The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 was never exactly a speed demon. But it was one of the first 11-12 inch mini-laptops with an Atom processor. It was also one of the first products that really stretched the idea of netbooks. On the one hand, it was larger than a netbook. On the other it was priced and specced pretty much…

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Dell may be preparing to phase out the Inspiron Mini 12. The Mini 12 was arguably the first mini-notebook to blur the line between a netbook and full sized notebook. Like a typical netbook, it sports a low power Intel Atom CPU and a low price tag. But it has a 12 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display making it…

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The Samsung NC20 laptop may look a lot like the company’s popular Samsung NC10 netbook. But it’s a lot bigger. I suppose that should be expected when you’re comparing a computer with a 12 inch screen to one with a 10 inch display. But just case you needed any proof, the folks at Netbook News.de have done a little photoshoot…

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The new Intel Atom N280 isn’t the only new netbook processor in town. While Intel is just starting to ship it’s latest low power chip, competitor VIA is reportedly shipping a whole bunch of Nano processors for Samsung’s new NC20 notebook. The Samsung NC20 is a 12.1 inch notebook that will be a bit more powerful, but which will also…

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Dell has begun offering the Inspiron Mini 12 mini-laptop with Windows XP as an option. When Dell launched the not-quite-a-netbook a few months back, it was only available with Windows Vista. Now you can pick up an Ubuntu model with a starting price of $499 or a version running either Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Basic for…

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When Laptop Magazine reviewed the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 a few weeks ago, the magazine concluded that the hardware was decent, but that the system performance was substandard thanks in large part to Windows Vista operating system that Dell slapped on the cheap subnotebook (I’m going to refrain from calling a 12 inch notebook a netbook). It’s worth noting that…

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The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Dell Inspiron Mini 12 aren’t the most unattractive netbooks around. But the fact that the mini-laptops were only available in black and white did make them feel a bit drab when compared to more colorful options from companies like Lenovo and Acer. Now it looks like Dell is ready to take the lead in…

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The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 laptop is now available for order in the US, with prices ranging from around $549 to $649. The base model comes with a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 40GB HDD, and a 3 cell, 24Whr battery. For $599, you get a faster 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, a 60GB HDD, and…

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This is why I’ve never been a fan of the word netbook. Call them Liliputers; call them cheap subnotebooks; call them what you will. But the computers I’ve been most interested in for the last year or two have weighed about 3 pounds or less, had 10 inch or smaller screens, and cost around $500 or less. The problem is…

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Dell has officially pulled back the curtain on the Inspiron Mini 12, a light weight and relatively cheap 12 inch notebook. It looks almost exactly like the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, which has a 9 inch screen. But the Mini 12 is bigger, has a higher resolution display, a full sized keyboard (with function keys), and a different version of…

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