On Tuesday Hewlett Packard announced the launch of its new Mini-Note PC. Its shipping is set to begin sometime next week. The 2133 Mini-Note, starting at a base price of $500, has a nine-inch screen with 1280x768 resolution, weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and comes with an aluminum case and an optional webcam. The computer was outfitted with a 1.2GHz Via processor, 1 GB of RAM and a 120 GB, 5400 RPM hard drive.

Users of other low-cost laptops specially made for students, such as the XO from One Laptop Per Child, the Eee PC from Asus, and the Classmate PC from Intel, are usually complaining of the limitations of the twee keyboard. This is not the case with HP’s product, as despite the computer’s size, its full QWERTY keyboard was shrunk by only 8 percent. The operating systems supported by the new laptop are Windows Vista and the open-source Linux.

Until last year, the number of personal computers that have been shipped worldwide has been of 66.85 million, which shows a 15.5 percent year-over-year increase. A strong demand for the more and more en vogue portable computers, such as laptops and ultraportables, seems to be the one of the reasons for this important jump. HP’s new product comes in order to meet the ever growing computer demand. In the third quarter, HP Co. has shipped no less than 13.1 million personal computers all over the world, which marks a 19.6 percent market share and a 33 percent year-over-year increase for the company.

Once the 2133 Mini-Note is out, the company’s sale numbers should be pretty interesting to look at.