While trolling around for HP Mini 1000 news, I noticed a number of stories in UK based publications including Pocket Lint and T3 about the Compaq Mini 700. At first glance, I just figured this was the UK version of the Mini 1000. But upon closer inspection, it appears that the Compaq Mini 700 has a few differences:
- You can pick one up with an optional HSDPA modem
- It has a Compaq logo instead of an HP logo
And that’s about it. Really. Spec-wise, the two netbooks look pretty much identical. At least one site claims they will have different screen resolutions, but the US version of the HP Mini 1000 has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, so I’d be surprised if the UK version actually has a 1024 x 576 resolution screen.
The Compaq Mini 700 is expected to be out in the UK in mid-December for £299 while the HP Mini 1000 will be available in Februrary for £399. No, I have no idea why it costs more.
According to the US service manual, that screen resolution is accurate. The 8.9-inch Mini 1000 has a 1024×600 screen and the 10-inch has 1024×576.
Funny how Pocket Lint doesn’t just stop at 1024 x 600 res for the Compaq Mini 700 and 1024 x 576 for the Mini 1000, they go on to say that the Mini 700 has a 10.2″, 16:10 ratio screen and the Mini 1000 has a 10.1″ SD[?] display with a 16:9 ratio!
Also, it’s interesting that HP chose the new and informative name “700” to distinguish the 10.2″ model from its smaller 10.1″ brother, the “1000” 😉 (Are we sure that Carly Fiorina actually left HP and now heads McCain’s financial advisers? 😉 I wonder if commerce schools include a logic subcourse in their marketing courses 😉
Since the HSDPA is said to be optional, I don’t suppose a provider subsidy would account for the lower price of the Mini 700. (I mean, if it’s optional and you leave it out, you wouldn’t get a subsidy, so, all else equal, the price would be the same as the mini 1000.)