HP has extended its range of netbooks with a new model designed specifically for mobile professionals.Starting at $449, the Mini 5101 will come with a brighter OLED screen, a larger, spill-resistant keyboard and a better-resolution 2-megapixel Webcam.
The Mini 5101 will also have a slightly faster Intel Atom processor, a new security feature and a higher-quality metal case than the current Mini 2140 (full review here), according to Carol Hess-Nickels, director of marketing for business netbooks at HP. The Mini 5101 will use Intel's Atom N280, which runs at 1.66 GHz, instead of the 1.6 GHz N270 in the Mini 2140, released less than six months ago.
Generally considered the third-leading netbook vendor behind Acer Inc. and Asus Inc., HP is among a few vendors to explicitly target business buyers with its netbooks. The Mini 5101 will be HP's fourth business netbook in less than a year and a half. It released the Mini 2133 in early 2008, and followed that up with the much-improved Mini 2140. HP announced a lower-end business Mini netbook in May, the Mini 1101.
