Not THAT kind of baby!
OK, besides the fact that spring has sprung and nearly 1 in 3 women in my world seems to be pregnant and everyone is expecting in June or July and I have baby blankets to make (even though who really needs a baby blanket in July?), I’m not pregnant.
I bought a new computer.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Did I need it?
(Yes?)
The last time I lugged my 12.1″, 4.8 pound, Tablet PC through the airport I fell to my knees at the end of the concourse and swore “Never Again!”
I had nightmares about wrestling the computer out of its bag at every security checkpoint, as knitting and books spilled out every time I opened the tote.
Then there was the long, long airport concourses, with my feet getting heavier and the strap of the computer bag falling off my shoulder every three steps.
So the hunt began.
I knew I wanted something small and very portable. Gathering dust on a shelf in my office is a Fujitsu P2110, a 10.5″x7″ wonderful computer that I mourn its slowness, because it’s a great size for portability. I knew I wanted something like that again, even if Fuji isn’t making them anymore.
But the options for ultra-small computers are growing every day.
Asus introduceed the diminuative Eee PC (shown left) last fall. I considered buying one, but they use very small solid state hard drives and can’t store much. Plus, until recently, they didn’t run Windows unless you went through the process of upgrading it yourself. They’re very cheap – running from $299 for the 2G models up to $499 for the 8G WinXP models coming out now.
But for me, they were missing Bluetooth capability and the processor might not be able to run Sling Player very well. How can I not watch the Cardinals?
Then I was distracted by the Fujitsu P1610 and the newer P1620. Full fledged Tablet 
PCs with inking capability, these babies are everything I want in a portable computer. Same capabilities as my big laptop (except for an integrated optical drive), but smaller. Powerful processor, 80-100gb hard drives, and the fun of taking ink notes to boot. The bad news? $2200 and up. I tried a half dozen times to get a refurbished one on EBay, but lost every bid.
I think that was because I was supposed to wait for something else to come along. And then it did.
This week HP released the brand spanking new HP 2133 Mini Note PC. It’s a fully functional Windows Vista PC in a 10″x6″x1″ box.
The Mini isn’t for everyone. The screen is only 8.9″ wide, so if you love your 17″ Macbook, this one will make you scream. But at just the size of a hardback book, it’s much more portable for taking on trips or down to the local Starbucks.
One of the reasons these ultra small comptuers are becoming more popular is because chipmakers are making cheaper processors that are a little less powerful than their big brothers occupying bigger laptops and desktops. The Mini is sporting a VIA brand chip – new to the market if you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of it before. Intel is relasing a similar chip in June, called the ATOM.
What grabbed me about the Mini is the features for the price. It has a 120Gb 7200rpm hard drive, 2G RAM, Vista Business, Bluetooth, wireless a/b/g Wi-Fi, an integrated 1.3mp webcam, two very impressive speakers mounted on either side of the display, and a 8.9″ WXGA display capable of a 1280×800 resolution, with a 6 cell battery capable of about 4.5 hrs of power.
For $750.
And that’s the big daddy version. Other models run Linux and start at $499.
Mini is due to arrive next week, around April 15th. He’ll be registered at Macy’s and Amazon, since he needs new clothes. All my current computer bags are much too big to fit him!
