HP revamps Mini 210, Mini 5103 with dual-core Atom
updated 12:00 am EDT, Wed September 1, 2010
HP Mini 210 and 5103 get Atom N550
HP this morning revamped its Mini netbooks with a performance update 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 as the home system also gets a refresh of colors that include a charcoal black, red, lavender, rose pink and light blue. Buyers can option up the systems with a 1366x768 display, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator for some video 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 already-installed copy of the free Evernote app.
HP's Mini 5103 remains the same apart from the new processor. It targets upscale pro 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.
The upgraded Mini 210 is available today; prices start at $330 for a single-core 1.66GHz Atom, though HP didn't initially say how much extra the N550 might be. Mini 5103 systems start at $399 for similar specs but will have the N550 only on September 17.
Mini 5103
