Mini-Notebooks

HP Unveils $499 Mini-Notebook

The full-function, ultra-affordable ultraportable, shipping with Linux or Windows Vista, will likely fly off the shelves.



Until recently, you could get a notebook for as little as $500—if you didn't mind it weighing at least 5 pounds. Or you could get one that weighed less than 4 pounds—if you didn't mind it costing between $1,000 and $3,000. New devices such ass the Asus Eee and Everex Cloudbook tweaked this equation, with 2-pound configurations starting at $299 ... as long as you were willing to use Linux, on a 7-inch screen.