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HP introduces touchscreen to premium Mini netbook

by Tarinder Sandhu on 10 January 2010, 17:19

Tags: Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ)

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Hewlett Packard bucked the homogeneous netbook trend by releasing a model with a built-in touchscreen at CES 2010.



The Mini 5102 is designed for students and business users, HP said. Available in blue, black and red, and starting at $399 for the non-touch-enabled model, the netbook ships with the usual Intel Atom N450 CPU, 10.1in screen (available with a lush 1.366x768 resolution and HD decoding support as upgrades), and, from what we saw, excellent build quality from the anodised-aluminium chassis.

HP will offer customers a choice of either the standard four-cell battery or a larger-capacity six-cell for what it claims to be 10 hours of mobile life. Business users may opt for the Qualcomm's Gobi 2 chip for mobile broadband and GPS.



The multi-touch-enabled model attracts a $50 premium over the standard N5102, and the screen works well, responding to gestures and drags without any real evidence of delay.

A student edition will also be offered with the same specifications, along with a chassis-integrated carry handle.

HP's first foray into touch-enabled netbooks ticks most of the boxes and should sell reasonably well. A $50 snip from the asking price would make it rather attractive in our eyes. Sadly, there are no plans to launch an ION 2 version.

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HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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This might finally be the perfect computer. (IMHO)
I want the screen to be able to be fliped round like normal tablet laptop
Pob255
I want the screen to be able to be fliped round like normal tablet laptop
My new HP TX2 already does that - and I hate the fact that it does. (Some might not, I appreciate that.)

Whilst I'm in love with the device, I am paranoid about how delicate the “hinge” that holds the two parts of the computer together is. I am convinced that the computer will not last.

That's why I like the look of this. The screen is held at two points. This potentially makes for a laptop/netbook/whatever with a much longer potential life-span.

My (now old) HP TC1100 seemed to offer the best of both worlds. It had a detachable keyboard - the horse-power was in the slate itself. The hinge was massive - 8 cm wide. Much more secure, whilst allowing slate or landscape usage.

A downside was that the screen was a good 5cm closer to you when you “twisted” the screen round.



I always wanted a netbook so that I can stay connected whenever I travel around the world. I believe the touchscreen feature and the tunable screen will give a plus point during product presentation!

looking forward for the release of this netbook
baius
My new HP TX2 already does that - and I hate the fact that it does. (Some might not, I appreciate that.)

Whilst I'm in love with the device, I am paranoid about how delicate the “hinge” that holds the two parts of the computer together is. I am convinced that the computer will not last.

That's why I like the look of this. The screen is held at two points. This potentially makes for a laptop/netbook/whatever with a much longer potential life-span.

My (now old) HP TC1100 seemed to offer the best of both worlds. It had a detachable keyboard - the horse-power was in the slate itself. The hinge was massive - 8 cm wide. Much more secure, whilst allowing slate or landscape usage.

A downside was that the screen was a good 5cm closer to you when you “twisted” the screen round.
The TX2 is not a net book, it's a small laptop, so it has a price and weight to match.
there are some tablet style netbooks out there the Zoostorm fizzbook spin being a notable one


On something as small and light weight as a netbook, the ability to easily carry it around in one hand while writeing on it with the other is what apeals to me, this would be rather arkward on a screen that couldn't be folded flat.