The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 details, and Price drop.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="295" caption="Thanks Dell nice pic."][/caption]

We are starting to see the details emerge for the Dell E Netbook, and as you know from previous posts, I'm one interested puppy.  The name given to Dell's offering to the UMPC market is the "Inspiron Mini 9", but was it worth the wait?

Last month I posted on leaked details which weren't too far off the mark.  The changes that we will see are a 1.6GHz Atom processor, the rest looks pretty standard.  I'm still waiting on being able to do a proper order to determine the real price, at this stage it is justpre -order with a AU$599 online price.  Because of the way Dell works, I'm interested as to how much we'll be able to customise the Mini 9, and what the real price will be in the end.

Last week I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with the Asus Eee PC 901 - Windows version (thanks, Tim!), which was quite impressive.  The only flaw I could see was having the 2 small drives.  Tim said that he had to reconfigure the 901 and install XP onto the larger drive.  This was because when he installed MS Office, he was out of space.  Now, the Linux version of the 901 comes with a 20GBSSD, not sure why if it is the 4GB + 16GB combo.  If it is, then I would say that you would be having similar problems with space.

The Dell seems to get around this by just offering up to 16GB SSD.  So I guess this means that it will be just the one drive.  Another difference is that the 901 also has the larger battery pack, 6 cells I think, where the Dell comes with a 4 cell.  Again, I'll be keen to see if the battery is an  upgrade option.

In the all important $ column, I note that the 901 was dropped to AU$649, and so at this time, with the Dell weighing in at AU$599, it seems a good deal.  But I'll be waiting till I can order one before I get too excited.

Jason Remnant


While i was editing this article, Dell updated the website so you can order the Inspiron Mini 9, just to make me look silly. There is not much to say, but the options are limited, limited to the details above really.  There are no options for the SSD, you get the 16GB, or the battery.  Also no Ubuntu version yet, just XP Home.  I still like it, and at the price, the Mini 9 could be aEee PC killer.

Jason Remnant Again.

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Dell Sub notebook surfaces and it has Ubuntu on it.

Image via Wikipedia

Last month I proclaimed my desire for the UMPC/Netbook and sighted a couple of models that I was interested in.  Well, since that post I have been keeping an eye out and, so far, the shelves have only been stocked with the Asus Eee PC, and the occasional HP Aspire One.  The HP is a nice machine, but the price places it up there with a basic full laptop, so I have been waiting to see what would come from other manufacturers, namely Dell.

Well, finally, some details are beginning to emerge as Gizmodo gets some leaked specs, and in a world where early information is good information, you can count me in.

Important bits:

• Processor - Intel Atom, 1.5GHz single core


• Memory - 1Gb


• LCD - 8.9" (1024x600)


• HHD - Flash SSD 4/8/16Gb


• OS - Ubuntu 8.04/Win XP

The Dell Inspiron 910 looks to have all the normal Netbook features, plus the introduction of Ubuntu 8.04.  I have played around a little with the Linux offering on the Eee PC and, as good as it was, I kept wanting a more fleshed out experience.  The Netbook Remix of Ubuntu looks great and promises to bring a fuller experience for those of us living in/on the cloud.  So the Inspiron 910 looks like it's going to be the Netbook of choice, and with a rumour of a $299 US price tag, I'll be cleaning some space on the old plastic card.

Launch is rumored for 22nd of August which will be just in time for my 32nd year on this earth(hint hint). Though when it will be available here in Oz is anyone's guess.

Jason Remnant.

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