Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Reviews

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 was launched recently as the company's step into the netbook market. Soon after the released of the Inspiron Mini 9, it has been reviewed quite a number of times on various websites on the Internet. Overall, the rating given to this 8.9-inch Dell netbook is above average.


Specification
Before going through the reviews, let's look at the specification for the Dell Inspiron Mini 9:

• 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor
• Up to 1GB DDR2 533MHz RAM
• Glossy 8.9 inch LED display (1024X600)
• Up to 16GB Solid State Drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
• Wireless 802.11g Mini Card
• 1.3 Megapixel webcam (optional)
• Bluetooth 2.1 capability (optional)
• 4-Cell 32Wh Li-ion battery (4 hours battery life)
• Size: 9.2" x 6.8"x 1.3"
• Weight: 2lb 5.5oz (include battery)
• OS: Ubuntu / Windows XP

The Ubuntu version of Inspiron Mini 9 has a starting price of $349 while the Windows version start from $399.

The overview video of the Inspiron Mini 9 from Dell:


Reviews Round Up

1. Laptop Magazine reviews the Linux version of the Inspiron Mini 9, and given a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Here are the pros and cons given by Laptop Magazine:

   Pros
   * Sleek, simple Linux OS
   * Compact, sturdy design
   * Decent battery life
   * Configurable online
   
   Cons
   * Awkward keyboard
   * Solid state storage only
   * Extended battery not yet available



2. Notebook Review gets their hands on the Linux version as well. While there's no rating given, they have concluded that although the Mini 9 is a great netbook with reasonable price, it does have a few problems that are commonly seen in other netbooks such as heat, annoying glossy plastics, bad keyboard, etc. Here's the pros and cons concluded by Notebook Review:
   

   Pros
   * Small and light
   * Easy to use
   * Very well built and durable
   * Responsive Synaptics touchpad
   * Easy to upgrade RAM, SSD, and wireless cards
   * No noisy cooling fan
   * Low price for an ultraportable
   
   Cons
   * Gets a little hot
   * Glossy plastic lid is a magnet for fingerprints
   * No F11 or F12 keys, other function keys in strange location
   * 4-cell battery is nice, 6-cell battery would be better



3. Cnet has reviewed the Windows XP version and given it a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Here's the summary of their review:
   

   The good: More configurable than other Netbooks; good battery life; XP and Linux OS options.
   
   The bad: Some awkward keyboard compromises; no SSD options larger than 16GB.
   
   The bottom line: Dell's entry into the Netbook market means it's time to take these low-cost, low-power PCs seriously. The Inspiron Mini 9 is an excellent example of the form, if not radically different from the competition.

Conclusion
From the reviews that we have seen, the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is an above average netbook, with reasonable price. But it does have some flaws such as the awkward keyboard design, and larger size HDD & extended battery being unavailable. While these are acceptable, Dell should definitely fix those issues/complains in the next release in order to stay competitive in the netbook market.

Packard Bell 'dot' Netbook

Packard Bell will be releasing the 8.9-inch netbook called the 'dot'.


Due to the fact that Acer owns 75% of Packard Bell, it isn't a surprise that the 'dot' netbook actually looks a lot like the Acer Aspire One. The specification for the Packard Bell 'dot' netbook includes an Intel 1.6GHz Atom Processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 6-cell battery, three USB 2.0, one VGA, microphone and headphone ports, and a 5-in-1 multicard reader.

The Packard Bell 'dot' netbook will be available in Europe for €399($584) in the coming November.

Averatec Unveils The 10.2-inch Buddy Netbook

Averatec will be joining the netbook competition with the recently announced netbook called Buddy.


The Buddy netbook from Averatec is a 10.2-inch machine with the following specifications:

• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU
• 1GB of RAM
• 160GB HDD
• WiFi Connectivity
• Windows XP Home

The Averatec Buddy netbook will be available soon for a reasonable price of $450.

[via]

LG Xnote Mini Announced

Another new netbook announced by LG Korea. The new netbook is named the Xnote Mini which is said to be the lightest netbook from Korean manufacturer. The specs for the Xnote Mini is quite similar with the other netbook setup on the market:

• 10.2-inch screen
• Intel Atom processor rated at 1.6GHz
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Built-in 1.3-megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi and 3G access
• 3-cell battery

The only special feature for this netbook is the customized keyboard which claims to provide a more comfortable typing. While there's nothing much to be excited about the Xnote Mini feature, there has been quite some discussion on the cute Korean girls instead of the netbook itself on Engadget. :D

Asus Eee PC900A In Gold And Blue

Asus Eee PC 900A is getting new look with 2 brand new colors: Gold and Blue.





The Asus Eee PC 900A was released in August this year with the price of around $465. The specs includes a 1.6GHz Atom Processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB/16GB SSD storage, 3 USB ports, 1 VGA, and a 0.3MP webcam. Other than the new colors, the gold and blue version of Eee PC 900A will have the exact same specification. The price for the new color variants are not stated, but we expect them to be the same as others.

[via]

About NetBook Portal

About NetBook Portal
Well, the title says it all.. everything on this blog is about netbook. Welcome to the NetBook Portal!

About NetBook
Netbook is a term that we hear frequently in today's laptop industry. If you do not know what a netbook is, Wikipedia is always the best resource to find out the answer:

"The term netbook was re-introduced by Intel in February 2008 to describe a category of small-sized, low-cost, light weight, lean function subnotebooks optimized for Internet access and core computing functions (e.g., word processing) — either directly from applications installed on the netbook itself or indirectly, via cloud computing. More than 50 million Netbooks are expected to be in widespread circulation by 2011. Netbooks (or sub-notebooks as they may be known) typically come with an 7-inch to 10-inch screen."

Even with this definition, one could still easily confuse netbook with other closely related terms such as UMPC, Subnotebook, etc.. Not to worry.. Gizmodo clears this up pretty well for us. Here's a good writeup from them about the difference between Netbook, UMPC and Subnotebook.

In a nutshell, a netbook carry the following characteristics:
* Small-sized (10.2-inch or lower screen size)
* Low cost (typically under $600)
* Mainly used for Internet surfing, word-processing, and other non-CPU extensive task.

Again, welcome to the Netbook Portal, and we are pleased to present you with up-to-date reviews, and news on the netbook industry!