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Remember the Mini 5101 that HP released 6 months ago to target high-end customers with business related aspirations? Turns out it’s not alone – as a matter of fact it has a new twin brother that carries the title Mini 5102. The latest, which belongs to the growing Pine Trail family, packs inside an Atom N450 processor along a 10-inch display, offered with a WSVGA or WXGA panels. But as a premium portable device, one can guess it boasts a lot more than usual. What else is new? We’re talking about a Broadcom HD video accelerator, added to the pile, while keyboard is at 95% from the regular one. Besides that you can toss inside any possible operating system available, either it’s FreeDOS, SUSE Linux, Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter/Premium editions. Battery wise, you can choose between 4-cell and 6-cell flavors, but the most attractive alternative, marked as optional, is that super cool capacitive (multitouch) touchscreen which turns that netbook into a tablet (well, not exactly, but you know what I mean). It ain’t going to be cheap, boys and girls, but we still can;t tell how much and when. PR words added after the break.

Update1: Apparently, the Mini 5102 cover is made out of a stunning brushed aluminum plate and the chassis hides an optional handle for ‘A-grades’ students. Checkout the hands-on video the good people at engadget just shared.

Update2: We’ve added another video from the CES show that demos HP’s touchscreen netbook capabilities, this time with a snapdragon and Android platforms running inside. Check it out right after the break.

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While most Nvidia ion-based netbooks are scheduled to go live at the end of this year, HP seems to be the one to take matters into its own hands and be the first to hit the scene with a graphics-boosted netbook device. The model we’re talking about is the Mini 311, which recently showed up on HP’s online shop with an HD compatible 11.6-inch (1,366 x 768) display, Atom N270 processor, an integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and built-in VGA and HDMI ports for external image use. Microsoft’s Windows XP stuffed inside to handle this powerful system, while a near-full-size (92%) keyboard, three USB hubs and Altec Lansing speakers are all part of the deal. Starting price looks pretty attractive, at $399, but any add-on will set you back an extra cash. Thus, an Atom N280, Bluetooth and 802.11n will charge you $25 each, while white flavors are listed for another $20 and 3G WWAN connection is set for $125 more. Nevertheless, we still think it’s a good bargain, especially when it runs a 720p flash video flawlessly. See for yourself after the break.

Update1: It’s not that we needed any further proof to make us believe that HP’s Mini 311 netbook is capable handling advanced high-def media files better than others, but just in case, here are some facts – risen from LaptopMag’s benchmark tests – to maintain our claims: on the PCMark 05, the 311 has scored 1,917 points, that’s 500 points above the average, while the PCMark 06 review has given the 311 a 1,386 score, which is  1,200 on top of the ordinary and just about the same score as a MacBook Air. Very impressive, isn’t it?

Update2: If you have any plans on getting one, the guys at MyHPMini discovered interesting details from HP’s service manual. In general, the 311 will soon be out in different Windows 7  versions, including Windows 7 Starter, Basic, Premium, and Professional flavors. Additionally, you’ll also get a chance to upgrade your netbook and stuff inside cool specs like:

• NVIDIA ION, the FULL platform, only with Windows 7
• 1GB RAM (plus 1GB on-board ram), total 2GB
• 2GB RAM (plus the 1GB on-board), total 3GB
• 80GB Solid-State-Drive (SSD)
• 250GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm, only with Windows 7
• 320GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm, only with Windows 7

Now that’s what we’re looking for.

[HP]

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Remember Vivienne Tam’s HP 1000 netbook edition? Turns out it now has a new “digital clutch” chic sequel, which recently showed up at New York’s Fashion Week catwalk show and said to be inspired by Chinese love story “Butterfly Lovers”. Thus, it’s all covered with light brown flavor and three beautiful butterflies, that according to Tam, “symbolize love, freedom, independence and transformation”, which are all suppose to be targeting modern women who admire the creation of “fashionable technology”. Regretfully HP hasn’t released any details about specs or pricing, until now, but with the clothing collection set to take off on Spring 2010, we seems to have plenty of time to bring’em on.

[via slashgear]

Those of you who anxiously look for high-end netbook machine with business exterior flavors, HP might have the right solution, as the company recently announced a new netbook, the Mini 5101, which comes with a slick aluminum and magnesium alloy body, housing Intel’s 1.66GHz N280 Atom processor, together with four-cell or six-cell batteries, 2 MP webcam, Bluetooth 2.0/ WiFi b/g/n connectivity and up to a 320GB HDD or an 80GB SSD. Additionally, you get to choose between a standard 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 WSVGA display or HD-compatible 1366 x 768 LED screen at the same size, paired with optional WWAN module and either Windows XP Home, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 or FreeDOS systems aboard, offered at a starting price of $449 from July. See how the Mini 5101 netbook really looks, with HP’s official video after the break.

Update1: Looks like the Mini 5101 is finally available to purchase, starting at $399.99 and including a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display, along with a flat chiclet keyboard and all the basic stuff we noted above. However, for extra cash you can get inside the business edition a 128GB SSD drive and 1366 x 768 resolution, but it will cost you a lot more.

[via HP]

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