Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Reviewed: Refining the Netbook Market
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
A Display That’s Not Half Bad
Again, this is a $350 computer and the display isn’t half bad - I don’t mind staring at it. Off angle viewing is of course not very good, but the glossy screen coating and LED backlight actually give the Inspiron an edge over the Eee PC 901. Color reproduction is a lot better as is peak brightness, even on battery power.
Eee PC 901 (left) vs. Inspiron Mini 9 (right)
Eee PC 901 (left) vs. Inspiron Mini 9 (right)
The size and resolution of the Mini's display are identical to the Eee PC's: 1024 x 600 and measuring 8.9" along the diagonal. Going back to the Sony Picturebook reference from earlier, it's actually a lower resolution panel than what I had on my old Picturebook (1280 x 600), despite having the same diagonal measurement (8.9"). That being said, my main complaint on the Picturebook was a lack of vertical resolution, since most web content is longer than it is wide. The 600 pixel screen height is an issue and is bothersome given that the focus of a netbook is to, well, surf the net. It's not a show stopper though.
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Woodchuck2000 - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
...It's priced at £299...Would anyone pay $600 for one of these, and am I alone in feeling ripped-off?
bigben - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
I, for one, thought that was brilliant.I would give that guy a job...
Baked - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Do a review on that too. Or better yet, get your hands on all the netbooks and do a round up comparison review!Gnyff - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Nice one. Now we just need to break the cursed trend of glare screens... I like to see what's on the screen - not my self, windows, lights and other reflections. It might add a bit to the fun to be able to see the photographer on a picture like the shown - but that's the first positive thing I've found for "glare" screens :-PCheers,
Anders (Still looking for a 17" 1900*1200 notebook with good anti-reflex coating, seems only Apple and HP are sensible those days. Who would ever have guessed ;-)
Sunrise089 - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Dell has simply created two price points, one for the deal and for everyone else. For example:You can price a studio 15 for $699. So add a full-price mini 9 to that and you get $1048.
With the e-value code and the $99 'promo', you get the exact same studio 15 for $999 and the mini 9 for $99 which is $1098!
Pjotr - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
You do not mention Bluetooth anywhere in the article. The Asus 901 has Bluetooth and it's a show stopper for me if it's missing. I need to use Bluetooth to use my unlimited surfing via my 3G mobile phone subscription. Acer One doesn't come with it.piroroadkill - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Bluetooth is an option on the Inspiron Minipiroroadkill - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Is bullshit - we get one choice, and it has to be black, comes with XP. Fail, epic fail.psychobriggsy - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
However for that single specification, it is a good deal (taking VAT into account) compared with the US price.Jeff7181 - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
How much free disk space is there on the 4 GB version? Just curious how much room there is for additional applications, updates, etc.