Our configuration came loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium, but Asus is offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 on systems purchased between June 26, 2009, and January 31, 2010. The UL30A-A1 also comes with Express Gate, which allows the user to stop short of the lengthy Windows bootup and launch right into the Express Applications (Web, Skype, Music Player, Online Gaming, Photo Manager, and Chat). Express Gate requires less than ten seconds of startup time.
The laptop performs pretty much exactly as like every other machine with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and Windows XP. It can handle a variety of tasks including surfing the web with multiple browser tabs open, playing 720p video from the desktop or Flash video from most web sites.
In the same post, Sood that Voodoo is “transitioning from ‘desktop and notebook’ manufacturing to something beyond.” While it’s unclear what “something beyond” means, he hints that besides HP taking some design and engineering cues from Voodoo that the company he founded didn’t quite fit into HP the way Sood had initially expected.
“Voodoo, as you all know, was to be integrated into the larger business units so we could take some of our ideas and products to a much larger audience,” Sood wrote. Overall, he said it “wasn’t as easy as I had hoped” to integrate the Voodoo operation into HP’s monstrous engineering and manufacturing machine. “It’s very difficult to explain the magnitude of difference,” he added.
There are a couple of things I wasn’t fond of. That touch button that disables the Nvidia cards is really a pain. The weight is also an issue. The thing weighs 13 pounds with the power adapter. But we already knew that it’s not a computer for road warriors. It’s also extremely expensive. The system we were sent to review has an MSRP of $3898. Is it worth it? Yes. And honestly, if you are looking at Alienware, you’re not expecting it to be cheap anyway. Also, it comes with Vista. If you wait a bit, though, 7 will probably be the default.
Since the early days of desktop personal computers, the size of the systems has been fairly large. This was originally due to the number of size of the chips required to make even the most basic computer run. Over time the technology has greatly improved allowing for the processors and microchips to shrink such that fewer microchips are needed. What used to take a full size expansion card the size of a legal envelope can now be done by a single chip the size of a postage stamp. With the reduction of components for the computers the size of the computer can now be reduced.
HP representatives, when asked for clarification, said there’s no reason for concern: their Voodoo plans haven’t changed, even though a few Voodoo computers seem to have disappeared from their product line. HP says they were limited edition designs.
The Inspiron Mini 10v isn’t exactly a speed demon, but the Intel Atom N270 processor is a bit more responsive than the 1.33 Z520 chip found in the base model of Dell ’s first 10 inch netbook, the Inspiron Mini 10. I’ve reviewed two different computers using that same processor used in the Asus Eee PC T91, and Eee PC 1101HA, and both left me feeling underwhelmed. It’s worth pointing out that the Dell Mini 10 is also available with a faster 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, but the 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor in the Mini 10v is generally described as being more responsive.