Joining Intel’s Classmate PC and the One Laptop Per Child PC, the Mini-Note is the latest foray into the sub-notebook PC for the classroom.

To laptop or not to laptop, that is the question many schools are asking. Parents should take heed. More and more schools have begun to require a laptop and at younger and younger ages.

The big obstacles to schools providing one laptop per student are not trivial. Laptops cost a lot of money and can be fragile. Using laptops in school requires a commitment from the school to support the machines. They are also back-breakingly heavy for young students. (Combine most laptops with a bag full of textbooks and you’ve got a recipe for curvature of the spine.) The Hewlett-Packard 2133 Mini-Note PC is the fourth entry into a new category of sub-sized PCs made with students in mind. It isn’t Kermit-green like the OLPC XO Computer (7.3-inch screen and 3 pounds) and it’s not made of ruggedized rubber like the Intel Classmate. (The newest Classmate specifications are for a 9-inch screen, 3.3 pounds, and somewhere around $350 when it ships.) HP’s Mini-Note is about the same size as the popular ASUS Eee PC (which was never really designed for the school market). What makes the Mini-Note notable is the spit and polish that makes it a nice choice of PC for lugging to and from the classroom.

High Resolution: It’s one of the only mini-notebooks with a high-resolution screen, important for viewing graphics and multimedia.

Screen Size: The Mini-Note has an 8.9-inch screen. That’s huge in the sub-notebook world. ASUS, in contrast, has a 7-inch screen.

Full-Sized Keyboard: Despite the tiny size of the machine, it’s got a nearly full-sized keyboard. Great for small hands but not impossible for adult hands.

The Price: Starts at under $500; higher depending on configuration.

Weight: At under 2 ½ pounds, it weighs less than many textbooks and is one of the lightest in its class.

Wireless: Can connect easily in and out of school.

Rugged: An anodized aluminum case makes it less fragile.

Built to Resist Wear and Tear: Display screens are coated so they won’t scratch; the keyboard is coated so that the letters don’t rub off; the hard drive gets parked in the event of a sudden jolt.

Conferencing and Messaging: A built-in webcam (parents take heed). For more information see visit HP’s website.