Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Reviewed: Refining the Netbook Market

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.