Inspiron Mini 12 pops up on Dell's website: it's a done deal (almost)

We can't call it official with a straight face, but seriously, what else could you call it? A not-at-all mysterious Inspiron Mini 12 (1210) has emerged on Dell's website in the Product Support pages, hinting (and we're using that as loosely as possible) that a 12-inch netbook could be fast approaching to complement the current Mini 9. We're talking about a User Manual, Setup Guide, Troubleshooting documents -- the whole nine. Packed within the Setup Guide is a nice list of basic specifications, including your choice of an Intel Atom Z520 or Z530 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 10 / 100 Ethernet, Bluetooth / WiFi, optional WWAN, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, audio in / out, and a 12.1-inch display with a 1,280 x 800 resolution. It'll also feature a 1.3-megapixel camera, 3- or 6-cell battery and weigh around 2.73-pounds. Oh, and we get the impression there will at least be an option for Ubuntu. Feel free to dig around in the read link for as long as Round Rock keeps it active, and in case everything collapses prior to the formal launch, we've screened capped a few looks below.

[Via CMSReport]

Inspiron Mini 12 pops up on Dell's website: it's a done deal (almost)

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 16th 2008 5:54PM]

[url]inspironmini12.com[/url]
InspironMini12.com

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 16th 2008 6:05PM]

just check out this site for more info: http://InspironMini12.com

[plexusXXX Posted Oct 17th 2008 2:23PM]

To me it makes no sense.
Vista & 1 GB of non upgradeable ram sounds just too stupid to be true, specially from Dell.
I just refuse to belive it.
In any case you can buy a MSI wind, or if you are lucky one of its improved clones for less than 500 dollars.
I did just that and got the wind's excellent10" screen& keyboard, but a better "haptics" produced trackpad, 2 GBof DDR2, 120gb HD, Bluetooth & WiFi, webcam/mic, XP sp3 + lots of very useful software, a nice waterproof, carring bag thet looks like gore-tex & 3 years full factory guarantee. It also looks very sexy: piano black or shiny white (like mine) or matte black/alu; thin screen bezel and thin profile, and rounded corners and shape.
I've had it for more than 2 months and I love it more and more every day while my collegues and friends who bought the acer or the Eee are already complaining and thinking about getting a new machine.


I have no doubt: in the 500$ class the wind and its many clones are the best possible choice.
If you wanna pay 4 times as much then I'm ready to admit that the Sony Vaio TT is a much better lappie.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 23rd 2008 3:21AM]

Aw, come on. I can get a great 15.4 inch laptop with at least double the power of these netbooks, for 350 Euro. Why the heck would i have to pay 500 euro for a mini-laptop that only limits me to what i can do?

I don't understand the success of these netbooks, honestly. Want a small screen, get a PDA. Want a laptop, get a good one for a price with which you don't get screwed over with. Want a portable HD player, there's ones for 100 Euro with decent quality.

And it sure seems to me that they're just grabbing their 4 year old laptops, refurbish and change it a bit, add a Atom processor, and it's all good to go for triple it's value!

Smart thinking. Maybe I should do the same...

Water by the wine sure sounds profitable these days in Notebook land.

- JC

[Hi Kenneth Posted Oct 24th 2008 4:24PM]

looked too fast...is that a retractable keyboard...coolz

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 28th 2008 5:13AM]

Who would buy this?????

The price is ridiculous...non-upgradable 1gb......an atom (same speed as other atoms) running vista for 600+$?!!!!

There are already notebooks in this price range at 12-13 inches that have real processors!

If you buy this for the look, you get what you deserve...being ripped off!

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 28th 2008 5:20AM]

yes, exactly. I thought the mini 9 was disappointing and would not recommend it, but this thing....is it a joke? It's LESS powerful than the other netbooks being capped at 1gb and they stuck Vista on it??!

Costs more, barely functions.......this thing is a disaster!

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 5th 2008 10:30PM]

Our dell rep at work brought a Mini 12 by the department the other day and it was running vista flawlessly.

Our department is purchasing 3 for us IT tech's with XP on them.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 2nd 2008 11:38AM]

the eeepc 1000H with 2gb ram... rocks this out of the park for $200? less.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 6th 2008 4:12AM]

So what use is HD capability if you only have VGA output and limited resolution?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 6th 2008 4:13AM]

Quote from AnandTech: Then there's the issue of output resolution. The graphics engine only allows a 1366 x 768 output resolution, so while it can decode a full 1080p HD stream, it can only output it at a lower resolution.