After a rocky, if not comical
launch, Dell's
Inspiron Mini 10 is now shuffling out in full force to legions of soon-to-be netbook owners. For those of you who already bought in -- via
QVC or the more
traditional street corner vendor model -- we're wondering what you'd do differently if magically given a mythical Do Over token. Would you simply offer up the options (TV tuner, for one)
promised during the machine's announcement? Would you tweak that trackpad at all? Add a little bulk in exchange for a beefier battery? Paint the whole thing fuschia and make it reek of week-old bananas? Feel free to get as crazy as you'd like in comments below; who knows, maybe Round Rock's tuning in to just see what you have to say.
MAKE IT FREE...
more memory/aka HDD?
Make the keyboard feel solid... It feels like its going to break.
Re: "more memory/aka HDD?"
Umm, "Memory also known as Hard Disk Drive", what? It used to drive me crazy when people make that mistake 15 years ago. Who still makes that mistake?
I'd say the opposite. Tack on $50 and ION the thing.
**give it more memory, for example to remember things, aka A HARD DRIVE.
Not ram.
When I think of Memory I think of Random Access Memory, not disk space.
ION, Windows 7, more RAM, more SSD, and Duel Core 2.
@JakeB: You are correct, sir.
hehe, made me think of the IT crowd
Jen: Keep the conversation about things that would interest everybody. You know, nothing about memory or RAM
Moss: Ha! Memory IS ram!
Is it a sin to ask for better than a 1.6 Ghz processor on a netbook?? The battery needs more cells for me to purchase one and bluetooth wouldn't hurt.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only reason that netbooks aren't more powerful is so that they comply with some stupid set of restrictions put in place by Microsoft (so that they can sell them with XP).
I imagine, if I'm correct, netbooks will become more powerful upon the launch of Windows 7, which is why I'm waiting until then to get one.
same, waiting for windows 7 to buy a netbook.
anyway how i'd change it is by at least offering a via nano
i've fallen in hate with the atom. plus cheaper. it's nearing the price of my full sized 15" laptop at the most convenient specs
oh and maybe an ion option. tegra perhaps?
tegra is made for ARM based platforms
but I'd say Ion is the most viable thing they could go with on a refresh
and the other guy is right, if you want XP, you're set to 1GB ram,
upgradeable memory, better battery, cheaper price.
+1
still wanting better screens on netbooks, upgradeable ram(?) idk if you can upgrade the mini 10, windows 7(not starter)
On the better screens thing, specifically, Matte displays. Netbooks are used on the go, my MSI Wind has a matte display, and I'd never consider anything else for a netbook.
I liked the Inspiron's sleek look, but the display was a dealbreaker.
lets not start comparing whos got the bigger DOCK now..
I've found the display aspect ratio causes problems. Dialog boxes are often too big for the screen and there's no way to click the "ok" or "cancel" buttons. This may be less of a problem on the 10" displays, but it's a PITA on my aspire one.
Matte colors
large clickable trackpad, made from aluminum, run OS X, and...
oops said too much.................
You forgot to add an additional $600 over comparable netbooks.
Yeah, you implied that OS X has hardware support with a darn. Frick, I even have a webcam that Just Works with Ubuntu and my G4 running OS 10.4.11 (Yes, working USB 2.0 ports..) doesn't even see the thing. Maybe I should have doused it in holy water, eh?
Plus, gnome-do docky is a better dock than the one in OS X.
Two words:
Upgradeable memory.
Srsly. That's the only thing keeping me from wanting it. The one thing that most netbooks lack that this thing has is a higher resolution screen.
The memory issue is huge for me, right now it's a deal breaker. The new 720P display option is nice, but I'd even like a 1080 option, though maybe I'm just asking for too much at this price range. I'm also a huge fan of integrated GPS, bluetooth with A2DP, and WWAN - some of which is currently on offer with the Mini 10.
I'm really waiting for the Atom processor line to get a little more horsepower. It's not bad right now, but a little more capability at the same or less energy consumption rates is eagerly anticipated.
Fraggle
1080p on a screen size like that? That'd be way overkill, you'd be squinting to read anything on a 10" screen.
Give it a decent battery life, at least 8h, and no weird touch pad. Love the HDMI out, but I can't buy it for those reasons.
1. n280.
2. 6 Cell
3. More than 1Gb RAM, user upgradeable
4. Hackintoshable chipset.
I just don't get what Dell is doing with the Mini 10 and 12. Locking down memory and starting with a 1.33 processor. C'mon!
Give me the Fn keys, clickable mouse pad is cool, trackpoint? suure
Yes! Trackpoint option is a must
Cheaper price. I don't mind if the specs get worse to achieve a cheaper price.
I agree with the inexpensive part. For everyone who wants higher specs: chose plan b.
For some of us, though ... we want a viable alternative to the more capable $400-$600 laptops. What makes it viable is being cheap. I want it with a linux variant ... period. It's absurd, when dealing with a lightweight niche, to require it runs anything and everything. You want more or everything? Spend $200+ more and get a regular size notebook. Too big? Spend $500 more and get a Vaio P.
Seriously ... how cool is a dirt cheap $200 linux, instant on, with programs that play music, access the internet, read and save to .doc, .rtf, xls, pdf? It doesn't need to do anymore because it's cheap. It's not your desktop replacement, it's not your laptop replacement. It's a f*cking netbook. Oh yeah. Headphones. Music. Flash games. Netbook. Cheap.
make it hackintoshable
EFI compatible firmware by all means.
1. Memory user upgradable.
2. Built in TV tuner & antenna.
3. Option for larger battery.
4. Same price or less.
It needs to be way cheaper. Isn't that the point of having a netbook? I got my laptop, a Compaq C751NR, and it was crappy. But, I upgraded the RAM to 2GB and the HDD to 250GB and all for under 500 dollars. This costs 400 base.
I get that portability is an issue, but there shouldn't have to be that many compromises. Yes, the processor could be a little faster, but it is plenty fast right now. The RAM is okay, too (I would load win7 on it just like I did with this computer). The portability gives other compromises, 1: the keyboard, and 2: storage. The keyboard is obvious...I have giant hands but can peck on a netbook pretty alright. However, with prices as they are and with the economy as it is, having a computer like that would be a main system. The storage just isn't enough! Flash memory isn't cheap enough to get it where it really needs to be. Other tech has gotten there though, like the screen.
Screen sizes have gotten to where they should be on a netbook (especially resolutions). 7 inches is okay, but 800x480 isn't. I have a little projector with that resolution, and it is bad. My rule of thumb is: Go to Engadget. If the site can't be displayed without horizontal scrolling, the resolution is too small.
The things I like though: the customization options are great, if a little expensive. The screen should be fantastic, and it will run windows 7 really well, which is what really counts.
***To prevent a war***
I realize that people would not buy a netbook as a main system. However, the average consumer doesn't know how/where/when to shop for the best deals/discounts, so many do have netbooks and only netbooks. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with having a netbook as your only system, but I don't think that computers should have equal memory as my iPod. The people just need a standard 15 inch laptop that has firefox and office.
My three cents (keep the change),
/Jack/
have it run the ion chipset
Keep the trackpad around for gestures or something, I suppose, but trackpoints are far better in my opinion for actually moving the mouse.
And yeah, the claimed features, especially the TV Tuner, would be nice to have...
Also, the outside looks like of shiny and fingerprint-prone, if I'm going to be carrying the laptop around I'd prefer something matte...
I would stack ten of them on top of each other instead of six.
Take a loss on it and sell em for $50, give the whole computer insdustry a run for "Their" money.
In a recession anyway so why not.
I love how you go to the site, and you have to pay "extra" for the 1.6ghz atom or else get stuck with the 1.3 ghz one hahaha! on top of that bluetooth and wireless N are not included in the base price. The batter is horrible , how dare they even try to hand me that, But my personal fav is this
" dell inspiron mini 10 comes with a high performance harddrive" so it says on the site, i think great, 7,200 rpm or 10k rpm, maybe even an SSD
But nooooo its a stupid 5400rpm harddrive. How dare they insult me with such, high performance compared to what, a floppy disc?
FAIL
A Linux option, and dedicated graphics.
dedicated graphics on a netbook?
You need to spend abou $800 to get a laptop with dedi nowadays
Just better I guess, it would be cool to see a netbook with dedicated graphic chip under $600.
ion's the way to go
Sell it pre-loaded as a mini mac 10.
Ditch the intel chipset. Use Nvidia's Ion chipset paired with Atom n270 or n280 if possible.
Bigger battery pls.
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
If it's not on that page, I have a hard time deciding whether or not to care. So far I'm thinking 'nope'.
..but even then, their Ubuntu offerings are 8.04. That's 11 months old. I hope Apple releases that rumored netbook to put a fire under Dell's butt.
Its too expensive. Get the Asus Eeepc 1000he, the best netbook on the market period.