Can a laptop create a fashion statement? It can when a famous New York designer like Vivienne Tam puts her artistic stamp on it. Case in point – The HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Designer Edition Netbook. It has the same bits and pieces inside that the regular Black swirly Mini has in it, but this one is like a little Red sports car for geek girls. I’ve never considered myself fashion conscience, but I can’t help but like this netbook. I mean it’s Red, it’s shiny and it has flowers on it! What’s not to love?
Specifications
Operating system – Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3
Processor – Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor N270 (1.60GHz)
Memory – 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)
Hard drive – 60GB 4200RPM PATA Hard Drive
Display – 10.1″ diagonal SD LED BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1024 x 576)
Graphics card – Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Personalization – HP Mini Webcam with HP Imprint Finish (Vivienne Tam)
Keyboard – HP Matching Keyboard
Networking – Wireless-G Card with Bluetooth
Primary battery – 3 Cell Lithium Polymer Battery
Dimensions – 10.3 in (L) x 6.56 in (W) x 0.99 in (H)
Weight – 2.45 lbs
Package Contents
HP mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition
Red silky sleeve
AC Adapter
CD with Windows XP and drivers
Polishing cloth
The deep Red shiny fingerprint attracting case has a vibrant design of peony blooms that signify good fortune and prosperity. The flowers are eight shades of Pink, Mauve, Lavender and Yellow.
The flower design is only printed on the top cover, but the rest of the mini is an energizing Red.
The Left side…
The Right side…
There’s even a place to attach a hand strap. Ummm, would you carry around a netbook like a camera or cellphone, dangling from your hand? Yeah, me neither. I guess you could use it to attach a sparkly little babble though 🙂
Open the cover and wow, there’s a matching Red keyboard and trackpad!
The keys are slick and shiny just like the rest of this netbook. I prefer the matte finish of the regular mini, but the Red is pretty nice looking. I do wish that the keys were backlit though.
Click the thumbnail to view full-size image
The keyboard on this netbook is fantastic. It has a great layout and is very comfortable to type on. I love it.
I’m already a fan of the HP mini 1000, so I don’t have any additional complaints against the Vivienne Tam edition. Of course I know that people will complain about the premium that you pay for a designer edition laptop like this one. It’s like designer clothes, you pay for the label. The same thing applies here. If you configure the regular Black mini 1000 the same way that you do the Vivienne Tam edition, the price difference is $245. For that price difference, you’re getting a Red case, Red keyboard and a Red silky slip cover. Is it worth it? That all depends… are you willing to spend an extra $245 to get it? Then yeah, it’s totally worth it to you 🙂 So tell me, are you a gadgeteer girl that would pay extra for a laptop like this one?
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$245 extra is pretty steep for the glam version, but I have to admit, it IS cool!
Yeah, I agree…$245 is a bit of a steap price jump, but I have to agree…it’s so cool!!! I’d be happy to sport one of these around…imagine the envious looks when your playing around on it at the coffee shop(HMMM)…yeah, I could really like that!!!
-barbarabaker 🙂
Looks nice but not for $245 extra. Would be better to just get one of those sticker skins for the laptop/netbook instead.
Jackie: Well, this is female Geek Chic, so… it’s not quite worth the extra to me, but it might be to the grrl who has to have the best of everything. It’d have been better if they’d included a clutch to go with it, which I hear happened with some of these, so they could have fashionable accessorization. I know Best Buy is offering a Vivienne Tam-edition mouse as well.
I wonder if it’d have sold as well if it came in a Linux flavor, or even included XP themed to match the outer shell?
You guys should come to Beverly Hills, CA, where you occasionally see those diamond encrusted Moto Razors and iPhones. $245 for a little extra bling, bling? You Betcha.
OBTW: I firmly believe Beverly Hills is an island of unreality in the midst of the real world.
I’ve been known to pay $$ for a favorite designer accessory, but I think I’ll pass on this one. I picked up a pink EEE with 120 gb hard drive and XP for $279, that’s nearly $400 less than this one. I’m making my own super luxurious sleeve for it this weekend
I absolutely love the way it looks, but I just can’t justify spending the extra cash just because its pretty. If it was say $50 more, than I’d do it in a second, but not for $245. At that price, I can get a computer with much more capabilities. All that said, it is still totally droolable.
I loovvveeeeee this laptop,the color and evrything .. Its sooo chic it looks like me.. But idk 700$$ for that?ummm… mayb .mayb not… but mostlikely ill end up buying it lol
My perfect Valentine’s gift from my wonderful hubby. Now I just need the perfect mouse to complete it like my hubby complete’s me.
The two perfect pairs. Can’t wait to get one to finish my set.
i wonder if it has a dvd on it?
@Nia The current crop of netbooks do not include built in CD / DVD players.
My wife really liked it when she saw it. So she’s getting one for Mother’s Day. You can find these online for about $525. So it’s not quite as bad. I just wish it were a more powerful notebook! I am also a tech geek and I really want an SSD based with higher screen resolution and built in WAN. Oh well, you can’t have everything.
i can’t help but notice that the symbol on the enter key means “double happiness” in chinese. it’s usually used in weddings and the such. i really do love the design, but would rather have a full capacity laptop for the money. if i had $700 to spare, i would definitely buy the mini thought 😉