HP's new netbook has been listed with several European e-tailers and the lowest list price currently stands at a rather uncomfortable €387, although most sites are listing it for €399.
Unlike the old 2133, which was powered by VIA's C7 CPU, the new HP Compaq Mini 701EG is based on Intel's Atom/945 combo. It packs 1GB of memory and a 60GB hard drive, a 10-inch screen and a 3-cell battery. Unfortunately, like its VIA-based predecessor, the Mini is overpriced. You can get a better speced machine for about the same cash from a variety of vendors, including Lenovo, MSI and Asus.
Not all is bad, the new Mini 701 looks a lot better than most of its competitors, so if you can live with 60GB of storage, and you're a fashion conscious consumer, it might be worth a peek.
The HP Compaq Mini 701 should officially launch within days, but we don't expect it to hit store shelves in volume in time for the holidays, so you'll probably have to wait for 2009 to get one. Hopefully, the price will drop by then, too.
