The maxi may now be in, but there is just something about the mini that you just can’t get rid of from your life or your wardrobe.

The mini is a word of the 60s when the Mini car zoomed into our lives and never left.

Then came the mini-skirt which didn’t just raise eyebrows – it also raised the threshold for women who started to step out, step up and be seen as well as heard.

Today, the mini is for women who won’t wear the geek label quietly.

Prada, Guess, Armani, *yawn*

Make way for the tech chick who’s tech chic with must-haves that run from Apple to Xbox and much more in between.

Her fashion statement will include the mini laptop she will most definitely be carrying in her bag, and HP has by far the best range of minis that are as flashy as they are hardy and user-friendly.

My craving since day one of setting eyes on it has been the HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition notebook.

It was unveiled on the catwalk during New York Fashion Week but that's not why this is so desirable.

This notebook is bold and yet fun, hard-edged tech but also elegant, coming dressed in red inside and out, accented by peony designs on the exterior and under the keypad.

What’s not to love of a red keyboard with touches of gold and Chinese characters here and there? Yes, all those who thought it uncool to HuaYu will have to eat their Pinyin.

The added touch - an embroidered storage sleeve that keeps the exterior protected while looking gorgeous as a clutch.

Unfortunately, as it’s a limited edition notebook, the dream of carrying the divinely designer digital clutch as you sashay down the aisles of the server room will stay a dream.

Fortunately, HP knows what a girl wants and needs, and has in its latest Mini 110 line-up, a chance to ditch regulation black and its pole opposite white even though they are dressed in swirls to break the monotony.

There’s pink, and in a shade that won’t make you Strawberry Shortcake’s sister but in the league of Lady Gaga sipping pink champagne.

Tech chicks, grab this and throw it into your bag since it’s just 1.08kg and a max 3.2cm thick, even my pink purse is thicker and heavier than that!

The attention-grabbing HP Mini offers a clear 10.1-inch screen and a keyboard that is 92 percent the size of a standard notebook PC keyboard.

The keyboard along with the slightly off-centre touchpad was, I must admit, a little hard to get used to.

There were more misses than hits when I tried working on the little laptop as the keys just didn't seem to be where they were supposed to be.

With a built-in webcam and microphone, the new HP Mini is well-designed for surfing and emailing on the go especially with the WWAN option.

The slot to insert your service provider’s wireless data card is however rather discreet and may take some hunting around. But since you’ll probably not want to bother with removing the wireless card after that, it makes sense to have it hidden away.

I like this pink number as it's just the deal for girls who love to spring nasty surprises on those who think any shade other than black and blue is fluffy.

With the slim and zippy Intel Atom processor (N270 with 1.6-GHz or N280 at 1.66-GHz) and a basic 160GB hard drive, the HP Mini will have the tech chick powering through a PowerPoint presentation (with images uploaded from the 5-in-1 digital media slot) while downloading music.

Both will happen as smoothly as lip gloss slides on a Jolie pout.

Even more lovable - the little device can be picked up with your favourite piece of plastic at S$699, so you can easily get a second laptop just because the price leaves you tickled pink.

-CNA/sf