EDU Discount for HP 2133 Mini-Note???
Posted on 22 April 2008, at 12:19 pm, by Joel McLaughlin
Photo Courtesy HP
I work for a college here in Ohio and I thought I should try and do some investigation and see if I can get a discount, if any, on the HP 2133 Mini-Note.
After much wrangling, I discovered unless the institution has a contract, you can’t get a discount on this particular machine when purchasing direct from HP. Even if they do have a contract, the institution has to purchase it and then you’d have to pay them back. It’s not being sold as a consumer machine so you can’t get a direct discount from HP.
HP: Dell does this. Apple does this. On ANY machine. I can even get a Dell XPS at a discount direct from them. I just have to work for a qualified institution. In fact, I just go to the Dell or Apple website or in my case I can walk into the Apple store and flash my id from work and I get the discount. Why is there no direct discounts on a machine that is targeted at the education market?
Also, why was it so difficult to find this out? I ended up sending a e-mail and getting no response (from my edu address even) and going to two different chat agents on the HP site (one in business and one in consumer) and finally getting a 1800 number where I got the answer.
With that said, the price for the model I am looking at is a good deal at $549. However, HP shold take some lessons from Dell and Apple and offer a discount on ANY machine you sell. Even if it’s only a few bucks, it’s very appreciated.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I got a chuckle when I saw the $749 mini costs $757 under my system’s HP contract
It’s disappointing to see how HP dropped the ball on this rollout. I can understand initial inventory problems, but fully expected manuals and drivers to have been available on the support page at rollout. I’ve expended a lot of time investigating the mini as a personal machine, but I’d never have given such vaporware as much of my time in my IT position.
I’d initially hoped to outfit my helpdesk with a mini per tech as field units. I was also intrigued by the 4gb mini as student loaners since too many departments have mistakenly equated $$$$ with durability in that regard. However, I’ve have had to cull the for Asus EEE info to get clues about imaging/deploying Windows based ssd units. It’s a major disappointment that the cheapest, most durable mini gets the least promotion and support from HP. The ssd mini indicates HP took note of the of the sucess of the Asus eee, but apparently little else.
Right now, minis are non buys compared to 15″ laptops for as little as $430. Bulk/weight, batt life, and durability aren’t important when machines are locked to desks or stored in mobile carts. And since screens can easily be folded down or back to not obstruct views, the special education feature of minis aren’t special at all.
I give HP kudos for the gorgeous design (minus the trackpad) but I think Dell’s announced subnote will be the true “mini” to watch. Late summer will be this gadget lovers dream
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Yep, I called my rep and got the same price. I expect to see some price drops in a few months though.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I just purchased the linux version with 1.2GHZ, 120gb hard, and Suse linux at buy.com. Came out to $535.99 after the 5%($15 off) discount I found on the net.
http://the-mini-note.blogspot......ipped.html
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:54 am
KC Kim: Thanks! I’ll definitely check it out.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 am
KC Kim: Bummer…..the deal is done.
Wait…it’s a coupon. Nebbermind….