Dell's Inspiron 910 netbook limps a bit closer to release
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Aug 28th 2008 4:14AM
posted Aug 28th 2008 4:14AM
[Thanks, Mike and Hao]
Read -- keyboard
Read -- external optical DVD/CD drive
Read -- status LEDs
Oh God
Why can't Dell just release the damn thing? I been waiting for over a month now.....
they just keep tantalizing us with more details!
And will it actually be 299 $? or is that just a price to keep the momentum up...and when it really launches we see price points shooting up by another 200 $?
When is Apple going to do a "me too" ? Can't apple come up with a netbook ?
Oh wait !!!! Mathematics:
1. OSuX = $125
2. Target price = $400
3. Apple h/ware = $275
Apple could not make one of these for less than $799 Retail in order to maintain a profit margin of more than a gazillion %
I normally don't swear, but looking at the keyboard, I just have to say, WTF!! How can you remove an entire row of keys for no good reason?! It's not like there isn't enough space in that vast expanse of cheap plastic to include the F-keys. Sure, they aren't used that often, but they ARE USED.
I think Dell is intentionally crippling their netbook to not eat into their other lines--to wit, M. Dell's "netbooks are good for 30-60 min use" remark. It's too bad the other netbook vendors didn't get the memo, as they are all full FUNCTION (hahah) systems.
More annoying, perhaps, is Intel's edict that artificially limit netbook's usefulness, i.e. no digital video out, screen size limit, etc. I'm hoping VIA & AMD would stop sitting on their asses and provide some superior alternative.
The keyboard is also crap because of those huge side margins. The right shift key will never be used, they should have just left it off.
I was extremely excited about Dell's netbook but there is no way I'm typing on that. If I want to use my thumbs, I'll use a Blackberry.
The most popular netbooks right now are the ones with decent keyboards. It doesn't have to be full size, but it has to be useable.
Eee by gum!
I am soo glad I didn't hold out on my eee 1000 for this thing, the keyboard looks unusable for me. There aren't even f1-f12 buttons!
I would personally prefer being able to touch type than having one touch access to F-keys on a netbook. F-keys are great for workstations where you do serious work with applications make good use of those keys. Netbooks are targeted for email and Internet so if I have to use a Fn+1 or Alt+1 to get F1 that's fine by me.
Worst. Keyboard. Ever.
Yet another netbook with a crappy right shift key configuration...
I use the shift keys a lot... so there is no way I'd get this little guy, or any other one like it. :( I guess I'm going to have to stick to a 10" model to get a decent sized keyboard with proper key placements. *sigh*
Has anyone tried re-mapping the up arrow key as the right shift key?
http://lifehacker.com/software/featured-windows-download/disable-and-remap-any-key-with-sharpkeys-305993.php
You could also go as far as to pop the keys off and swap them.
Why don't they just drop arrow keys a row? I love laptops that do that and can't be that hard to do...
I remapped the shift and arrow keys on my eee 1000h. I also swapped the keys around. It was very easy and works great. I no longer have issues with the shift key.... and learning to use the moved arrow keys was much easier than expected. I highly recommend.
The keyboard looks painful to use
The keyboard on that thing looks terrible. And that's enough to put me off.
one thing i will never understand is... why the HELL do they keep putting FN key on the left and not the RIGHT, and UNNECESSARY shift and alt on the right side. freaking idiots...the shift key on the right is crippled to the insanity...why bother putting it there????? Just because the key is located somewhere doesn't mean its usable, nobody uses key layout like this, STOP making these keyboards!
Thank god at least they didnt put FN at the spot of CTRL.
Rumor says Inspiron 910 price "confirmed" $349 Ubuntu / $389 XP?
Anyway, please click to unhoax Dell E Slim
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10091745/Give_us_cheap_12inch_Netbook_please
The best netbook on the market is currently the Acer Aspire One 150. It weighs 950 g, has XP (which is much more useable for the average user than Linux) and a 120 GB hard-drive instead of just a small SSD. And all the function keys :-) . The rest of the specs are pretty much the same as the Dell, I wonder if they're all actually made in the same factory.
The HDD model with the 3 cell battery weighs 1100g. Switching to the 6-cell brings that up to 1250g. The SSD version weighs 950g.
But I agree: the best deal and best 8.9" netbook overall is the Aspire One 150X, and the addition of the Inspiron 910 won't change that. If you are a sucker for Linux, and love the notion of an SSD, the 110L is a little smaller and has more battery life.
And its $349.00 for the 3-cell XP version. Or $399.00 for the 6-cell 160GB XP version.
The trackpad buttons are pretty awful though...
I will be out next Monday - Labor Day. Odd choice for a release date though.
I agree Camel, best value is AA1, I just bought one. 1 gb, 120gb, 6 cell battery, XP for 410$
One thing that amazes me bestides what others have already mentioned is that it looks like Dell is still has that bizarre key alignment. That would REALLY scare me as I'm a fast touch typer. Also note that some punctuation keys like the "quotes" key are moved.
And I much prefer a 120gb hard drive over SSD....and quite likely slow SSD in Dell's case....
From where did you buy it? I've been looking for the 6-cell version everywhere, and the only places that have it listed aren't taking orders.
OnlyIntheEvenings, I am in Canada and, unusually, (we get most things second or not at all...including the Lenovo s10...they have no plans to release it here!) we got the 6 cell version first. In fact, it's been selling for a little while now. I bought mine from a Canadian online retailer NCIX, they do have a US website, but i dont' know if they are actually shipping the 6 cell there yet, though I noticed they do list it. Other Americans have asked me this, I know they JUST announced it there and don't seem to have it out there yet. You could try that Canadian busines...they do have Canadian model 6 cells for sure (be warned the Canadian models have bilingual english/french keyboards which many of us are unhappy about but luckily does not seem to affect me too much) and maybe their US site has 6 cells ready to go. I can at least tell you that the 6 cell battery does exist and is out there, I hope for your sakes it doesn't take too long to get them into the US market. I am guessing they probably released it here first because our market is SO much smaller.
Thanks for the clarification, richard. The US NCIX site is only offering configurations with the horrid bilingual keyboards (with which I wouldn't at all have a problem were it not for the downsized left shift key). With so few US retailers even listing the 6-cell configuration(s), and even fewer accepting preorders, I am guessing that they're just as in the dark about them as the rest of us are.
There is no shortage of threads on the Aspire One User forums in which members state that they're holding off on buying an AA1 in anticipation for the 6-cells, so Acer America stands to make a lot of money - and all it has to do is actually start selling the product which it claims is "now available."
Local Micro Center in Santa Clara sold 50 Aspire Ones last weekend. Out when I showed up on Monday though...
What a HORRIBLE keyboard. Tiny tab key, ugly white splotches, no page up/down key, no function keys?! Ugh. They had so much space too.
The whole unit seems very ugly, whats all the fuss about? and what about the E-slim? are they comming out?
If only the Z could be directly below the A, that'd be the perfect keyboard for me... http://www.typematrix.com/
And do support the 12" petition on dell:
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10091745/Give_us_cheap_12inch_Netbook_please
It's for that reason why I never gave up my Insipiron 700m. 12.1" screen with a full size keyboard. It's survived 3 different OSes without issue (XP, Vista RC1, Ubuntu).
The picture doesn't match the text in the Dell support document. One example: picture shows the backtick (" ` ") as Fn-Esc, but the text says it's Fn-Q. There are quite a few differences. And what are the key combinations for F11 and F12? (Not in the picture or the text.) Those keys have been with us since at least 1987; there needs to be some way to type them.
To distinguish that this is a lowend laptop...they purposely made it fugly. I mean come on dell...who'd you paid to design this one...people that design the Palm treo?
I don't know...When you remove the " ' key from the mix, the reach to the right shift might be about where it is on a full-size keyboard. Might work...
I'm vacillating between the Dell 910 and the Acer Aspire One.
The Dell is said to have an "instant on" feature that could make the difference for me. I assume that's Linux on the motherboard, perhaps with Firefox easily available as part of the "instant on." If that's the case, I'd love it. Instant on with Firefox would suit me most of the time, and I'd boot into XP on those rare occasions that I need Windows (like watching on demand video from Netflix).
If you connect an external keyboard will the function keys and number pad work? This would be an important consideration for me.
yes... why wouldn't they?
Too late Dell, I was disappointed by the no-show on the 22nd, and the Acer Aspire One is 350 for 120 gb HDD and 1 gig of ram.
YOU LOSE, GOOD DAY SIR!
Why the hell can't the put a normal key layout on the damn thing. I wanted one, but not without function keys and having the quotation key be in the completely wrong spot.
OnlyInTheEvenings, no doubt that it must be frustrating for customers who are waiting, I can only say that in comparison to Dell's complete ineptitude at getting ANYTHING out the door in time for the summer crowd....even a RELEASE date, Acer and others look like heroes in comparison. lol.
I certainly don't blame you for holding off on the keyboard. It stopped me completely until I got to try one in person and discovered that it is workable for me. Luckily, I instinctively still hit the enter and shift keys, hunting for the punctuation will be my only problem and period, comma and question mark are still in the right place and work for me.
As to the left shift, one thing I can suggest is that I have seen people saying you can re-map the bizarro extra key so that it is also left-shift. That way, you're set at least on that front. Though I haven't tried it myself, as I said, luckily, I reach out far enough.
I have been waiting for the Dell release before making my decision - the new photos on the keyboard from the Dell site make this netbook unusable for me. Too many key repositioning, and as a programmer, I use the '{ } [ }' keys often - you have to use the Fn to get at them. The Acer Aspire One seems (as far as I can tell) have a standard layout including functions keys which I use and implement in all of my programs.
Bottom line, don't have to wait anymore I sorry to say as I have many Dell computers and have had good luck with them both cost and performance wise. Their support lately has been excellent too. I 'wanted' the Dell 910 to be the winner. They blew it!
Now the choice is between the Aspire 150 and the Lenovo S10 - the only downside of the Aspire is it requires a tear-down to add ram. The Lenovo 10" display appeals - would be nice to have someone do a side-by-side display comparison of the 9 vs 10". Unfortunately both are not available at this point so the waiting is still on.
That keyboard looks god awful. Why do they need an fn key and a windows key, its the same key for god sake. You would think that one of the main concerns they would have with making a netbook would be getting the keyboard right. It looks like a joke. They should just use the fn key and get rid of the windows key, especially if they are offering ubuntu on it.
the fn key and the windows key are certainly not the same on laptops I've used. the rumor is that there will be an XP option, not just Ubuntu. I believe the key is also usable in ubuntu anyway.
This is the wrong picture of the keyboard, follow the link to the Dell site and see it yourself.
Unless I can get a Win XP version w/ 1GB ram for $299 I'll be going with the Aspire One.
I think they may have updated the page since the original post.
I like the design of this keyboard a lot - I bet the letter keys are bigger than those on the Aspire One, plus you get traditonal trackpad buttons (rather than on the side of the trackpad). You simply don't need Function keys or perfect punctuation on a netbook, it's not supposed to be a full function laptop.
So in Japan...
$499 = Expensive
$800 = Almost Free
How can Dell be so stupid to leave out the F keys. They are a must for me, I'm constantly using Alt+F4 to close windows (or Ctrl+F4 to close tabs), that's all though, but still that keyboard looks awful to me.
I'm currently waiting on my Aspire One, as it was the most comfortable keyboard for me. I'll have to get used to the touchpad buttons though...
Looks like the AA -1447 for me, a pain in the A** to add the extra ram, but with the extra storage space and the 6cell version it is almost a no brainer for me
I "think" the ram default is 512/512 with only one upgradable meaning a whopping total of 1.5G
More interesting is the fact that in the real world it has turned out that battery life between SSD and HDD is negligble, so just cant drop it (would kill the screen first anyway)
I had the original EEE 701 4G and now trying to decide between the AA1 and the Inspiron 901 as a replacement.
This is afterall a netbook and would be relegated to basic web surfing/emailing and basic word processing, so the smaller the better. I was quite impressed with the build quality of the AA1, especially its dual SD card slots but hoping that Dell has a competitive product. The keyboard is worrying though.....especialy when it runs windows XP.
I would still prefer a small SSD to a capacious harddrive in a netbook, afterall, its not like its going to be a media server. My old 701 was very responsive with the 4gb SSD, which offset its relatively low performance celery cpu.
First of, the image in this post is incorrect. If you want to see the real keyboard, click on the support doc links. Second, the F1-F10 keys are available by hitting Fn+the middle row of keys (see support docs). Third, the quote key is there, it's under the > key. I don't like the placement of that either.
I agree that this isn't the best keyboard, but i'd rather have a poor keyboard than a really bad touchpad button placement like the Acer Aspire. And this system has ubuntu instead of the gimped uncustomizable linux version that the Aspire has. For a low cost netbook, I'd pick the Dell easily. Obviously if you want better specs/screen/etc., opt for a high end EEE or the HP Mini-Note, but they are almost 1.5x the cost.
And if you use ubuntu, you can easily remap keys, so anyone who doesn't want to press Alt+Fn+F to mimic Alt+F4 on a normal keyboard can just remap a key they don't use to F4.