The gearhead bloggers at Jalopnik.com test-drive the latest ultralight notebooks.

Head of the Class
HP 2133 mini-note PC
This PC isn’t out to set speed records, but the stripped-down 2.6-pounder gets good grades for having an ExpressCard slot, an 8.9-inch screen, nearly full-size keyboard, and beefy 120 GB or 160 GB hard drives. Associate editor Matt Hardigree’s take: “It’s great for surfing and writing, but I’d need a magnifying glass to edit photos. And I had no problem using it to work in bed, but my fiancée considers that a downside.” $499, hp.com

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Price: $500 and up

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The skinny:
HP's metal-clad ultra mobile PC was designed for students but could be finding its way into carry-on bags everywhere.

The good:
They said mini and they meant it. The 2133 is definitely small enough to earn a permanant place in a backpack and won't make you look like a total herb if you whip it out on the train or anywhere in public for that matter. The wireless found service with no problem and Windows Vista ran surprisingly smoothly on the 1.2 GHz processor. The 120 GB HDD felt incredibly roomy after hanging with the its competitor, the Eee PC and its 8 GB solid state drive for a few weeks. The built-in SD and Express Card slot are excellent in supplementing the two USBs. Battery life was more than acceptable with the extended battery, which is what I had to test with. I never let it run from full to empty, but I was able to easily get a full day of sporadic use on a single charge. The high-res screen is extremely welcome and keeps the need to scroll sideways to a minimum. At 8.9-inches, it makes watching movies much better than any portable media player and even high-res (though cetainly not HD) video clips played back at more than acceptable rates. Unfortunately, it also makes it easier for looky-loos to see what brand of sordid material you're watching on the subway so try to keep it PG-13, would ya? There are children around.

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To celebrate the 25th birthday of the lovable old fart we all know as PC Magazine, HP tapped a few fancy pants designers to doll up nine of their laptops with some snazzy artwork. The result is the unfortunately-named Computerlicious project that's raising money for the National Cristina Foundation, which helps give underprivelaged kids computers. They need them, so they can come here and read this blog. Check out PCMag.com for pictures of the rest and check eBay in a few weeks for the auctions. Bring money. The Shepard Fairey (the guy behind OBEY) joint pictured above is my favorite, but you're a big boy/girl. You can decide for yourself which one you want to blow all of your PayPal cash on.

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