Gorgeous isn't everything -- but it helps -Slender new H-P designer netbook is elegant

Marketwatch ^ | Feb. 3, 2009 12:01 a.m. EST | Therese Poletti, MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For the first time in ages, I experienced serious computer lust.

I'm not exactly what you'd call a gadget geek. I write about technology as a business, not usually as an end user. There are enough gadget-obsessed boys out there doing that. Who wants to compete with them?

But when I saw Hewlett-Packard Co.'s unusual new netbook computer in photos last year from New York's Fashion Week, I fell for it. During the debut of fashion designer Vivienne Tam's spring collection, a model in a red, slinky dress carried the small computer in one hand, as if it were a clutch purse down the runway. The red, pink and lavender peony design on the computer case was a colorful, yet subtle, accent to the dress.

It was a clever way to build up chatter around the new computer, which started shipping last month, with its core audience. The Chinese red netbook, weighing in at 2.5 pounds, was designed with the female persuasion in mind. I think it is the first real elegant effort by a computer company to target women.

So far, most efforts targeting tech products to women are a nauseating shade of pink, or they have over-the-top embellishments such as encrusted fake jewels, that give your gadgetry that Las Vegas showgirl look.

But with the help of Tam -- who blends Western and Asian themes in her apparel -- H-P now has a glamorous, if pricey, netbook with its Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam series. It also has a selection of basic black netbooks.

Taking it for a spin

Another enticing factor of this device was the fact that it is a netbook,.....

[ansel12]

Brilliant marketing idea, pretty too.

[Red in Blue PA]

I’m ready to buy one;-)

[caseinpoint]

I don’t do pretty. I have resisted “cute” business items like time planners in favor of the old plain ones with a plain binder. But that’s just me and maybe a result of my being a product of the early women’s liberation movement when the last thing women wanted was cutesy stuff for work. We even wore dark blue or black three-piece suits—sans jewelry. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of being a woman and I love certain feminine things but not for use in my profession.

[the long march]

Yeah just what I want in a computer .... cute. Easier to get an Airbook

[Billthedrill]

I’m gonna need camo. RealTree or Mossy Oak. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize.

[retrokitten]

I want it!!!!

[mamelukesabre]

THat’s it? I pic of some chic’s butt? How bout some pics of the actual laptop?

[ansel12]

I never assumed it was for the work day.

I wouldn’t expect a girl in her coveralls to be carrying something so stylish while she is at the construction site, but in her off hours it might be more attractive than carrying her work laptop around.

[max americana]

If they’re selling the chick, I’m sold. But I’ve owned at least 2 HP laptops and they ALL suck. The processor overheats, Tech support is minimal and the tier 2 CS are numbskulls. Even with the extensive warranty, you are on the wrong side.

[caseinpoint]

True. I happen to be a one-laptop-for-all-purposes person. If I had dedicated laptops, perhaps I would consider it but I doubt it. I’m a boring person with a black laptop, a white car, brown furniture, beige home, black and brown shoes and purses. My daughters, though, would love it.;o)

[Troll_House_Cookies]

dude, i'm getting a dell

[max americana]

LOL. Where’s the bong?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Come Over here....and see this new stuff!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Searching...:

HP Expands Mini PC Portfolio Designed for Mobility, Social Media and Fashion

And a review:

First look at the HP Mini 1000 netbook

I can't be sure this is what the original article refers to...but this is Atom powered. as was the one...Therese wrote about....Linux is also available.

[Lazamataz]

I’m gonna need camo. RealTree or Mossy Oak.

You fool.

Pixelated is the way to go.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the HP Web Site:

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[tet68]

I still want one in OD that says,
“This side toward enemy”.

[Billthedrill]

What? Wait...I dropped it. Where the heck did it go? I knew there hadda be a downside.

Dang it. (Breaking out mine detector...)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Info from the HP Press release Oct 29...2008:

***************************

The HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition comes in vibrant red with a peony-flower inspired design that reflects the globally acclaimed fashion designer’s Spring 2009 collection. It seeks to satisfy the highly mobile, Internet-centric fashionista and features a 10.2-inch diagonal BrightView display.

Its design was first unveiled on the runway of Tam’s Spring 2009 Fashion Week show in Bryant Park in New York, although many on the scene mistook it for a purse rather than the companion PC that it is. Tam labeled it the world’s first “digital clutch.”

The Vivienne Tam Edition companion PC runs Windows XP Home, making the web,⁽³⁾ critical files and PC applications easily portable. It includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi⁽⁴⁾ and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. Versions with 3G capabilities⁽³⁾ are expected to be available in December.

• The HP Mini 1000 with MIE (Mobile Internet Experience) is a uniquely simple, mobile Internet companion.⁽³⁾ An HP-developed interface makes it easy to enjoy digital content – videos, photos, music and email – on demand and on the go. MIE comes loaded with instant messaging, email and Skype for online video chat, making it easy to enjoy social-media experiences anywhere consumers are connected.
  
  Applications enabling browsing, email and online video are pre-loaded and run from the MIE dashboard, minimizing startup time. Favorite websites that are added to the dashboard stay live, and the taskbar makes it easy to switch between programs.
  
  The HP Mini 1000 with MIE runs the Linux operating system. It includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi⁽⁴⁾ and Bluetooth wireless capabilities.