| Netbooks |
Dell Inspiron Mini 9
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The first company too come out with a netbook computer was Asus with their Eee PC which weighed a meager 2 pounds and had a 7-inch screen. This new style sparked the surge of mini-laptops into the computer market. Well Dell and multiple other companies are coming out with there own netbooks.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is an 8.9" netbook with a $349 (Linux) or $399 (Windows XP) starting price and quite a few impressive features. This is Dell's first attempt on making a netbook. Follow along with us in our review of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. This can either be a great start for Dell or a big flop. |
Inspiron Mini 9 features the following specifications:
- 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor
- 1GB DDR2 533MHz (1 DIMM)
- Ubuntu 8.04 Linux with Custom Dell Interface (Includes Open Office)
- 8.9" 1024 x 600 WSVGA glossy LED backlit display
- 8GB miniPCI SSD card
- Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
- 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- 4-in-1 Media card reader
- 1.3 Megapixel webcam, Dell Video Chat application, Dell Support Center
- 4-Cell 32Wh Li-ion battery (14.8V)
- Size: 9.2" x 6.8" x 1.3" (including feet)
- Weight: 2lb 5.5oz (with 4-cell battery), 2lb 11.6oz (with battery and AC adapter)
- Price: $434 ($474 with Windows XP)
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Build and Design
The design of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is comparable to other netbooks we've seen in recent months. The outside is covered in glossy plastics with smooth lines, rounded edges. The look is pretty standard, almost like a smaller version of the Inspiron 1525 notebook.
Glossy plastic is found on the top of the screen cover as well as around the whole LCD and palm rests. Matte black plastic is used on the bottom of the netbook and on the keyboard. Overall, the look is pretty nice, but the glossy LCD lid is going to be a fingerprint magnet which will take away the new look from the netbook quick.
The build quality of the Mini 9 is amazingly solid for a subnotebook of this size and mass. The laptop is mostly plastic but all of the plastics feel strong enough to withstand being tossed around inside a bookbag. Even the glossy plastic surfaces seem to resist minor exterior scratches. The most impressive build quality element was how Dell toughened the chassis with magnesium alloy, behind the keyboard and in front of the battery. This helps the Mini 9 hold up to much more abuse than a average all-plastic netbook.
The upgradability factor on the Mini 9 is better than many other netbooks. A good number of netbooks we've seen require quite a bit of disassembly just too get too things like the RAM and the hard drive. Other netbooks have even worse set-ups which include slots for upgrades but they neglect too put the necessary connectors on the motherboard. The Mini 9 doesn't commit any of these foul ups, its quite easy too upgrade the Mini.
The designers of the Mini 9 placed all the parts that can be upgraded in one central area. If that wasn't enough they have it so all you need too access things like RAM or the hard drive is a Phillips screwdriver. This should be a lesson too all laptop designers, even though a good number of people won't really be doing there own upgrades that doesn't mean nobody wants that option.
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The Keyboard and Touchpad
The common coarse of thought that I along with many others have is that a cheap laptop means all the parts are cheap and flimsy. This isn't a baseless theory I looked at many low priced laptops where things like the keyboard had lots of flex when pressure was applied. Well the good thing about the Mini 9 and almost all other netbooks is due too the small size there isn't much space for the keyboard too wiggle.
Now that I have pointed out the good thing about the smaller stature of of a netbook here comes the bad. The first thing that happens when you make things smaller is everything gets smaller including the KEYS. On the Inspiron I was reduced too the old "Hunt and Peck" method of typing. There just wasn't sufficient room for anyone with as big of a hand as mine too type freely. But I honestly feel that no matter the size of your hand these keys are something you have to get used to.
Something about that I felt I should mention about the keyboard is the awkward placement of the function keys like F1 and all the others. They were actually placed right smack dab in the middle of the keyboard. That is another thing that you will definitely have to get used to.
The Touchpad is a strong point on the inside of the Mini 9. It leaves you more of a surface too work with than on other netbooks. The touchpad is lacks the uneeded "click" noise that occurs when pressing the touchpad on other notebooks. The touchpad on the Mini 9 provides the user with a cushioned click that is quite nice.
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Note the placement of the function keys, weird isn't it?
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Quality of the Display
Colors are rich and vibrant and the contrast is good on the 8.9-inch glossy LCD. The white levels on this netbook are very clear, all around the colors on this laptop are great. The only problem is the idea too go with a glossy display. I guess the glossy look makes the netbook look cool but it reduces the quality when in a well lit area with all the glare. The problem is less of a problem when indoors but don't take this netbook to the park in the middle of July.
The viewing angles if your looking at the screen at a horizontal angle are good. This means you don't have to be a loner share your stuff, you can have a friend share the netbook with you. The angles if you looking at it vertically are just alright but color quality does deteriorate, things like inversion and washing out of colors happens. |
The Ports and Features
You'll be happy with how Dell has placed plenty of ports on the Mini 9. Ports for things like multi-card reader, (3) USB ports, VGA, Ethernet/LAN, and audio jacks. The amount of stuff they managed too put into this netbook really makes it outshine other netbooks. They didn't have the space on the frame for a firewire port or an extra USB but you can't really complain about what you did get.
How Does It Perform?
When your testing out a netbook you can't use standard testing methods, the results just aren't accurate when there are any. Also the model we looked at had Linux so that stopped us in our tracks when trying too run normal tests. But we did look at how long it takes for the machine too boot up and do other tasks. Here are the results.
- Start-Up: Around 20 seconds
- Opening a website in Firefox: about 3 seconds
- Start Playing a 700MB AVI video file: around 3 seconds
- Opening a 3.84MB PDF document: about 3 seconds
- Opening a 2.51MB Powerpoint Presentation: 10 seconds
- Starting the Open Office Application: about 5 seconds
The Mini 9 like the Eee PC features a SSD hard drive which are significantly slower than conventional hard drives. The 8GB SSD that the Mini has a buffed speed at 26.91MB/seconds. Just too compare a 7200rpm hard drive that can be found in a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 has a buffer speed of 54.62MB/seconds. I know that SSD are supposed too be more secure than conventional hard drives but the trade off in speeds is something to keep in mind too.
The performance of the Mini 9 when inside applications isn't anything too write home about but the netbook does have a impressive start-up time. The kind of content you can view on this notebook has too be scaled down compared too what you can too on a Dell XPS laptop but that should be obvious. The performance is best used when doing things like browsing the web and other not so demanding tasks.
Speaker and Audio Quality
Though the two small speakers beneath the screen might look pewny they produce adequate sound for doing things like watching the occasional video or play system sounds. These speakers should not be used like they were up too the standards of a home entertainment center. There is no subwoofer but that's too be expected on a budget netbook computer.
If you must listen too music on the speakers on this netbook you can't turn the volume all the way up without running into sound distortion. The headphone jack on the laptop is good alternative but the sound isn't going too improve, due too the week audio source.
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What About the Heat and Noise
The Mini 9 didn't do anything that all other Intel Atom powered netbooks haven't already done which is produce heat. Temperatures when doing regular things like browsing the Internet didn't produce excessive heat but the hotspot was definitely around the wireless card. If you have the option of not having the wireless card in you should disconnect it too make the Mini 9 run even cooler.
The missing fans and quite hard drive contribute too a the absolute silence that comes from the Mini 9. The missing fans make this laptops run warmer than the average Atom CPU powered netbook but it remains quite. People who are sitting next too you will hardly notice you on your netbook.
How is the Battery Life
The Mini 9 features a 3-cell battery which won't give you all-day power but it doesn't short you if your comparing it to other Atom powered 3-cell netbooks. The Mini 9's battery lasts a little over 3 hours with a lot of applications open, so its far from not being a good travel companion. If you lower the brightness of the screen and take out the wireless card you can give the battery life a slight bump, but it would be nice if there were more options in the future for other battery types something like 4-cell or maybe 6-cell. |
Conclusion
The Mini 9 is a cute little laptop that is meant to be your new mobile buddy, which it can do well. The features included in the netbook let you be connected no matter where you are. The Dell Mini 9 netbook is small, is in expensive and will get you some attention with the choice in colors. It has its share of problems from the glossy screen to the unorthodox keyboard but really what new thing doesn't have things you just have too get used to.
The Mini 9 is a strong performer and for the price it can't be beat. I don't really have too tell you that this would make a very nice present to almost anyone. The choice in colors and upgradeability allow this laptop to be further customized to tailor to either your taste or the person whom you'll be giving it as well.
Pros
- Small and light
- Easy to use
- Very well built and durable
- Responsive Synaptics touchpad
- Easy to upgrade RAM, SSD, and wireless cards
- No noisy cooling fan
- Low price for an ultraportable
Cons
- Gets a little hot
- Glossy plastic lid is a magnet for fingerprints
- No F11 or F12 keys, other function keys in strange location
- 4-cell battery is nice, 6-cell battery would be better
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