Dell Inspiron Mini 12 notebook-not-netbook With the evolution of the netbook now progressing at such a rate that it would probably make Darwin mutter darkly about wishing the Bible was right, hardly a month, week, day passes without a new sub-species crawling from the primordial ooze. Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Dell's Inspiron Mini 12: big screen for a netbook One of …
From what I've gathered, the current Mini 12 is limited to a max 1GB of RAM (Intel chipset limitation. That, coupled with the limited options (no SSD, no HDMI) really limits its potential.
I think the best solution is to wait for Rev. 2 of Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 -Note from Dell's website:
Coming Soon
The following Inspiron Mini 10 features will be available at a later date:
* HD capabilities – Enjoy your favorite movies on the optional 720p Hi-def 10.1¨ seamless display.
* More Storage – Do even more with optional 2GB memory and optional 250GB4 hard drive.
* Navigation – Know your way like the back of your hand using the optional GPS with optional internal WWAN support.
* Design Studio – Personalize your Mini 10 with cool designs from the artist, Tristen Eaton, in Dell’s Design Studio.
* Long battery life – No need to sacrifice weight for battery life. The Inspiron Mini 10 provides extended battery life while keeping the weight of the system under 3 pounds. 3-cell: approx. 3 hours. 6-cell: approx. 6.5 hours.
* The New TV – Watch your favorite TV shows with the internal digital TV tuner.
>Of course, what really separates the Mini 12 from the herd is that screen. At 12.1 inches corner to >corner and with a netbook-beating resolution of 1280 x 800, the Mini 12 is a handy choice for >anyone not wanting to make do with the usual 8.9in or 10.1in 1024 x 600 netbook-standard >screen size and resolution.
top of page 6.
Still keeping hold of my money.
Not all tick boxes there yet.
ttfn
Having a GMA500 graphic card, I'd forget about trying Linux on it until Intel come out with a proper driver. For some details:
http://www.happyassassin.net/2009/01/30/intel-gma-500-poulsbo-graphics-on-linux-a-precise-and-comprehensive-summary-as-to-why-youre-screwed/
SCC is:
Small, Cheap, Computer.
This one manages one out of three.
Let's compare:
Small:
EEE701 = 22.5 x 16.4 x 3.5 cm and ~.91Kg
Mini12 = 29.9 x 22.9 x 2.76 and 1.24Kg
Cheap:
EEE701 = £144.83
Mini12 = £329.00
Computer
EEE701 = Yes
Mini12 = Yes
A year or so back if you bought a computer for a little under £400 with a 12" screen you would just think it was a standard low-end laptop. Now post-EEEPC hype everyone tries to tell you it is a Netbook or SCC. Why does every low end laptop now pretend to be something that it isn't, and why do reviewers fall for the hype.
"Incidentally, US buyers can opt for the 1.6GHz chip in the Linux 12 for an extra $50, but UK buyers have to make do with the 1.33GHz unit."
It never ceases to amaze me that the same [insert manufactured item here] can not be delivered to different countries in identical configurations. In this case do the marketing droids think that people in the UK don't WANT a faster CPU for their Linux? Are there IP licensing restrictions? Oh wait, I know... M$ wants to have exclusive access to the faster CPU to make their POS O/S appear to be able to keep up to Linux... but only in the UK? Curiouser and curiouser.
If you're going to compare a netbook to the Macbook Air, it would be nice to see benchmark figures for a regular notebook included, especially as I suspect they are 3 or more times as fast. It's only a little help to know this is more or less the same speed as every other Atom based netbooks.
Nice to see that Dell will ship this with Ubuntu as an alternative to Windoze and it will save you a few quid on the base spec (£329 compared to £379) but as usual you get a lower spec machine: not just a smaller HDD but also a slower Atom CPU.
Indeed if you opt for an 80GB HDD (same as the XP model) you'll pay £419! So your Dell Mini 12 with a slower CPU and free OS/software costs more than a Dell Mini 12 with pay-for OS/software. Go figure.
it's not enough that the machine is to limited 1GB of RAM on Microsoft's say so; a condition of the XP Netbook Edition is that the machine doesn't have more than 1GB installed - to be in the safe side Dell have limited them to in hardware to 1GB (even the Linux version).
Somehow they have convinced Dell to overcharge for the Linux version - an Ubuntu Mini12 with 80GB HDD costs more than10% extra and you're still stuck with a processor which is 20% slower.
I wonder if the Netbook Edition of XP still has the clause about getting a rebate for the OS if you don't agree to the EULA? And if it does - would it mean paying back the subsidy that they must have paid Dell?
It's worth mentioning that due to the chipset this netbook uses, it is limited to a maximum of 1GB of memory. That's possibly ok for a netbook though to be honest...
Personally I am waiting for the Samsung NC20, although I would like to see a solid state drive in that plus a Linux option. Why the manufacturers of these "netbooks" think we need hundreds of gigabytes of storage is totally beyond me.
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