First Nvidia Ion Netbook on Sale: HP Mini 311

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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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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • IzzyCraft
    1gig of ram still 400 is a netbook price, and the ion platform should make it not act too much like a netbook.
    Reply
  • ubernoobie
    I'll take the recommended one cuz it has a badass 12cell battery
    Reply
  • burnley14
    I've always planned to wait til Windows 7 is out. That's when the real competition for my business will start
    Reply
  • jhansonxi
    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).
    Reply
  • falchard
    With AMD having 15.4" notebooks at the $349. It might be a bit expensive by comparison.
    Reply
  • Major7up
    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.
    Reply
  • 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?
    Reply
  • JMS3096
    You won't get free Windows 7- for the free upgrade, you need to have Vista Home Premium or above. XP doesn't qualify.
    Reply
  • JMS3096
    zingamBefore 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.
    Reply
  • Tedders
    JMS3096Before 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.
    Reply