus Eee PC, MSI WInd etc.

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  78. my gawd, you call yourself IT Director??!! you either dunno much about Asus EeePC and bought crap instead. EeePC is superb if you know how to USE or CHANGE the config!

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  81. Kenny, didnt know you read The Game too. It was a great book, I know one of Neil’s partner in the Hollywood Project.
    Great stuff … if you have chance, read Magic Bullets and Mind of Mystery too, they rocks !

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  82. Hold your horses and wait for MSI and DELL’s UMPC…at least they are utilising Intel Atom rather than the not-so-fast VIA chipset

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  85. I really like it too… But if I buy, I whould like it to be free DOS and I’ll install ubuntu in it since it will not work so well on windows platform.

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  88. Is there really a price hike in fuel in Malaysia too? It’s almost AUD$1.60/ litre in most places here now.
    It looks like an awesome notebook dude – I got another macbook… if only there were 11″ or 12″ models.

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  91. yeah its rm2.70 per litre now which compare to venuzuela,both producing oil but only venuezuela sudsidies their petrol fully for their people which comes at 0.16sen per litre while malaysia sells their good quality oil and take in cheap ass oil for us and increases the price every two years or so.fark them!!!

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  94. That’s a good cute laptop you have here, kenny! 😀
    But, the EEEPc is of course, cheaper and economical. The HP is much more expensive but you have a faster processor and the stuff like that.
    I might be getting one of those small notebooks for my assignments too! 😀

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  96. kenny, may i know how much did u pay for the laptop? Tried to glance tru for it on ur post but couldn’t find it.. sorry if i missed it.
    Kenny u r the first guy which will after a “mini” laptop that i have seen.. 🙂 Though only girls like small laptops..

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  97. hi there , i just happen to stumble upon this blog , liked your content, i have given u a link .. hope you gimme a link back.cheers!!!

    Reply

  102. My friend has a HP laptop with the desktop replacement performance, she told me she has the same problem of slow Window Vista start up. And she told me everyone who has a HP laptop has the same problem with slow Window Vista start up.

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  108. You didn’t tell us how much it cost you. Over here in the UK it costs around £350. Was thinking of getting the Asus EeePC but you are right, the HP Mini-Note does look better.

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  115. Asus eePC just came out with the newer version, the eePC 1000 and 1000H, which boast more power and storage… and according to reviews, the Intel Atom processor beats the VIA of the HP Mini hands down…

    Reply

  120. i love this lap top…. but i have one lap top… this lap top very cute and small like are baby toy

    Reply

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