HP has updated its Mini netbooks with a performance and design refreshes. The Mini 210 and 5103 now have the choice of Intel’s dual-core, 1.5GHz Atom N550 as an option. Picking the chip should significantly improve the speed of the 10-inch portable under some conditions but without affecting the 10.75 hours of battery life with the stock six-cell battery.
The Mini 210, aim at the home market, gets a refresh of colors that include a charcoal black, red, lavender, rose pink and light blue. You can now get the unit with an optional 1366×768 display, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator and dedicated GPS. Software gives HP a minor edge as it has both the QuickWeb instant boot Linux front end as well as QuickSync for PC-to-PC data sync and an pre-installed copy of the free Evernote app.
HP’s Mini 5103 remains the same apart from the new dual-core processor. It targeted at upscale users with a hybrid aluminum and magnesium body as well as more advanced options such as a multi-touch screen, 3G data with a Gobi chipset, 7,200RPM hard drives and SSDs.
Price and Availability
The upgraded Mini 210 is available today; prices start at $330 for a single-core 1.66GHz Atom, though HP didn’t give pricing for N550 option at this time. Mini 5103 systems start at $399 for similar specs but will have the N550 on September 17.
