Updated HP has launched its attempt to grab a little or a lot of the Asus Eee PC's success, two months after the sub-notebook slipped out (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/19/hp_compaq_2133_spied/) onto the web. Pitched primarily at schools, the 2133 Mini-Note PC sports a 'choice' of 7in or 9in display, and is available with SuSE Linux pre-installed.

We say the 2133 has a choice of screens, but in reality HP is claiming two different sizes depending where on its website you look. The product page's spec sheet says 6.9in; the press release says 8.9in.

Update HP has made up its mind - the 2133 has a 8.9in display.

Both sources are agreed on the fact that the 2133 is powered by VIA's C7-M processor, clocked at up to 1.6GHz - a CPU we found a tad noisy (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/29/review_maxdata_sbook/) when tried in another sub-notebook. The unit also has a VIA chipset - the graphics come courtesy of the Taiwanese chip maker's integrated Chrome 9 GPU.

There's up to 2GB of 667MHz DDR 2 memory on board, and storage options include 120GB or 160GB, 5400rpm or 7200rpm hard drives, or 5GB of solid-state storage.

Wi-Fi of the 802.11b/g variety comes as standard, but Bluetooth 2.0 is optional. Users also get a Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD memory card slot, ExpressCard 54 bay, two USB ports, analogue audio connectors and a VGA output.

HP claimed the 2133 has a "92 per cent full-size" keyboard, which defines the sub-notebook's dimensions: 256 x 165 x 33mm. That's the front thickness - HP didn't say how much bigger the 2133 gets at the back. The unit weighs 1.27kg, rather more than the Eee but fractionally less than the MacBook Air.

The standard battery is just a three-cell job, so it'll be interesting to see how much runtime the 2133 delivers. There's an optional six-cell power pack too.

HP will want $500 (£250/€318) for the 2133 when it goes on sale in the US later this month. It's price from £299 over here. While it's being touted as an education machine, the 2133 will also be pre-configurable with Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Home and Windows XP Pro, suggesting HP plans to offer it to consumers and business buyers too.

Related Reviews
Asus Eee PC (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/16/review_asus_eee_pc/)
Toshiba Portégé R500 (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/25/review_toshiba_portege_r500/)
Maxdata Belinea s.book (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/29/review_maxdata_sbook/)

Related stories

• HP inching away from Vista's bad rep? (16 September 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/16/hp_rumor_toying_with_linux_os/

• HP prepping 2133 Mini-Note rival (25 July 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/25/hp_2133_mininote_rival/

• HP in talks to buy EDS (12 May 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/12/reported_hp_acquisition/

• MSI's 10in Eee PC rival priced up in UK (9 May 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/09/msi_wind_uk_price/

• HP strokes web 2.0 with immense NAS (6 May 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/06/hp_exds9100/

• French punters offered petite Eee PC rival (29 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/29/french_offered_eee_rival/

• BT bundles MS Office with Linux laptop (29 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/29/bt_offers_office_linux/

• Microsoft kicks out third Windows XP service pack (21 April 2008)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/04/21/windows_xp_sp3/

• MSI to waft Wind Westward in June (21 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/21/msi_announces_wind/

• Red Hat scurries away from consumer desktop market (17 April 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/17/red_hat_abandons_consumer_desktop_market/

• Japanese geeks offered smaller-than-Eee little laptop (15 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/15/kohji_rolls_out_eee_rival/

• Germany to get Eee PC 900-like laptop (15 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/15/datacask_launches_jupiter/

• Toshiba reveals R500 sub-notebook with 128GB SSD (14 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/14/tosh_unveils_128gb_ssd_r500/

• 'Jisus' Eee-alike sub-notebook to use Chinese Atom-smasher (11 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/11/dutch_vendor_touts_jisus_laptop/

• World wants small, cheap PCs, say makers of small, cheap PCs (11 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/11/asus_intel_predict_huge_growth/

• RM to push new HP sub-laptop to schools (10 April 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/10/rm_hp_2133_mini_notebook/

• Dell readies Asus Eee PC, HP Mini-Note rival (9 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/09/dell_readies_eee_rival/

• Asus unwraps media centre mini PC (9 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/09/asus_unwraps_essentio/

• Asus avoids Atom to get next Eee PC out early? (8 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/08/asus_new_eee_pc_not_atom/

• Intel shows Atom-powered Eee PC clones (1 April 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/01/idf_eee_pc_clones_demod/

• Asus releases application kit for Eee PC coders (28 March 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/28/asus_releases_eee_sdk/

• Asus Eee PC 900 flips one at MacBook Air with multi-touch input (27 March 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/27/asus_apes_air/

• Asus admits big global Eee supply-demand imbalance (26 March 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/26/asus_admits_eee_supply_issues/

• ECS spills more beans about 'super 3G' Eee PC rival (20 March 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/20/ecs_spills_g10il_beans/

• Asus CEO: Eee PC to get HDD options, Intel Atom CPU (10 March 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/10/asus_ceo_on_eee_future/

• Elonex £99 Eee PC rival to arrive in June (28 February 2008)

  http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/28/elonex_launches_one/