Pretty Good Deal on HP Mini-Note 2133

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-2133-Mini-Netbook-Laptop-Computer-Blue-T...

I bought one of this a couple of weeks ago and it's held up through rigorous use. The seller must've bought out a school supply b/c he has a bunch.

His correspondence is quick, and when I asked if he could pick one for me with an unmarked screen, he did okay. It's not a perfect screen, but when the machine is on, you can't seen any defect.

$65 USD shipped is a right price, and it comes with a seemingly legit install of XP Pro SP3. Through Linux, I partitioned the 120gb hd into two, preserved XP, and installed Lubuntu 12.04 which does well, despite limitations of 900mb RAM and a 1200mHz CPU. Browsing is much faster than Chromium with Links2, an excellent graphic browser based on lynx.

It comes with an extended battery that incredibly gives me 4 hours. Replacement batteries appear to be reasonably priced on ebay.

I don't know the seller, and I may just have been lucky, but if someone is looking for an aging netbook for cheap, this might help.

Also, the 2133 has an absolutely great keyboard, much better than any Asus EEE.

HTH,
Jake

I've been looking at that one, since I still want a working XP machine for ActiveSync and my Eee is on its last legs. I'd like to hear your experiences with it.

I think using the 2133's slow cpu/low RAM for anything other than an Activesync server would be tough XP-wise. It originally came with Vista, which I can't imagine. But even with xp, browsing is tough with 2133 when using a full-blown browser (i.e. Chrome). The cpu can't handle today's webpages.

And if I remember correctly, you're not a big Linux fan. Lubuntu 12.04 runs very well--MS Word 97, Thunderbird, Google sync--but its Chrome equivalent can only chug, never sprint. That's why I mentioned Links2, which render pages and pix (no java, adobe) with speedy flawlessness.

I think the EEE 900 is a faster machine, though not by much. Much better keyboard on 2133, and the 2133 has a slightly better screen. Better hardware all around on the 2133--built-in bluetooth, reliable wifi, and like the EEE, it can boot from either sd card or usb.

Jake

A flash from the past Jake...if you search HPC factor you will see my old posts on the 2133. I picked mine up in 2010 I believe...or maybe 2009. It came with XP from the factory.

It worked fine for ActiveSync...but the VIA processor was slow.

Still when you considered I only paid like $100 used back then and I paid nearly a grand for my 900C...well it seems like a sweet deal.

What you paid, $65...is a ridiculously low price for a fine machine...congratulations!

Plenty more where that came from! And actually, I think your $100 USD in 2010 is the better deal--those machines had a hefty price tag new.

Interesting that you could get a factory-installed XP. On my machine--before I peeled it off in disgust--was a Vista sticker.

If I do banking, heavy surfing, I go to my desktop, but I've been using the 2133 for everything else since it showed up. It's such a great keyboard. But I have to use Lubuntu; XP is draggy. Though if you used QT Browser or One-Off...maybe.

Such a bummer that Links2 was never ported to Windows.

Jake

Well if it had Vista, then Win 7 would be an easy install...but, I'd rather have XP and use Chrome as my browser...faster is better...or even Opera for x86. Could be one of the Linux builds is even faster, but I never learned Linux at all...and refuse to.

I have enough problem understanding one OS, let alone a second....

Rich, do you still have your 2133? If so, I could remaster my Lubuntu set-up, send it to you on a bootable usb, then you could install it side by side with your XP setup.

Jake

No, played with it for a period of time...half a year? Then sold it off. I'm always buying some toy and then reselling it...

I'm done with buying old stuff for the most part, However........The elusive Oregon Scientific Osaris in the 16mb flavor is still on my "Its impossible to get reasonably,but i still would" list as the as long as it's cheap, Oh and that Wearable windows ce get up with the sh4, the name escapes me now.

I just picked up one of these just before the seller ran out of them. Delivery was lightning-fast. It's in very good shape. It'll take some time to transfer programs and data over from my Eee, though, so it'll be a while before I get a chance to fully put it through its paces.

Good, I think you'll be happy, given the price. If you're going to do the XP thing, it'll take some experimenting to find a browser that can deal with the low-end specs. The 2133 is my go-to machine for writing. Its keyboard and Word 97 make a good pair.

Jake

I've been using Firefox for years now, but I'd still like to see how Chrome works on it since it's already installed.

I like Chrome over most all browsers except IE11...

I have Chrome on the XP setup and it's tough-going. Maybe QT Browser?

Jake

Chrome seems about the same as Firefox, but the limited RAM makes its presence felt when loading pages with Flash content.

The built-in Bluetooth is nice, but the "Bluetooth Devices" applet is missing from the Control Panel (only "Bluetooth Configuration" is present), so I can't figure out how to match COM ports for Bluetooth ActiveSync. (I was able to connect my Flytech POS234, which has no way to connect by either USB or IrDA, via WiFi after creating a partnership with the 2133 using ActiveSync Partnership Creator [probably only possible because I didn't delete the existing partnership on the device with my old PC], but of course I get a "Synchronization error" because there are no existing settings on the 2133 to tell it what to sync with the device. Dunno how to correct that problem either.) Anyone have a clue?