Once in a while, Kenyans are fascinated by offers presented by Safaricom, the country’s largest mobile service provider by market share during its open days. On various occasions during the Safaricom open days, there has always emerged the best deal from among many; in this case, HP Mini 100e has attracted the largest percentage of visiting customers. Laptops in Kenya are costly compared to western countries hence a low rated computer like HP Mini 100e is bound to attract many consumers; however, what Kenyans need to establish is the device’s intended use. According to HP, HP Mini 100e was built exclusively for school kids ranging from kindergarten to 6th grade, surprised? Well you shouldn’t be; HP Mini 100e will as useful to professionals compared to its target market, school kids. It’s a good deal yes, and I don’t object, but to who?
I have witnessed good friends of mine spend their life savings on this offer for professional use only to be disappointed with its limited specifications, and I don’t advice any one intending to follow the same route. HP Mini 100e is a good laptop, in fact the best in its genre; however, consumers should have the right information before acquiring it. This laptop is built with a strong plastic chassis supported by steel pins in an effort to address
school kids’ careless nature. On top of that, there is a Mylar film under the keys with sole responsibility of protecting
HP Mini 100e against any spillage. Apparently, the reason why it has a network led on the back of the lid is for teachers to see the network activity. HP Mini 100e design is completed by a non user removable handle, HP wanted to limit the number of removable parts, Ram and Hard disk are not easily accessible either. Gauging from the above specs, HP Mini 100e was clearly designed with a clear market target in mind.
Since HP Mini 100e was built for school kids, it has an inbuilt modem essentially for use in remote areas without broadband coverage. It has a 10inch (1034×600 pixels) display panel and a VGA webcam. I must admit, HP Mini 100e’s specs are not bad considering its 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor, 160GB hard drive and 1GB DDR3 RAM which can be expanded up to 2GB. The laptop is shipped with variant operating systems ranging from Windows XP, Windows 7 Starter and SUISE Linux II. Other features include; VGA output, 2 USB ports and 802.11b/g WiFi.
HP Mini 100e Features/Specifications;
- 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor
- 160GB hard drive, 1GB DDR3 RAM
- Webcam, 2USB Ports, 802.11b/g WiFi, inbuilt Modem
HP Mini 100e Safaricom Offer;
- Pre-installed Windows 7 starter edition
- McAfee parental control software
- HP Mini 100e Price in Kenya at Safaricom Shops: Kshs.19,999
