CNet gets hands-on with the Inspiron Mini 9 (Verdict: Anecdotally great!)
Perhaps we have a winner in the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 after all. Crave's got the first hands-on, and they seem to think it's a winner... especially in the battery life category.
In anecdotal testing, we found the Mini 9 to be highly usable for Web surfing, e-mailing, and even playing music files (its speakers were surprisingly loud, if predictably thin-sounding). The combo of Intel's Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP found in almost every current Netbook works well for basic tasks, as long as you keep expectations modest and don't mind occasional slowdown if you try and open too many browser windows at once.Other initial thoughts: The four-cell battery was impressive. We haven't done our formal battery drain testing yet, but we're anecdotally looking at between three and four hours. The system fully boots from a cold start in about 45 seconds.
This is on the XP variety, so that boot-up time (and, la-dee-da-ing here, I'd guess on the Ubuntu Netbook Remix edition, battery-life as well) should be at least meagerly improved. They also didn't find the keyboard any better or worse than competing netbooks, although phrases like "tab key reduced to a sliver" always send a chill down my spine.
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Too expensive and who knows the max RAM. Also, why isn't the Bluetooth antennae and the webcam thrown-in as a product differentiator? An antennae wire and a single-chip camera cost Dell less than $1 each.
Kudos for the SSD drives though!
1GB of RAM is not enough; additional RAM is probably the best way to improve speed, especially with the Atom processor.
I'm waiting for my Lenovo S10 to be shipped in about 9 days (or so they say....) It'll support 2GB of RAM.
I don't understand the hype about these tiny computers and their tiny capabilities. I bought an HP 2133 subnotebook recently. It comes with 1.75g of ram, a 120g hard drive, a battery that lasts quite a long time compared to other notebook computers I've owned and the usual compliment of ethernet and usb ports. It does not have a modem nor does it have a built in dvd writer/drive. I have the choice of running Vista or XP, both came in the box with the machine. Vista was pre-installed, but ran so poorly (jittery videos, poor internet performance with Firefox, slow booting) that I "downgraded" to XP. It works very well now.
The price was about 1/3 more than the eepPC displayed right next to it. I compared the features, the prices, the "What are you planning to use this thing for" factor, and this HP offering won hands down. I'm happy with it. I doubt I would have been with the eePC.
Sammy, Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
ps: Case Logic makes a portable hard drive case which fits my machine perfectly and even provides space for the power cord.
1024x600 = no thank you
Why is everyone complaining about the specs? This is a freakin 2 lb laptop with SSD for $350. It's not as feature packed as the mac mini, but for 1/10th the cost, it's shockingly close.
I'm less excited by this particular machine than the trend it represents. In a few years we'll be packing a TB drive with 8GB of RAM and 16 cores into a machine of this size.
@#3 Dillenger
Seriously it's the size of a piece of paper, you don't need it to be that large.
I had a HP 2133 mini-note on loan for 2 weeks, and I found it to be too heavy (for its size) for my tastes as an ultraportable. The Dell is about 2/3rds the weight, so I will be checking it out.
i have a hp mininote, had it for about 3 weeks. and i really like it. I just need to get an extended battery for when i travel with it. (i think it will also help with the heat issue as it gives it more airflow by elevaing the back slightly)
i actually like the weight of the little dude. makes it feel more solid and better quality than the eee i looked at. and the aluminium case feels nicer and looks cool. the weight and appearence makes it feel like i have a bit of tech from an alternate future where soviet tech overtook japanese electronics in form & and function.
its solid, clean, feels like it can take a beating, and does what its designed for :-)
i may be biased though, i hate plastic on tech. i was really ticked off that they didnt keep the metal backs for the iphone 3g's.
Anecdotally great is on of my vavourite verdicts :) I hope, dell comes up with 6 cell battery, additionally to current 4-cell 3-hour battery.
Jaak http://shop.it.ee/
Anyone else noticed how they claim it has an *LED* display: "Glossy 8.9 inch LED display (1024X600)"
If that only were true ;)