HP unveils the Mini 1101, 110 XP and 110 Mi Netbooks – pretty and powerful

There is no denying it – the Netbook is here to stay. If you need any proof of its success, just check out these three new machines announced by HP. Their new Mini 1101 offers a 92% full size keyboard (like featured on the HP Mini 2133 we reviewed back in August of last year). It is powered by an Intel Atom processor, and comes with 1GB of memory and a 160GB HDD.

The new Mini 110 takes that Netbook experience one step further, by finally adding an (optional) HD video accelerator. This means you’ll be able to load its 160GB HDD (or 32GB SSD) with some HD content, and watch it without any stuttering or dropped frames. Other options include a WWAN (wireless broadband) adapter and a higher resolution display.

The Mini 110 will be available with Windows XP, or the HP developed Mi (Mobile Internet) Linux based operating system. All three of these machines will come with a 10.1″ LED backlit display, WiFi, webcam and a VGA connector, for hooking the machine up to a monitor, projector or hotel TV (the current generation HP Mini requires a small dongle to connect to a VGA device).

In the final portion of good news coming from HP, all these machines will feature a new synchronization software package, which will help share content between your desktop and laptop computer. With this new application, you’ll always have access to the same multimedia content on the road, as you have at home.

Best of all, you won’t have to wait too long for these new machines – the Mini 1101 will be available on June 1st for just $329 (you read that right!), the Mini 110 will be available 10 days later (in black) and on July 8th in “Pink Chic” and “White Swirl”. The 110 Mi will start at just $279 and the Mi with Windows XP will retail for $329.

What all this means to us Netbook users, is that the Netbook has evolved from a toy, into a very affordable and very powerful computer. The addition of HD video support is very welcome, and I can’t wait to see if it lives up to its promise.