The Mini 5101 is the next evolution of the 21xx series featuring a complete redesign inside and out…Well, almost…As you can see the 5101’s chasis is completely different, ditching the light color and curves of the 21xx line and going to a darker and more angular body. Its case is now entirely metal using aluminum on the lid and inside, and a magnesium base. It’s definitely a bit more rugged now, in form and function.

They keyboard has also been upgraded with a new layout and increased size. It is now 95% the size of a normal keyboard, so it should be even better to type on. Along with increased size, HP has opted to use a chiclet style keyboard which gives a little bit more space between the keys than the rest of the Mini line. The keyboard still keeps the DuraKey finish and the spill resistance from the Mini 21xx line. Also the trackpad has been updated by moving the buttons below it, instead of on the side like the previous models.

The screen sizes and resolutions remain the same with a 10.1″ at 1024 x 600 (WSVGA) or a 1366 x 768 ‘HD’ screen. Both will be available at launch, so no waiting or buying with regrets this time!

Finishing up with the outside changes, you’ll find the following, starting from the back of the left side:

• AC power plugin (old power adapters will be backwards compatible)
• VGA out
• Two USB ports
• HD indicator
• Wireless On/Off
• SD card slot
• Headphone jack
• Mic jack
• Powered USB
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Kensington lock slot
• and a 2MP webcam up top

If you’ve owned or become familiar with a 2133 or 2140 you’re probably wondering where the ExpressCard slot and power switch went. The power switch is now right above the keyboard in the center of the body. (The glowing circle under the HP Logo in the pics) I’ll talk about the ExpressCard slot a little further down.

As far as the guts go, the 5101 gets upgraded to the Intel Atom N280 processor (1.66Ghz, 512KB L2, 533 Mhz FSB) but the chipset and graphics remain the same with  Intel’s 945GSE chipset and GMA 950 video. (That’s the ‘almost’ I mentioned above). Along with the now obligatory Atom processor, comes the obligatory 1GB only for XP and up to 2GB RAM for Vista or SUSE 11.The RAM is still DDR2 at 533Mhz.

For storage options HP made 7200 RPM drives standard across all the models with regular hard drives. The hard drives come in 160, 250 and 320 GB flavors. And if HD’s aren’t your thing there is also an 80GB SSD drive available.

Wireless options are basically the same, with an  a/b/g/draft-n card standard, and Bluetooth 2.0 optional. However there’s a reason the ExpressCard slot is now gone…

The ExpressCard slot is gonzo because HP said they only had the slot there for mobile band cards, but now the 5101 has a sim card slot built in. (I know a few of you will be a little upset with that logic.)

Another big change is the default battery is now a four cell and has been moved to the bottom of the unit and sits flush. You can also get a six cell battery which will stick out from the bottom, raising it up similarly to the Mini 1000’s six cell pack I imagine. The 4 cell should get you 4.5 hours and the 6 cell should get you 8. (So 3 and 6 hours at best really) The Mini 21xx’s batteries will not be compatible.

As briefly mentioned above, the operating systems available will be XP, Vista, SUSE 11 and FreeDOS.

You should be able pickup the 5101 in mid-July starting at $449, but knowing HP it won’t be in anyone’s hands until August.

Along with the 5101 HP is releasing the HP ProBook 4310 laptop, which looks like the 5101’s big brother. But we don’t talk about no stinkin’ big laptops here.

Docs:

HP Mini 5101 Datasheet

HP 5101 Port Duplicator Datasheet

HP ProBook 4310 Datasheet (just in case you’re interested…)

If you have any questions let me know and I’ll forward them on to the HP rep and see if I can get an answer!

Update 12:10 EST

Some more media sent with the official press release at 12:01 EST:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odF95DnKrnA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33453597%40N04/sets/72157619942183570/

Update #2

Engadget and Gizmodo both got a little bit of hands on time and took some pics as well:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/24/hp-mini-5101-cleans-up-nice-shows-the-serious-side-of-netbooks/

http://gizmodo.com/5301782/hp-mini-5101-when-did-netbooks-get-this-nice/gallery/

Congrats to Pete in Michigan on winning the Mini 2140!! (Note, I said Missouri earlier but I’m a dork and thought MI was Missouri when it’s MO )

Running HPMiniGuide.com for the past year has been a lot of fun. The community that has sprung up around the Mini’s is just incredible and inspiring. I’m so glad to have had this opportunity to talk to all of you and create something to help so many.

So enough with sappy stuff already…as I said the community that has sprung up around the Mini’s has been incredible. The site has gotten over 300,000 page views the past two months and almost two and half million overall:

There’s also over 2000 forum members…I never thought this would ever get that big! (That’s what she said!)

I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this site, the Mini line, and netbooks in general. Maybe a Mini tablet? That’d be sweet!

To wrap things up I’d like to give a special thanks to: (in no particular order)

The totally awesome forum mods zbrown0509 and luvit

Tim Brown – still fighting the good fight for VIA. Hopefully we’ll see some more VIA based netbooks in the future!

Also from the forums, mikez’s “tough love” brand of help. (seriously thanks!)

And last, but definitely not least, the ever friendly Christine Wright. She is the best!

Oh, and viewers like you!

Thanks again everyone!

(PS, go vote for the Mini 2140 in laptop mag’s notebook madness)

I must say I do like the slim form factor, but I like the long battery life more

Congrats to Pete in Michigan on winning the Mini 2140!! (Note, I said Missouri earlier but I’m a dork and though MI was Missouri when it’s MO )

The year anniversary of the site is coming up next week and to help celebrate HP has sent a Mini 2140 to be given away on the site!! Up for grabs is the HP Mini 2140 model #KS143UT with the following specs:

• 1.6 Ghz Intel Atom Processor
• 160GB HD
• 10.1″ Screen
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• and a 3 cell battery

How to Win:
The winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on this post.

How to Enter:
Just leave a comment and make sure you put a valid email in the email field! (Your email will only be used for contacting you in regards to this contest)

More rules:
The drawing will occur on 17:01 March 23rd, 2009 PST
I can only ship to addresses in the US – Sorry!
The Winner will be contacted through the email left with their comment. If no response is received within 48 hours, or the email is invalid, another winner will be randomly drawn.
Void where prohibited

Your comments have to go through moderation so don’t panic if they don’t show up right away!

If you have questions please email them to admin (at) hp2133guide.com or head over to the forums!

Good luck!

For comparison here’s the internal pics from the HP 2133 Mini-Note dissection.

Top shell off

Empty shell

Top side of the motherboard

Bottom side of the motherboard

The 2140 is a lot easier to take apart than the 2133. The top part of the case came off easier and there were less screws holding everything together (and less stuff to unscrew)

Anything in particular you’d like to see covered in the written or video review? Please let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do

A few oberservations:

• The 2140 speakers aren’t as loud, but they’re close. Maybe 75% as loud.
• The screen is a bit brighter on the 2140
• The aluminum casing looks a tiny bit darker than the 2133

I called HP on Friday to see what was up and they couldn’t give me an answer. The rep said they were going to submit a ticket to the order warehouse for an update and said I should receive an email notification tomorrow (Monday, 1/26).

• 1.2GHz VIA CPU
• XP Home
• 8.9-inch diagonal WSVGA 1024 x 600
• 1GB memory
• 120GB 5400RPM hard drive

You can pickup one up for $399 and then mail in your rebate for $100. It’s a good deal for $299

Offer details

I just purchased the KS157UT which comes with all of the above, except it has a 6 cell battery. (Definitely worth the $30!). It’s supposed to ship on the 27th, but they had a lot of delays shipping the 2133 so who knows if that is really accurate or not. I’ll keep my eye open for it showing up on Newegg and getting it there like last time.