HP Fansite

New HP Mini’s and notebooks on track for summer/fall release

Remember the time when it was first rumored earlier this year that HP was working on more HP Mini netbooks for 2009? Good news, apparently the reported Mini with a 11.6 inch display as well as another Mini with a 10.1 inch display (probably the direct successor to the consumer Mini 1000) are on track for August and late-September announcements respectively, so says a report by Digitimes. No news about any HP Mini ‘Tablet’ though.

There are also 13.3 and 14 inch business notebooks in the works as well as upcoming 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch models (most probably consumer notebooks).

HP Mini 5101 is hot

It has the guts of the Mini 2140 but comes with a much nicer design, a chiclet style 95% keyboard and an additional USB port – it’s the new HP Mini 5101!! The Mini 5101′s design has a lot more in common with the design of the Probook series launched by HP earlier this year – a chiclet style keyboard, all black casing with turquoise/electric blue lighting for buttons, even the touchpad buttons feel the same (and the Probook series have very nice, rubberized touchpad buttons, with a nice ‘fluffy’ feeling when pressed). Oh, speaking of the touchpad, the Mini 5101′s buttons are now located BELOW the touchpad area like any other traditional notebook, instead of the awkward positioning on the left/right on the 2133/2140.

[Pictures to come...]

Hmmm, but unlike the Probook series with plasticky casings, the HP Mini 5101 is made entirely of aluminium/magnesium alloy (which naturally, feels a lot more sturdy and as solid as its Business Mini predecessors). Could this all-black, metal design be a hint of what’s to come on HP’s 2009 Elitebook lineup? I mean, not that I have any objections to 2008′s Elitebook black keyboard, white casing color scheme…

Alright, back to the Mini 5101 – it sounds like the perfect netbook at the moment, except it lacks backlit keyboard keys and graphic card options (ie Nvidia Ion). I surely hope that HP adds these two options to the Mini 5101 once they start shipping.

[Rumor] Future of HP notebook keyboards

I heard a rumor (but it has nothing to do with Bananarama)… HP is moving towards using chiclet-style keyboards on future notebook PCs. Apparently the decision has something to do with improved ergonomics and the tactile feel of such keyboards. A little bird said that chiclet keyboards will first appear in the business and mini notebook lines in the next announcement of upgrades this year. Some models (Presumably higher end? Or as an option?) will have backlit keys. [/end of rumor].

Informative note: What the heck is a chiclet keyboard? Some people also call them “island keys”; it’s the design that Sony and Apple computers have been using (if you don’t know what a chiclet-style keyboard looks like, check this out or look it up on Wikipedia)

External display problems with HP Mini’s?… yea right…

I just read one of the trashiest news stories I’ve ever seen this morning – about lack of VGA adapters for the HP Mini 1000 and secondary display output problems from the HP Mini 2140; which implied that both problems were ever so serious and at large… this is coming from one of Apple’s biggest fansites disguised as a normal tech site. Mini 2140 secondary display output problems? Yea right… nothing wrong here, I can even connect an external 1920 x 1200 resolution monitor… and it works… connections to projectors is almost a weekly/monthly thing for me… and it works every time.

I’m pretty sure the HP Mini 1000′s port for external display is also the same thing as found on Sony’s Vaio P netbook, and not some proprietary port. So even if HP or Sony didn’t officially sell/lacks stock for those VGA adapters, why not head on to your nearest electronics store or eBay to find a 3rd party version?

Seems like the guys over there who wrote such a post are trying to down HP’s image and reliability. It’s as if Apple’s Mini Display Port (the REAL proprietary, Apple-exclusive port) doesn’t have its fair share of problems either…

To be honest, I’m quite sick of websites which claim themselves as “tech blogs” despite them being apparently and obviously biased towards a certain brand… and that brand only. I’ll save my rant in full for another day, but the summary of today is: if you’re singing praises about Apple products on an almost daily basis, why not call yourself “The Apple Fansite” instead of a “general tech website”? You don’t exactly have to create false issues or blow up a tiny problem of other brands either, do you?

HP iPAQ Data Messenger still rocks in some ways

Sure, it may not be the best darn Pocket PC phone out there (though HP may change that with newer phones later this year), but the HP iPAQ Data Messenger still has several reasons for existing iPAQ 612 or 912 owners to drop those models for this one. Even I’ve got to admit, coming from the iPAQ h6310 and hw6515/hw6915 phones, within my first DAY of using the iPAQ 612c, I thought “the iPAQ 612 sucks compared to previous HP Pocket PCs” (but you can’t really complain much if you’re loaning a phone and don’t have to pay for it; beggars can’t be choosers). When HP announced their iPAQ Data Messenger late fall last year, it’s specifications weren’t very impressive but still, it did offer me some compelling reasons to try it out…

The Data Messenger is essentially the fusion of the hw6915′s quick typing abilities (QWERTY keyboard) and “faux music jack” (2.5 mm headphone jack, adaptable to 3.5 mm) with the 612c’s plus points; the candybar form factor, vibrate/silent mode switch and more traditional 4:3 screen (Well, versus the hw6915′s weird square screen; not good for gaming on the go).

I’ve been using the iPAQ Data Messenger for a week now (it’s a retail model) and I do not regret, at all, dumping my iPAQ 612 for this new Pocket PC. This final, retail version fixes most of the issues I had with the pre-production version I used in November; namely camera autofocus not working, the keyguard button not working and a few software incompatibilities. The only incompatibility that remains is you CAN’T use the TCPMP player with the Data Messenger… an error constantly appears when you try to start up the player (you’ll have to use Core Player instead, which offers similar functionality).

So what plus points does the iPAQ Data Messenger offer over the iPAQ 612/912 phones?

• 2.5 mm headphone jack (YEAH!) – you can use an adapter to plug in your own 3.5 mm headphones.
  Instead of the mini USB port for headphones, where you get stuck for life with those crummy in-the-box earbuds.
• Separate micro USB port; -means you can now charge/connect the phone to your PC while continuing to listen to music at the same time.
• Larger, FLUSH 2.81 inch screen (yeah, not a big deal compared to the 612′s 2.8 inch screen, but a nice difference versus the 912′s 2.6 inch screen)
• Ambient light sensor; the screen automatically adjusts its brightness based on surrounding light
• EXCELLENT outdoor/bright light screen visibility – I can actually view the display outside on a bright sunny day now (dare I say, this rivals the Apple iPhone)
• Proximity sensor – this detects when the phone is against your ear/face when making a phone call and the Data Messenger will automatically turn off the screen
• Vibrate/silent mode switch – you can activate/disable silent mode any time (versus none on the 912; on the 612, you had to turn the phone on, press the button, and turn it off)
• HP Keyguard – this isn’t the standard Windows Mobile device lock… when the phone is locked, you can turn on the screen to check for any missed calls/messages and then just stuff it back into your pocket; the phone will turn the screen back off after several seconds
• Better camera image quality – the Data Messenger is no digital SLR but the colors it produces now are much more vivid and realistic; pictures are a tad sharper too
• Louder earpiece and loudspeaker units – now I can finally be able to hear the caller when I’m in a crowded place (malls, tradeshows and conventions, etc)
• Better sound quality – with the iPAQ 612c, music and sounds were kinda “tinny” but the Data Messenger’s sound is much deeper, louder and better (one of the factors is probably the design of the battery cover over the speaker)
• QWERTY keyboard – it’s awesome, period (the 612 had none, the 912′s keyboard was tiny and slippery)
• Improved battery life – I’m loving this as well… it’s not the best out there, but for a Pocket PC phone, battery life is very good (Data Messenger lasts for 2-3 days of my standard usage, 612c only lasts for 1 day) and I tend to heavily use feature phones.
• Very stylish design – this is my personal opinion

Some of the features like the sound/music department, QWERTY keyboard and battery life of the iPAQ Data Messenger were HUGE to me… I have even tried typing a 1,000 word article using the phone’s keyboard when I was out last weekend.

The iPAQ 612 and iPAQ 912 phones were probably fluke shots by HP… but the Data Messenger goes back to the roots of HP iPAQ design and functionality (Well, sort of). For those with bad impressions or experiences with the 612/912, I would advise you to not strike HP off your “phone shopping list” forever – the new models they’re releasing, like this one, are much better already… and I can foresee more, even better things coming…

I suspect I’ll be a very happy user of the iPAQ Data Messenger for at least the next 9-12 months… until something newer and better comes along…