The emerging popularity of low-cost notebooks is taking another shot in the arm this week with the rollout of HP’s new 2133 Mini-Note PC offering. This ultra mobile subnotebook features an impressive 8.9-inch screen, sleek aluminum casing, a remarkably large keyboard, and is powered by one of those VIA processors we’ve been hearing about lately.

The Mini-Note is expected to be available at retail before the close of April 2008 and its pricing ranges from as little as $499 for the 1.0GHz VIA processor, 512MB of RAM and a 4GB Flash module with Linux, to $749 for the 1.6GHz VIA processor, 2GB of RAM and a 120GB 7200 rpm hard drive running Windows Vista Business. Check out a detailed review and also a couple photos comparing the current Asus Eee PC with the upcoming HP 2133 at Notebooks.com.