First Nvidia Ion Netbook on Sale: HP Mini 311
Is this the Ion you've been waiting for?
Does it seem like we've been waiting a long time for the first Nvidia Ion-based netbook to come out? It has been a while, after we've faced delays.
Lenovo was first out the gate with an announcement, then Samsung followed shortly. The pair of them, however, decided to hold back on the release of their Ion netbooks until after the release of Windows 7.
HP chose not to wait, and is now offering its Ion LE-based Mini 311 netbook for sale starting at $399.
The base configuration at $399 will give you a black lid, Windows XP Home SP3, Atom N270, 1 GB DDR3, 160 GB HDD and Wireless-G.
The recommended configuration at $489 bumps the CPU to the Atom N280 (slightly faster CPU and FSB), Bluetooth and a 12-cell battery.
If you've always wanted a netbook with Nvidia Ion, this one is finally here. Of course, with Windows 7 being just a month away, waiting for the competition to arrive could be a smart move. Either way, you should be getting a free Windows 7 upgrade with the Mini 311.
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1gig of ram still 400 is a netbook price, and the ion platform should make it not act too much like a netbook.
I'll take the recommended one cuz it has a badass 12cell battery
I've always planned to wait til Windows 7 is out. That's when the real competition for my business will start
Ubuntu Linux instead of XP + Norton and I'll buy one now (I'd consider paying more for XP without Norton - it's a pain to get rid of).
With AMD having 15.4" notebooks at the $349. It might be a bit expensive by comparison.
Seems a little expensive for a netbook. Maybe the other modles will drive the prices down a little but if I am spending almost $500 for their recommended model I would just opt for a regular laptop.
I'd find the price slightly too high for a netbook, especially the price of the N280!
But a 12 cell battery translates in how long battery life?
You won't get free Windows 7- for the free upgrade, you need to have Vista Home Premium or above. XP doesn't qualify.
You won't get free Windows 7- for the free upgrade, you need to have Vista Home Premium or above. XP doesn't qualify.
Before stating that you should check HP's/MS upgrade policy for their netbooks. For netbooks the story might be different actually. There is no Vista for netbooks but there will be Win7 for netbooks (Starter I guess).
Before stating that you should check HP's/MS upgrade policy for their netbooks. For netbooks the story might be different actually. There is no Vista for netbooks but there will be Win7 for netbooks (Starter I guess).
Before stating THAT, you shouldn't assume I didn't. I did.
Before stating THAT, you shouldn't assume I didn't. I did.
JMS3096 is right. The free upgrade program is only for upgrades from Vista to 7. True netbooks wont get the free upgrade because they are running Windows XP. That is a Microsoft thing, not a manufacturer thing.
Nice but I still plan on getting this one (poor mans air) for my next Ubuntu laptop after 7 releases. 7 will give it better resale value one day.
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire- [...] KWAAQ74UCS
Yeah, but can it play Wolrd of Warcraft?
"It has been a while, after we've faced delays." might be better stated as, "All your delay are belong to us!"
Check the HP site, customized my mini 31, now explain did toms just say 12 cell because the defult aption for the higher mini 311 has two 6 cell batteries cos i can't see any 12 cell anywhere. and plus the mini 311 supports 3 gb of ddr3 ram Why the F*U*C do they only have an option for 1 gb ram seriously they need to use their brains.
Spend $200 more on a real notebook and it will run much better and have a bigger screen.
Microsoft says if they're going to continue selling XP Home, then the system can't have more than 1GB of RAM. Also, HP only pays like $15 for that copy of Home and Microsoft is kinda ticked about XP even still being sold, but they get it with Netbooks, hence everybody compromising a bit on something. Intel doesn't make much money. nVidia doesn't make much money. HP doesn't make much money. Microsoft doesn't make much money.
Anyway... since XP COAs aren't distributed, thecnically, you can get a Win7 Upgrade disc for the Mini 311, but it'll not actually be an upgrade. It'll be a clean sweep. Also, the "free" upgrade costs a small fee for transaction handling and shipping.
Yeah, but can it play Wolrd of Warcraft?
I bet an iPhone...hell, even a BlackBerry, could play World of Warcraft.
IF MS is still going to sell XP home that tells me all the hoopla about it running great on low power netbooks was lies. 7 is bloated like Vista, it is using the same kernel and is actually a revamped Vista.
Yeah, but can it play Wolrd of Warcraft?
Why yes, yes it can!
IF MS is still going to sell XP home that tells me all the hoopla about it running great on low power netbooks was lies. 7 is bloated like Vista, it is using the same kernel and is actually a revamped Vista.
If it is a revamped Vista, it is a HELL of a revamp, 7 RC runs MUCH better then Vista ever did on my comp, and 7 on my laptop doesn't take forever to boot like it did with Vista. On my laptop 7 boots about as fast as XP did on it, and MUCH faster then Vista.
Camikazi - there's more to life than boot time. Vista boots about the same on my home PC as XP did, maybe a few seconds slower. They both are useless when the boot of course, they don't really finish booting for another minute (XP and Vista both do this, absolutely maddening). Heck Vista in a virtual machine boots almost as quickly as it does as the host OS. If anything, Vista's problem was inconsistency, some people (like me) had a great experience with it, it never crashes, boots quickly, etc. Others were plagued with BSOD and slowdowns. Let's hop 7 is a bit more dependable.
Oops, my main comment was that Windows NT booted in about 20 seconds on a (then) aging Pentium 166 with a crummy 4GB HDD. Don't know what's happened to microslow since then. Of course the claim that 7 is designed for lowpower is marketing bologna. I had XP running on pentium 233mmx laptop and it ran beautifully. Laptop couldn't even play an mp3 without essentially becoming useless for all other tasks, yet somehow XP was fine on it. And that was with 192MB ram, max for the laptop. Took about a minute to boot.
This version uses the Nvidia ION LE which is locked in DirectX 9 mode only. Upgrading this machine when Windows 7 arrives will mean that you won't get DirectX 10 features such as the improved Windows Aero which uses DirectX 10. The Nvidia ION released next month with Windows 7 netbooks will support DirectX 10 but will be more expensive probably.
Spend $200 more on a real notebook and it will run much better and have a bigger screen.
Uh, maybe the reason people get a netbook is because they dont want a large screen or a really fast machine? There isn't just one way to skin a cat you know.
I've got Ubuntu 9.04 running on my 311:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HPMini311
FYI for those who are buying the HP Mini 311: The free upgrade to win7 is limited to units that have Vista Home Premium and above. Windows XP is ineligible. Some retailers are offering half off win7 upgrade with purchase of any new PC.
I'm wondering about aftermarket hard drive upgrades for the Mini 311. I've been searching around, however unsuccessfully, for some details about the stock HP 160GB SATA 5400rpm drive. Is it a 1.5Gb/s or a 3? I would like to bump it up to a 250GB SATA 7200rpm after purchase. Any concerns or insight you might be able to offer would be a great help.
What is the battery code for the 12-cell battery? I want to buy an extra battery and I would like to have this big battery, but I can't find where to buy it separated.