Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Reviewed: Refining the Netbook Market
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Typing Speed: Tested
I decided to do an informal test of typing speed on these netbooks to see exactly how much you give up by going to the smaller, awkwardly laid out keyboard. I went to typingtest.com and tested myself on all five typing tests, averaged the results and compiled them here:
| Average Net Speed over 5 Tests | Average Accuracy over 5 Tests | Peak Speed / Accuracy | |
| Apple Al Keyboard (Reference) | 106.8 wpm | 97.8% | 118 wpm / 99% |
| ASUS Eee PC 901 (Run 1) | 92 wpm | 95% | 100 wpm / 96% |
| Dell Inspiron Mini (Run 1) | 81.4 wpm | 95.2% | 96 wpm / 100% |
| ASUS Eee PC 901 (Run 2) | 87.8 wpm | 95.4% | 103 wpm / 98% |
| Dell Inspiron Mini (Run 2) | 91.2 wpm | 97.8% | 104 wpm / 100% |
My reference was the standard Apple aluminum keyboard I type most of my articles on. I netted just under 107 wpm with an average accuracy of 97.8%. I only did one pass on the Apple keyboard but two on the Mini and Eee PC; I figured I was most used to the Apple keyboard and I could use a few more tries with the two netbooks.
On the first run through all five tests my speed on the Mini wasn't anywhere near as good as on the Eee PC, but accuracy was slightly higher. My peak accuracy was higher on the Dell, while my peak speed was higher on the Eee PC.
The second run switched things for me. My scores improved dramatically on the Mini, and dropped slightly on the Eee. Accuracy on both improved however, it seems like I was trying to be more patient on the Eee PC and as a result dropped my speed a bit.
At the end of the day it looks like either of these netbooks let's me type at around 80 - 85% the speed of me on my desktop, which isn't bad but it's slow enough for me to be frustrated if I'm trying to do real work on them. I wrote parts of this article on the Mini and I've written things on the Eee PC as well; while I can do it, I prefer not to. None of this data should be surprising, I'm just trying to convey the idea that you shouldn't try to use the Mini for something it's not intended for: typing out novels or really long reviews of netbooks.
What We Need: Predictive Text Entry on Netbooks
Perspective is important, so I took advantage of the fact that I've got a friend (let's call him Ben) who spends parts of his days playing around in my lab while I work.
I sat Ben in front of the Inspiron Mini and the Eee PC. His hands are a bit bigger than mine and I wanted to see how well he could do on the same typing tests I was running. On a standard keyboard he was averaging between 70 and 80 words per minute, shifting to the Eee PC and he was down in the single digits, eventually giving up. He said the keyboard was simply too small for him to use. I asked him to try the Dell and while he could only muster around 20 words per minute on the Mini's keyboard, he felt it was at least workable. The Eee PC in his mind was too cramped, and while the funny apostrophe key location on the Dell was annoying, he could use it. What followed however was the best suggestion I'd heard about one of these devices: it needs predictive text input.
When Apple set off to develop the iPhone it also came up with a fairly ingenious way of predicting user text input. The virtual keyboard on the iPhone is small, but the software can look at the keys you're hitting and at least guess at what letters you may have meant to hit based on a combination of word-length and the letters surrounding the one you actually hit. Using this data, the iPhone can figure out what you may have wanted to type and correct it accordingly. Apple assumes you're going to make typing errors and attempts to figure out what you meant to type - when you don't have the flexibility of a full hardware keyboard, use the software to make up for it.
I think Ben may be onto something here, the true potential in these netbooks lies in the user interface. If you try and use the Mini as a standard notebook or desktop you'll be sorely disappointed, but combined with an easy to use application launcher interface it all of the sudden becomes quite acceptable. It's what I've been arguing for years: in order to work in a new form factor/usage model, you need a new UI. Microsoft figured this out with Media Center and yet we've seen most companies (MS included) forget this lesson in nearly everything mobile, Apple being the exception.
Whether it comes from the open source community or from someone like Dell, what these < 9" netbooks need aside from a good keyboard is good predictive text software. The standard QWERTY keyboard layout hasn't really changed, we know where the keys are supposed to be, if we mess up because they aren't there on a cramped netbook keyboard, we need software to make the appropriate adjustments on the fly; it's a much better alternative than just having to put up with cramped keyboards.
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Klug - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Thanks for the review.Maybe I misread but I could not find any info about the external PSU... How fat is it?
I currently use a M1330 and the external PSU is a pain (big, heavy, thick cable, etc).
Netbook is nice but when used "on the road" (ie: train, meetings, etc), it needs to be carried with its PSU. If the PSU is fat, that's bad.
benlen - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
I missed this my self. An is a important information an a netbook.I found the answer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M37j5BnERw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M37j5BnERw
about one minute in.
I am happy with the type.
They say it is 2.6 lbs with the psu so the psu should be about 0.4 lbs.
But I still havent found a picture on the UK psu. I hope it will be a travle type where you can change the plugs/connectors
I am by the way selling my M1330 to only have a mini 9 and a stationary
strafejumper - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
i've been researching lappys for a week trying to buy my first one.found one i love from lenovo 15.4" but the one problem is all 15.4" lappy's that i've been looking at seem to have the exact same florescent lcd and when i went to circuit city to look at some they all looked very dim because of the vertical viewing angle.
Then i was in a local shop and they had a macbook air and it was totally different, many times brighter and still bright even at angles. Looking for a cheaper laptop than the macbook air now that has this good an led lcd. May have to wait a while.
wvh - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
Looks interesting, especially the passive cooling... But as someone who works in several countries, I think they made a mistake with their peculiar keyboard layout. It's not easy to get used to all the different international layouts, laptop- vs. full-sized keyboards, model-specific multimedia- and function-keys, and having manufacturers come up with their own proprietary layout on top of that makes their product much less appealing to me.
JoshuaBuss - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
nice carpet, anand! :)alpine18 - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
The dell sounds interesting, but I'll keep my eeepc 901 for now. I love this thing.It is great to see so many new netbooks in the market place. When they come out with a new netbook with the dual-core Atom, I'll probably buy one.
I differ with the article author's view on battery life and use. My eee 901 has effectively replaced my full size Gateway laptop. The thing sits at home since I got my 901, little more than a glorified portable desktop. I use my 901 all day without having to recharge, take it to meetings so I can act like I am taking notes when I am actually catching up on other work.
For me, the deal breaker for the Dell would be the battery life and 1GB memory. I have 2GB of memory in my 901 and need the 5-8 hours of battery life. If the Dell had the same battery life as the 901 and was upgradeable to 2GB, I'd seriously be thinking about getting one.
MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
Glossy Screen? Why? So I can see what's behind me better than what I'm working on? Especially for a portable computer that just might be used outside, a reflective screen is dumb.I know glossy screens sell better in brick and mortar stores, but people are dumb (ooh, shiny!)
Nice to have a choice I suppose, so those who like it can get the Dell and I can get something else. But that's my point really, I'd get something else.
abakshi - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
Dell seems to have done better than I expected, but I'd be curious to see how you'd compare with the HP 2133 Mini-Note in terms of build quality, keyboard, screen, etc.I have a Mini-Note (C7 1.6 / 2GB / 120GB 7200rpm / Vista Business), and while granted, most configs are priced higher than the average netbook, the design is awesome and it's built better than any HP/Dell/etc. laptop I've ever seen. More importantly, the keyboard's light-years ahead of the EeePC and all other netbooks I've encountered thus far, and with a nice bright 1280x768 screen, it's a pleasure to work with on the go.
Roy2001 - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
1. Dual core Atom.2. Power saveing Poulsbo chipset + HD decoding feature.
3. Smooth HD/BD movie play back.
4. Has at least 8GB SSD built in and a SDHC slot so I can insert a cheap 32GB SD card (some day) as 2nd HD.
5. Has mini-HDMI output.
5. Built-in camera should be standard.
6. 1GB RAM should be standard.
7. 10" LCD with 1280x800 resolution.
8. Bluetooth built in so I can use a wireless mouse/keyboard without a dongle.
The more I can dream is touch screen, wireless USB hub, and more...
Matt Campbell - Thursday, September 4, 2008 - link
I'm really impressed with what Dell has done with the Mini, they struck a great balance with price/features and it looks fantastic. Thanks for the suggestions - the Wind, Aspire and Lenovo S10 are on my review wish list as well. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming HP 2133 Mini-Note review. Hopefully between Anand, Jarred and I we'll cover everything eventually :)