HP 2133 Mini-Note Available: Order Page, Configurations (confusing as hell)
The HP 2133 Mini-Note is available for order on HP’s Web site from $499 to $849, with a 4/17/08 estimated shipping date. The HP 2133 is about simplicity and ease of use, but you’d never know that if you’re in HP’s shopping cart.
I reviewed the 2133 Mini-Note here and really liked it.
To be fair, the HP 2133 is being sold by HP’s commercial group, who’s product info and configuration pages aren’t tuned for consumers. It’s obvious that HP’s just slapped the HP 2133 into a standard template without really thinking about the customer.
UPDATE: Our friends at HP directed us to a better page, which has a much better layout than the one I originally found, but it still has some of the same issues. If you want to buy a HP 2133, please go here instead.
You can’t customize anything when you click ‘customize,’ there’s configurations with out of whack pricing and there’s all sorts of things being offered on the page that don’t, well…compute.
The base HP 2133, which is priced at $499,comes with Linux, not Windows. But the very top of the product description reads “HP recommends Windows Vista Business.” Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering Windows isn’t even an option on this SKU.
In the product description of the $499 model there’s a line that reads “Options VGA Camera.” There’s no check box or anything next to it, so it looks like it comes with the VGA camera. But, according to HP’s product guys and a recent press release, the low-end models don’t come with a webcam. The “Options, VGA Camera” appears on the higher end models (which actually include the camera), but when you click on “product overview” there’s no mention of the webcam. I think there’s going to be some disappointed customers when their HP 2133’s show up without cameras.
There’s also an $849 configuration hidden on the “Additional Models” tab. When I first saw that price point I got kinda excited, thinking it would be some kinda uber-2133, but its specs aren’t even up to snuff with the $749 model. The more expensive HP 2133 has a slower/larger hard drive (160GB 5400rpm vs. 120GB 7200rpm), a slower processor (1.2GHz vs. 1.6GHz ), Vista Home Basic (rather than Vista Business)and just 1GB of memory instead of 2GB like its cheaper sibling. Who in their right mind would pay $100 for such a downgrade?
Another thing that bugs me is there’s a laundry list of items on the configuration page that aren’t even close to being compatible with the HP 2133. Broadband from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T are featured at the top of every 2133 page, but WWAN isn’t an option on the 2133. If you click on the graphic for mobile broadband you’re take to a page where you can select other notebooks that have WWAN.
At the bottom of the configuration pages are a bunch of ‘recommended accessories’ that an unknowing consumer could potentially buy. Want an DVD drive? Apparently you have a choice of three different models, but none of them will actually come close to fitting into the 2133. There’s supposed to be an external optical drive for the 2133, but it’s nowhere to be found here. Instead you presumably have to buy an external MultiBay case and then choose one of the drives. None of this is clearly labeled.
Extra batteries are always a good thing to buy if you have the budget for them, but none of the batteries listed here are compatible with the 2133 either. There are also a bunch of bags that are too big for the 2133, but none that will actually fit it.
There are some accessories, such as the Targus Mobile Port Station, that should work with the 2133, but customers shouldn’t have to work through such a hodge-podge of options and guess which ones will work with their new notebooks.
There are a lot of good folks over at HP who put a lot of time and energy into bringing the HP 2133 to market (I reviewed it here), but I wonder how many customers will walk away from their online shopping cart. This is another example of HP failing at the ‘last mile,’ when customers are ready to fork over wads of cash.
****Updates***
The “good” HP 2133 order page isn’t all that great and needs work too.
I tested out this page by adding the $599 HP 2133 that comes with a 120GB hard drive to my cart. After adding the 2133 to my cart I was redirected to a 2133 accessories page where I was given the glorious option of adding a 120GB primary hard drive for $119.
This page also had the external MultiBay II Cradle for $79, which appears to be a DVD burner at first glance (the photo is of a MultiBay II cradle loaded with a DVD burner), but if you actually order it all you’ll get is a case for an external DVD drive. I wonder how many people are going to order this item thinking they’re getting a DVD drive and complain to HP.
Rugged Laptops
April 21st at 6:09pm
Wow, there are a lot of things wrong with that order page - they are risking disappointing a lot of customers when they don’t receive what they expected - or simply lose the customer in the checkout process.