Dell is expected to launch it new mini-laptop tomorrow, and Chippy at UMPC Portal has gotten his hands on what appears to be a product sheet for the new computer. It holds a few surprises:
- The laptop will be known as the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, not the Inspiron Mini or the Inspiron 910 as previously reported
- There will be three versions, but the cheapest model will be $349, not $299 as previously reported
Otherwise, it looks like all three versions will come with solid state memory, an Intel Atom CPU and an 8.9 inch screen, which I assume will display 1024 x 600 pixels. The lightest will weigh in at 2.28 pounds.
The $349 and $399 versions will run Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and will have 512MB of RAM, while the $449 model will have twice the RAM and will run Windows XP SP3.
The cheapest model lacks a webcam and has a 4GB solid state disk, which is half the size of the SSD in the other two units.
So what do you think? At $349, are you still excited about the Dell Inspiron 9? Or would you rather buy a $329 Acer Aspire One?
I went with the Dell even knowing that the Aspire is cheaper, simply because of an employee discount coupon (17%) and because the touchpad buttons are at the bottom instead of on the sides, which is a deal breaker for me. Having tried out an Aspire at a store, I can honestly say I was not impressed with it (having your thumb on the touchpad left button while controlling the touchpad was difficult to say the least) and I hated how uncustomizable the Linux Linspire OS is. I ordered the Dell with XP but I am going to put Ubuntu on it as soon as the image is available for DL from Dell’s support site.
For $430 I got the 16 gig SSD (HDD space is not an issue for me especially once I put Ubuntu on there, and I have plenty of external HDDs, flash drives, memory cards, and networked storage to store data on), 1 gig of RAM, 1.3 webcam, and bluetooth. If I did not opt for the webcam or bluetooth, the price would have been just under $400. That beats out the Aspire deal (save for hard drive space and lack of a 2nd memory card slot).
Granted, I have an employee advantage, but what can you do. I was simply not impressed with the Aspire and I had no reason to not get the Dell.
On Dell UK site
£299 ($529)
XP with 16GB SSD
Is there really only one speaker with this? (UK site info)
I know its a ‘netbook’ but 8gb not going to do it for me…
Hmmm. I would love to get the 1GB version w/ Ubuntu, and not pay for XP.
Hmmm. I would love to get the 1GB version w/ Ubuntu, and not pay for XP.
Dell chat session:
Is the Inspiron Mini 9 available with Linux in the UK ? Where is the webpage ?
we do not have that option available as of now.
in Europe ? When – if you know ?
we do not have any information yet.
Since I bought my pretty blue Acer Aspire One with 120 gig hard drive and 1 gig memory for $349, I can’t see how Dell plans to compete with Acer. But then again, looking at the prices of current MSI and Asus netbooks, I can’t see how anyone plans to compete with Acer!
Dell is overpriced crap. It makes computers for people who don’t really know how to use computers or don’t know much about computers.
Buff, I heve been waiting for this 3 months, to find out that a decent one will cost 400€ (1$=1€ ), and it will come to Spain in October because of the Ñ.
Now eee 901 350€ ( 508$) and eee 1000h 415€ (600$) both with 6 cell battery, if nothing changes I will go for one of these 2, I need it by the end of month
So that still makes the Eee PC 701 from Expandsys the best deal? No?
I have an Asus 701 “first edition” and was thinking of upgrading. Thus far, nothing wows me. Really disappointed in the Dell. I’ll hang out and wait – the Asus meets my minimal travel needs and pitched just fine when my iMac was in the shop.
Sorry DELL but you are a disappointment.
I can buy the Acer Aspire One w/ 1Gb RAM, 120 Gb HDD and XP for $379.00 today or the 512 Kb and 8gb SSD version for $329.00
At this price the DELL is not competative, so all the waiting for nothing.
I be waiting for a couple days until the anouncement is official and if there is no change then Im getting the Aspire One.
The only good thing about DELL is the use of UBUNTU 8.04 but soon the will be a version for the Aspire too……..
problem with aspire 1447 is i CAN”T FIND IT ANYWHERE>>>…..man..it’s been announced almost 2 weeks ago now, and nobody carries it!
I just went through all the sources on Acer’s website, and you’re right, NONE of them sell the Aspire One 1447 model. Orson (in the thread above) seems to have one; where did you buy it? How did you get it?
After looking at this Dell and other options, I’d like to get the Aspire One 1447, if it’s actually available anywhere. (Why doesn’t Acer sell direct from their website?)
349? For what? You get a screen and email. With such a small storage drive, you can’t do much with it. 16 gb, I can work with it. Give me an HDD, I don’t care.
I was excited about this. Dell, you disappoint me. Come on Lenovo!
Bah – they raise the price 50$, and they don’t offer it in any colors… I may be a dork, but that promo picture with the Red/Black version looked sweet.
I have my Lenovo S10 on order anyway – but I was going to cancel if the Dell looked batter.
Been waiting and waiting for the Dell, but couldn’t wait any longer, so couple of weeks ago I pulled the trigger on an eee pc 1000h. Now that I see the Dell, I’m glad I didn’t wait!! Only 8 gb hd would be an immediate no-go. Dell sure blew it!! Could have come in with a full featured netbook and cleaned up the market, but instead they have matched the low end of the market. What a disappointment!
No thank you Dell. I’ll stick with my Acer Aspire One. at 2 pounds with a 1.6 Ghz processor, 1 gig of ram and a 120 gig hard drive, it is more machine than my old 10 pound Compaq and a heck of a lot lighter and does everything I need. Although longer battery life would be nice, the cord and brick combination of the Acer do not add much in terms of weight or bulk so I carry them with me.
I have been using the Acer for about a month now and I am pleased to report that the machine is solid, performs very well for me doing mostly web browsing, checking and sending e-mail and some short report writing. Even the track pad was not that difficult to get used to so I don’t have to carry a mouse.
I gave up waiting for the MSI Wind to show up and I am glad I did not wait for the Dell Mini 9. Dell as definitely missed the boat on this one.
You are comparing the Dell at $349 w/ 4GB to the Acer One with 8GB.
The Acer One is the same as the $399 social edition (webcam,8*GB) so that’s a 70$ difference.
Why?
The ONLY thing that could make me less unimpressed is if it came with a bigger battery than the puny Acer One has. If they do that, then the price is worth it for some.
What is it that I will be getting for that extra 70$?
I’ve used the Acer One for a while with family and gotten to live with its limitations.
What can Dell give me that is worth that? Design? This is a low end machine, I dont care. 70$, that’s 20% of the price on another Acer One.
Very underwhelmed that they didnt at least match the Acer One price.
After the all the hype and excitement from the early photos and “leaked” specs in the May/June timeframe, my interest and expectations for this unit has progressively waned with each rumored announcement date that has come and gone. With its late showing, you’d think Dell would have been able to fine-tune a really outstanding, leading-edge netbook. Turns out, it’s at the bottom of the class. The Acer Aspire one, Lenovo S10 and various Asus Eee PC models are much more attractive in terms of price and features. I guess they’re counting on selling a lot of these on the basis of the Dell name alone? Nothing to see here folks, move along.
I’m so glad and relieved with my choice to Acer aspire one (6cell,$400) last week.
Product sheet doesn’t specify battery capacity, but considering current trend, I think it’ll be 3 cell. At this point, best net book choice seems either MSI wind or Acer aspire one.
Completely agree. I eagerly awaited through the faked (I think by Dell) leaks and dates and even participated in the Dell blog. even though I never thought much of the company.
I’ve had my Aspire One 6 cell for a couple weeks now and couldn’t be happier. 4 cell battery, smaller keyboard, TINY drive, 512 mem, no webcam, no extra ssd slot…..Yikes!! I honestly think you’d have to be a huge Dell fanboy to buy this if you are aware of the alternatives.
I was worried already looking at pics and specs that were leaked. Screwed up keyboard (misaligned top row, no function keys, keyboard not even to the edge of very small machine), extreme glossy surface, ssd drives only (WHY??? beyond trendiness…why do people want these things? Yes, I know, the one advantage, more likely to survive a fall…..what about the rest of the laptop? It is best NOT to drop it! lol).
I bought a eee 1000h, knowing this was coming out, but hoping I wouldn’t regret it when I saw the actual price/specs of this. 8gb HD? psssh. Even if it did have the same battery life as a eee 901 or 1000h. 8 gigs? seriously? I mean, they’re not even aiming for the ‘netbook + a little more crowd’. Almost half of that 8 gigs will be reserved for the OS. Congratulations Dell, you figured out what people wanted a year ago.
In the end it all boils down to two things for me.
One: how much time I can get out of the battery.
Two: what the damn power cable looks like. It might sound stupid but I don’t want to be hauling around a cable that is built for a full sized laptop with the bricks that we have all grown accustomed to. I saw a photo of the power cable early on and it looked similar to one from a mac.
Anyone know anything?
it’s tiny