Anyone ordered the 2140 with the new high def screen yet???

Wondering about this because I am thinking about ordering myself! According to everything I've read, the 2140 with the high-definition display (1366 x 768) became available last week on April 6th, and it does show as being available to be ordered on the HP web site. However, I would like to know if anyone HAS ordered this model; or, even better, if anyone has RECEIVED the new version and can provide a review!

 

I just ordered it last week. $500 shipped to Hawaii. >_<

 

Did you order directly from the HP site or somewhere else? Did you get any other upgrades? Will this be your first netbook? (It's mine, which is why all the questions!)

Definitely post when you receive it!

 

I'm also looking forward to hearing/reading the first user reviews of the 2140 with the new display option! The reviews of the 2140 with the standard display already put it at the head of class, so I'm expecting the new display make it THE top choice!

The Dell Mini 10 is the only other netbook offering the 1366x768 display option, but it's limited to 1GB of RAM. The 2140 can be upgraded to 2GB (and it looks MUCH better).

 

I ordered the 2140 through HP's site. Yes, this will be my first netbook. I was trying to decide between the 2140, the 1000, the Sony P, and the Dell Mini 9. The Dell's resolution is unusable, so that was out and I've had Sony, so I fully expect that the laptop can't be downgraded to XP without losing some of its features, despite the efforts of certain extremely talented females. Price wasn't really a big issue for me, so what it came down to was the fact that the Sony is woefully underpowered and is basically locked into Vista.

As for the Dell Mini 10 - junk! Not even passable as a Hackintosh. It uses GMA 500, IIRC. Much better to get the 2140, which uses GMA 950.

 

Thanks for the additional info, teknerd! Based on your user name, I was thinking maybe you had already gone through 10 netbooks.

We were trying to decide between this and the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. We really liked the 1000HE, but when I tried an Asus keyboard in store, I found the chicklet-style keyboard less comfortable (despite what everyone else seems to say), and I just couldn't seem to get past that teeny-tiny right shift key (I'm a touch typist). Plus I just love the HP's aluminum casing as well.

The 2140 is going to be my birthday present; DH is probably going to order for me either today or tomorrow.

 

I ordered one on the 6th too. I actually got a shipping confirmation this morning, which is surprising, as I thought they'd been delayed. I'm looking forward to upgrading the memory, putting in an SSD and adding a MOGO x54 mouse to the 2140's express card slot.

 

Great to hear that you got your shipping confirmation already! So you are going to upgrade the memory yourself? We are probably going to have it shipped with the 2 GB RAM.

 

The Mini 1000 is only limited to 1 GB RAM, not even user upgradable?

 

According to the HP Service Manual for the Mini 1000, the single memory slot can have a 512mb, 1024mb (1GB) 0r 2048mb (2GB) module (DIMM).

The Mini 1000 XP can only be configured with 512mb or 1024mb. Microsoft regulations only allow XP Home to be sold on systems with no more than 1GB of RAM. The Mini 1000 Mi (Linux) can be ordered with 2GB- LINK

There is nothing stopping buyers from upgrading to 2GB after purchase on XP Home systems. You'd simply remove the installed 512mb or 1024 DIMM and pop in a 2048mb DIMM.

 

Does anyone know what internet browser is pre-loaded on the 2140? I prefer to use Firefox, which my husband seems to think is some strange, unstable random thing that NO ONE uses! Just hoping that maybe it comes preloaded with both IE and Firefox so that I don't have to argue with him about downloading the latter.

 

the 2140's that I have been setting up for my colleagues came with IE7 installed, as might any other Windows XP standard installation. One of the first things I add is selections from the Google collection (Picasa, Skype, Google Earth, etc.). One of those is Chrome, which I much prefer over Firefox. But the Firefox download and install is quick and easy. Do you do any web creation or design? If so, tell your husband you meed multiple browsers to compare how the site looks in different browsers.

 

A 2GB module will cost about $24 from Crucial or other vendors of RAM.

 

Thanks--I think I have won the Firefox argument with my husband! We have been having some internet connection problems that seem to be resolved, so we plan to order the 2140 today.

Has anyone received theirs yet? I'm eager to hear a review!

 

Finally ordered yesterday! It was only $3 more to upgrade to UPS 2-day shipping, so we selected that option, although it's still listing a shipping date of April 25th, so who knows? I'm just excited to have finally ordered!!!

 

Oh, btw, we didn't get the 2 MB of RAM because there wasn't an option to have this come installed with the "smart buy" model that we chose; we may upgrade the RAM ourselves later.

 

Wow, the 2140 is easy to open for shure! Bought it a couple weeks ago (the lower res, they won't be selling the high-def here). You'll only need to take out the battery, take 3 screws out and pop the kb off. Everything you might want to change is underneath it.

 

I ordered on the 10th and my original 'estimated ship date' was the 18th, with delivery on the 20th. Although the status webpage still shows the same estimated ship/delivery dates, clicking on the item's details shows an estimated delivery date of the 30th. GROSS! I may cancel, as that is going to be the beginning of finals and I can't afford to be distracted by shiny new toys at that time.

 

That's too bad; I was still hoping to get mine before my birthday, which is next Sunday!!!

Thorne, thanks for the info on the easy access--that's good news. Btw, how long did it take yours to ship?

 

HD Screen Review

Link 2

 

My 'estimated' delivery date came and went...who knows when they're going to send it.

 

Shipped, today! 12hrs later...still no tracking number. HP is annoying.

 

Ours shipped yesterday!!! If the 2-day shipping really works, we should have it tomorrow...we'll see.

 

Well my tracking number finally came through and it should get here tomorrow, but with my luck it will come on Monday. Maybe I can call and complain for a shipping refund.

 

Unfortunately, DH read our shipping notice wrong--we had also ordered a case for the netbook, and THAT'S what shipped; we received it yesterday. But it looks like the netbook itself still hasn't shipped.

 

That sucks, teknerd122, I feel your pain. I'm waiting to see what happens to a backorder I have with CDW.com right now (preferred vendor at work). If they take too long, I might need to cancel and go with HP direct.

Right now the estimated shipping date on the HP website is 5/1, and given your luck, it looks like they ship a few days after the estimate.

I hope you get your 2140 soon! I'm curious how everyone else's impressions of HP's shipping with their orders: did your ship day come and go like teknerd's, or has it just gone through properly?

 

Is anybody going to make an official HP Mini 2140 thread?

I don't think there is one here like official threads for other notebook models...

If somebody receives the 2140, can you comment on the heat and noise?
Also, if possible, can you go to the sleep mode, wake up the netbook, and see how the fan noise changes?
I'm considering a high-resolution one, but I'm really worried about the fan noise and heat problems...

I have a HP notebook, and after the sleep mode, its fan noise gets louder and never gets quiet until I turn it off and turn in on again.

Thanks!!!

 

I'll check those out as soon as my 2140 arrives

You know I was thinking the same thing about a 2140 thread...

 

I got it! Delivery estimate was next Tuesday. I noticed through the tracking number that the computer arrived in Honolulu at 10am, so I promptly called fedex and asked if they could just prepare it for me to pick up, since they weren't going to put it on a truck until tuesday. The phone operator (I forget her name - but she was terrible and rude) said that they would not do that because HP doesn't allow them to hold it at the shipping facility until after the first delivery attempt is made. Anyone who lives in Hawaii knows that rules don't necessarily apply here, so long as you have a little charm. I called my local fedex/kinkos to get the distribution center code...then called fedex to try to get patched through to the local distributor. I ended up with the same frickin fedex operator and she totally blocked me. Said that she handles the calls and that she wouldn't patch me through without a name and a good reason. I hung up on her. Called HP to complain about FedEx. Then, at 3pm, fedex knocked on my door with the laptop! yay for FedEx making its deadline (despite the distressing tracking information they supplied me and the rude CSR who told me they weren't obligated to ship until the 28th - hello, i paid 2nd day shipping!?). Boo to HP for taking my money on the 10th and not sending the product until the 23rd. This is a shameful practice. If they don't have the computer, they shouldn't take orders (they should call them preorders). They claimed the computer was in-stock in their California warehouse, yet the computer was shipped from China. BOOO on hp.

The resolution is perfect. The text is not that small...I had a WUXGA+ (1920x1200) 15.4" Dell 8600 and the text appears to be about the same size. Heat is not a problem, but I'm not sure if it's because the computer doesn't get hot or because the 6-cell battery lifts the rear end so much that massive amounts of air can pass beneath the computer (I suspect the latter because my Macbook Pro cools down significantly from this kind of passive cooling when I prop it up). The fan has been on consistently (I'm running Hulu), but I can't hear it unless I place my ear next to it. This may be because the ambient noise in my apartment is too loud. If you live near traffic or have A/C or a fan blowing, the noise from the laptop is not going to be a problem for you.

Issues: 1) First startup takes forever because the computer has to install bloatware and restart itself. Very annoying. 2) There is a tiny tiny paint chip near the right hinge. 3) the trackpad is terrible. With the stock install, the scrolling section on the right is terrible. It causes you to jump to the bottom of the page and it doesn't work to scroll up. Probably just need to sort the drivers. Beyond the scrolling issue, it's just too small. I constantly find myself trying to scroll beyond the vertical boundary of the pad. It's also inaccurate. I tried to play isketch and it was a complete disaster. A pointing stick would be much better. 4) I hate HP's love affair with blue LED lights. For some reason, blue LEDs really bug me - it's not a personal preference, it's a physical thing. The blue irritates my eyes. The power button LED is a nice, cool teal color and the wireless LED is the typical, retina-searing blue.

P.S. The laptop's keyboard is amazing! The action is better than on my Dell m1210 and much closer to my MBP, despite the keys being undersized. It just feels good to type on.

 

Oh...and battery life on this first full charge is insane. I've been using the thing for 3 hours and am still at 44% battery life. an hour of my use was video on Hulu and iSketch (simultaneously) - a shockwave game that cuts my MacBook Pro's usual 2.5 hour battery life down to less than an hour (maybe an odd OSX anomaly).

I can't wait to install a Lite version of XP.

 

If you haven't already done some clean-up, I'd suggest downloading a few utilities such as Revo Uninstaller and PC Decrapifier (both free, just Google them) to uninstall the bloatware included. Unfortunately, HP (and Toshiba) seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to 'trial' software coming pre-installed.

 

yah the HP bloat is huge. I'm going to do a clean, Lite install of the OS. I want to repartition the HD anyway. I had considered getting a 500gb drive for this thing, but that seems a bit excessive. The more that I use this computer, the more that I think I could have used it as a primary laptop. My Dell m1210 is cute, but the battery life is teh horrible and, really, if I do any heavy lifting it's usually with my desktop or my mac.

P.S. I know that I said I love the action on the keyboard, and while that's still true, I have to say that I think my favorite feature is the semi-gloss coating on the keys. No more greasemarks! *knock on wood* I always wondered why computer manufacturers didn't use glossy plastics on the keys. I hate when matte plastic becomes shiny. It's so nasty.

P.S.S. How do we get a mini 2xxx owner's thread started?

 

teknerd, glad to hear you finally got yours!!! Sounds like you are enjoying it so far...btw, if you do start a separate owners thread, please post the link here so that I can join you there!

We got a shipping notice yesterday (for the actual computer this time), although like what happened to you, there was no tracking info yet. I'm guessing it won't arrive today, so maybe Monday (too bad tomorrow is Sunday since that is my actual birthday).

Glad to hear your keyboard comments--that is one of the main reasons I wanted this model! I honestly don't think the trackpad will bother me, but we'll see. Keep posting your impressions as your try it out more!

 

So I have the trackpad more or less figured out. It definitely doesn't have enough vertical space, but it's something you get used to? The scrolling area on the right is just to the left of where HP places the scroll decal - the area directly over and to the right of the marked scrolling area is a trackpad dead zone. Even if it's just my computer, I don't think that it's worth sending back over that. The keys are definitely smaller, but the feedback is so good that my typing hasn't really slowed down because of it. If anything, it's easier to type on this than it is on the full size keyboard from my m1210 - which has a really ugly, spongy key action.

 

Thanks, resrubix!

Congratualations, teknerd122!

Can you put your netbook on the battery to the sleep mode, wake it up, and see what happens to the fan speed/noise?

My HP dv4t gets really loud when I wake it up from the sleep mode, and its fan speed never gets back to the normal fan speed until I turn it off.

Because I'm considering this netbook to use on my college campus, I'll use the sleep mode a lot. And, it doesn't make sense to turn it off after putting it to the sleep mode. So, I want to know about it before buying it.

I found an article about the 2140 that mentions this issue
http://fedtechmagazine.com/article.asp?item_id=535 (Read the "Disadvantages" part)
Does a loud noise go away after a few seconds or continue until you re-boot it or go to the hibernation mode?

Thank you in advance

 

I've been sleeping/reopening the way one would if rushing from class to class. I have not experienced any kind of unusually harsh or loud noises. There is a very low whir if you put your ear next to the vent, and a small amount of air coming out.

 

I just read the article and now know what you're talking about. The whine is an intel issue that has affected their processors since, at least, the introduction of the Pentium M. My Dell 8600, m1210, and MacBook Pro have that high pitched sound on occasion. Plugging them in takes them out of power-save mode (where the processor is clocked down) and sometimes eliminates the noise. For others, opening programs that tax the processor will get rid of the sound. It's just something that you have to live with if it happens to you (unless you can get them to take the computer back, but you'll never be guaranteed a non-whining replacement).

 

yes, congrats to teknerd. I am psyched for you. Thanks for the detailed tips.

PlanetEarth, you're welcome. Thank me again when I get the unit

I know some systems push their fan to max until power management software kicks back in. I've heard "whine" before from computers: sometimes it's the cpu, sometimes it's a random circuit path on the board, a speaker, an ethernet port, but I got used to it and tuned it out whenever I heard it--coincidentally the last whine I remember was on an m1210.

 

teknerd122, thank you for checking and answering my question

Well.. what is CPU "whine"? Does that mean the CPU makes my fan "whine"?
Or, does the CPU actually whine?
There are three fan speeds for my HP dv4t. The fan stays at the slowest speed until I use some CPU or GPU demanding programs. But, then, when I wake it up from the sleep mode, the fan stays at the medium speed until I either turn it off or put it to the hibernation mode.
It's maddening!!!

Anyway, thank you a lot!

wesrubix, I'll thank you again and also congratulate you!

 

The whine that's being discussed in the article that you linked is most definitely CPU whine. It's a terrible, high-pitched sound that reverberates in the back of your skull. At least it does for me. As for fan noise, which is completely separate, I've only heard the laptop fan at low - it's always on, but you can barely hear it. There is no difference, for me, between pre- and post- sleep fan speeds.

 

Thanks again

I think the fan noise issue of my laptop is maybe related to the BIOS...
Anyway, then I assume that the 2140 does not have the same problem!

That makes me like the 2140 more

Anyway, thank you again... Have fun with your 2140!

 

That CPU whine is very annoying, especially to those of us with hyper-sensitive hearing and/or who are easily distracted. I found the easiest solution was to visit my doctor- Xanax (or Valium) do the trick! I can actually ignore it completely now...and I can't feel my head most of the time!

 

CPU whine reminds me of hearing tests at their highest pitch. It's similar to leaving a CRT TV on--I can hear it across the apartment and it drives me nuts. CPU whine in my experience is intermittent, so it's not a permanent issue. My heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with it regularly, because it can be annoying.

 

Latest word is that CDW supposedly shipped out to UPS, but hasn't received an ETA. Quite the lead time from The original order date of April 17th, but to be fair to CDW, the availability was listed as "Call."

 

My 2140 arrived today. I don't know how that happened, but it did. It's charging now. I'll try to go back and answer the questions that people had before when I get a chance later on.

fan noise: haven't had this issue. It's always been quiet, before and after sleeps.

cpu whine: none

bloat: I didn't see much anything bloaty, except the office trial. It looked like a plain jane XP install with a few extras to support function keys like volume control. I'm doing a reinstall anyway, because that's just what I do, but so far so good.

screen: little glossier than I expected, but that's OK. Not planning to use this in sunny weather--if it's sunny out, I shouldn't be on my computer outside

 

wesrubix: how are you doing the install? I tried to do a USB thumbdrive install, but it failed (for some reason it looks like the drive isn't bootable).

I noticed the other night that there was actually quite a bit of wooshing from the cpu fan. I normally don't notice this because there is a fair amount of ambient noise, but the other night was particularly quiet.

 

teknerd, I got an external optical drive. (I know: cheating.)

I actually ended up installing Vista Business on this little puppy. I upgraded the RAM to 2GB. (I noticed the RAM the computer came with was PC2-6400, but you only need PC2-5300.) It runs great.

When you do a fresh install though, be sure to set the SATA Native mode to disabled in the BIOS. That way any SATA command corruption won't happen. After you install the Intel Matrix Storage driver from Windows, the setting should go back to Enabled (mine did) and you'll get full HDD performance.

HP laptops (all of them in my experience) have a setting called Fan Always On AC Power set to enabled by default, which might explain that wooshing and other fan noise that people have experienced. But even at full, it's not that noticeable. Like teknerd, I have a decent amount of noise in the room anyway (i.e. other computers).

Teknerd, how did you format your thumbdrive? Not to ask the obvious, but were you able to select the usb device as a bootable device with F9 at the BIOS screen?

Here's a nice Vista article, but I'm not sure which OS you're trying to install:
http://kurtsh.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA410C7F7E038D!1665.entry

There were others that seemed needlessly complicated. This one seemed easy to read (IMO):
http://www.eeeguides.com/2007/11/installing-windows-xp-from-usb-thumb.html

 

Wes:

My persistent fan noise occurs even when the computer is not plugged in. I'll check the power settings

My thumbdrive is formatted as FAT. I followed a guide for installing XP on the 2133 - I am able to select my usb drive as the boot disk, but the computer still ignores it on boot. Very odd. I've also been reading that there's an issue where the 2140 bios doesn't really support usb-thumbdrive booting like the 2133 did.

 

Tek,

That really stinks about the fan noise. I'll let you know if I notice anything like that on my unit.

I just tried booting my mini off of a usb stick (Apacer 2GB for what that's worth--probably all the same). The BIOS shows "usb legacy" instead of the boot device order (first, second, third, etc.) and then the boot device menu shows no option to boot from the stick. .

Dunno what to tell you except bummer. My BIOS version is f.02 date 3/24/09, which sounds pretty up to date. I'm too tired to search right now, but I'm curious now and need to find out what the deal is. This is the first HP laptop I've seen that won't boot from USB...

EDIT: Using the mini just now and I can hear the fan. It's quiet and doesn't bother me though--I enjoy white noise. I know my bios is set to fan always on AC, but I'm on battery now.

 

Yeah the noise doesn't particularly bother me, either. I get the same USB issue when I try to boot. Definitely stinks.