The Dell Inspiron Duo is now available for pre-order from the Microsoft Store. The convertible tablet-style netbooks is going for $549, although you can pay an extra $99 if you want for Microsoft’s “Signature Premium” service which provides priority tech support and a theft recovery system. There’s also an optional $49 “Audio Station” dock for the laptop.
The Inspiron Duo has a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel capacitive touchscreen display that can be flipped backward and forward so you can use the computer as a laptop or a tablet. The Duo also ahs a 1.5GHz Intel Atom n550 dual core CPU, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive and runs Windows 7 Home Premium.
Interestingly, the Microsoft Store describes the computer as a netbook — even though it has 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. While the company specifically designed Windows 7 Starter Edition as a low cost alternative to Home Premium for netbooks, the company has been allowing netbook users to upgrade to Home Premium, Pro, or Ultimate since day one. This is just the first time I can remember a 10 inch netbook with Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled showing up at the Microsoft Store.
The Dell Inspiron Duo is expected to ship the first week of December.
You can also sign up through the Dell website and save additional money if you are a college student… https://DellU.com/OR/NicolasH_duo
The netbook labels is much more likely due to the fact that it does not have an internal optical drive, something that currently is the largest differentiation between the two form factors.