InspironMini9
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Dell's AMD offerings go mainstream with Inspiron M501R, M5030
We had a pretty clear indication that Dell would soon be rolling out an AMD-based Inspiron M501R, and it looks like it's now finally available along with a new AMD-based M5030 model. Both are 15.6-inch systems, with the M501R packing a Phenom N930 processor and ATI Mobility Radeon HD550 graphics, while the M5030 boasts an AMD Athlon II P320 processor and Mobility Radeon HD425 graphics. Otherwise, you can expect 4GB of RAM and either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive on each (in the standard configs), along a six-cell battery, a DVD burner, among other standard fare -- the M501R also boasts a slightly thinner and lighter design. As you can see above, prices range from $529.99 to $799.99, and both models are available right now.
Dell Mini 9 makes surprise reappearance on Dell's website
The official word from Dell may be that its Mini 9 netbook has hit "End of Life," but it looks like the company may have had a change of heart or (more likely) a surplus of excess stock, as the popular netbook has now made a surprise reappearance on its website. With a starting price of $299, however, it's not as cheap as some of the past deals we've seen, but you do still have your choice of quite a few configuration options, and a promised ship date of August 24th. So, if you've been holding off, you better get in now before they disappear, again.[Thanks, Rob and Nathan]
Video: 128GB SSD slotted into Dell's Inspiron Mini 9
Considering just how cheap Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 gets on occasion, there's practically no doubt that the SSD portion of this mod will run you more than the computer itself. For those wild and wacky DIYers who couldn't honestly care less, jkkmobile has put together a video (along with a gallery of images) showing exactly how the process works. For what it's worth, we're told that the whole ordeal was a simple matter, but you can judge for yourself after jumping past the break and mashing play.
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 drops to a delicious $199
Been brushing the idea of a netbook off for months now? Let's see you ignore this. Hot on the heels of the Inspiron Mini 10 going on sale, Dell has lowered the barrier to entry on its marginally smaller Mini 9 to a rather amazing $199. For under two bills, you can now grab yourself an Obsidian Black 8.9-inch netbook with a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, WiFi, a 4-cell battery, GMA950 graphics, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD and a copy of Ubuntu Linux. Of course, that price heads up a hundred bucks if you just can't live without Windows XP, but if there's ever been a time for learning how to deal within an open source environment, we'd say this is it. Good luck with that whole "resisting the temptation" thing.[Via technabob]
Tesco's 349 Mini 10 actually a 349 Mini 9
Can you say "oops?" That so-called Mini 10, which curiously emerged at Tesco before anywhere else, is actually not a Mini 10. As the story goes, folks across the pond who plunked down £349 for their very own 10-inch Dell netbook have started receiving shipments only to find a perfectly average Mini 9 within. Furthermore, Tesco's Mini 10 order page is now completely nonexistent, further signaling that a serious mishap occurred somewhere along the line. Hate to burst your bubble, but if you ordered one of these pups from this vendor, you should probably expect to hit the return to sender option and eagerly await a refund.[Via PortableMonkey, thanks Peter]
Buffalo unveils 16GB and 32GB SSDs for Inspiron Mini 9
It looks like the kids at Buffalo are hard at work making sure that all of you netbook-lovin' Engadget readers aren't stuck with the minimal storage that has plagued early adopters of the solid state drive. In addition to their recent Eee PC-compatible SSDs, the company is now offering 16GB and 32GB drives for Dell's Inspiron Mini 9. Due out sometime this month, the 16GB should set you back ¥5,300 ($57), or you can shell out ¥9,400 ($101) for the 32GB.[Via Slashgear]
Dell adds $100 32GB SSD option to Inspiron Mini 9
Sure, the base price of Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 is pretty palatable, but good luck passing through that hard drive selection screen with this option unchecked. Yep, as now, Mini 9 buyers can opt for a capacious 32GB solid state drive (a luxury already available in Japan), which is a $100 upgrade over the standard 4GB SSD. Enticing enough to make you finally pull the trigger?[Thanks, THAR]
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 get artist makeovers
In recent months we've seen Dell's design department running wild with new colors and art for a lot of their models, such as the Studio 15 and 17 laptops, and the announcement that customizable jobs were on the table for 2009. It probably should come as no surprise, then, to see the Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 get some love, too -- this time in five patterns by artist Tristan Eaton. Otherwise the same under the hood, the paint-jobbed Minis will run you an extra $50 over the base price of each respective model -- $349 for the Mini 9 and $549 for the Mini 12. Check out two more shots of the upgrades after the break. [Via Electronista]
Dell rebrands its own Mini 9 as the Vostro A90, jacks the price to absurd levels
We're no strangers to rebranded netbooks, but we're a little befuddled as to why Dell's rebranding its own Inspiron Mini 9 as the Vostro A90. Sure, we're digging the stealth looks, but the specs haven't changed at all, and we don't think the Vostro brand really has any more cachet than Inspiron -- they're both pretty low end. Even more bizarrely, the A90 is apparently Japan-only for now, and it's priced at an absurd ¥92,830 ($972) -- yeah, you can get three Eee 900As for that price with more or less the same specs. Must be one hell of a paint job.
Some Inspiron Mini 9s shipping with partition issues
Early Dell Inspiron Mini 9 customers who sprung for a larger drive may want to check their partitions -- Dell apparently used a static 4GB Ubuntu image during some initial manufacturing runs, leaving the OS in a 4GB partition and the remainder unused. The problem's been fixed now, but if you were unlucky enough to get one of the wrongly-formatted units, Dell's saying that you'll need to restore from the System Restore disk, but there are some live partition options out there if you're feeling brave.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Dell Mini 9 hacked to run OS X
We're assuming Apple will eventually give up and release a netbook of its own, but until then Steve had better get used to seeing OS X hacked to run on all manner of tiny laptops -- the latest to make the switch is Dell's Inspiron Mini 9. Nothing too complicated about this hack, since most of the work was already done for the internally-similar MSI Wind, but you'll have to dig up some extra Broadcom drivers to get WiFi and sound working. Seems like a fun little project for the weekend -- anyone going to take the plunge?
How would you change Dell's Inspiron Mini 9?
Once we all understood that the netbook was more than just a craze to be dominated by ASUS and its Eee brand, it was inevitable that Dell would join in. Sure enough, out popped the Inspiron Mini 9, priced competitively and loaded with hardware good enough to satisfy most in the market. Now that the first wave of machines have hit doorsteps (and subsequently, office desks, airplane tray tables and bathroom ledges), we're curious to see if Dell's foray into the already crowded netbook market was a play well made. Are you happy you chose Dell's option over the others? Are you pleased with the value? Is the keyboard comfortable enough? Satisfied with the battery life? There's too much competition in this space to let someone get away with a halfhearted effort, so feel free to really spill your guts on this one.
Dell Mini 9's secret 3G not all it's cracked up to be
Well, it looks like anyone hoping to give their stock Dell Inspiron Mini 9 a 3G boost is in store for a bit of disappointment, as the netbook's supposed unofficial 3G-readiness is apparently not as exploitable as some had assumed. While the netbook does indeed have a vacant WWAN slot, as Gearlog learned from Anne Camden of Dell Corporate Communications, "the Mini doesn't have the internal antenna infrastructure needed to support mobile broadband," which makes that aforementioned WWAN slot quite useless. As you might have guessed, the antenna was simply left out to keep costs down. So, if you do want a 3G-equipped Mini 9, it seems like you'll just have to wait for a non-hindered version like the one Vodafone is offering in Europe.
Doing the math on that $99 Inspiron Mini deal
If you're anything like us, the idea of a $99 Inspiron Mini 9 was enough to make you seriously consider picking up a new full-featured Dell laptop, but since the math is a little confusing given Dell's shady history and the number of promotions on its site, we thought we'd break it down for you. Essentially, Dell's charging close to full price for the large machine in order to absorb the cost of the Mini -- so while a $1,259 Studio 15 with a 1.86GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB drive, and a 3 year warranty goes for $699 on Dell's fall deals page, it's $1098 with a Mini. Hey, the difference is just about the Mini 9's $349 list price, isn't it? Same story with the other Studio 15 and XPS M1330 / M1530 configurations that apply for the $99 Mini deal -- you can find cheaper deals, but they're all about $300 - $400 less than the CTO price, so adding in a Mini 9 essentially washes out. So much for that hot two laptop $700 impulse buy -- we'd say it only makes sense to pull the trigger on this if you're actually in the market for a new full-featured machine. Let us know if you manage to work the numbers any differently -- our credit card hasn't gone too far.[Thanks, Matt] Read - Dell $99 Mini 9 promo page Read - Dell fall deals page
Dell's Mini 9 Product Manager chatted up, promises more where this came from
As if you needed any confirmation that Dell wasn't just going to abandon the Inspiron Mini 9 all by its lonesome in the marketplace, Laptop Mag spoke with Dell's Senior Product Line Manager John New, who had some comforting words for the multi-SKU crowd. John confirmed that built-in 3G is in the works, a dedication to cramped SSD drives and a potential six-cell battery. He also said that "As we get into the category, we reserve the right to do more," which could mean a 10-inch version, though we're also getting wind of a 12-incher in the wings.
Dell Inspiron Mini review roundup
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 didn't waste any time going from its formal debut to hitting the review circuit today, and although its basic design didn't blow anyone away, it seems like an impressively put-together piece of kit for the price. Everyone laments the tiny keyboard, although it's apparently fine once you get used to it, but Notebook Review flat out says it won't cut it as a primary typing machine. PC Magazine says the 1.6GHz Atom and 1GB of RAM are enough for most tasks under XP, although multitasking is a chore; the Linux configurations seem similarly capable -- Laptop says the custom build of Ubuntu Remix is "smooth" and "sleek." The four-cell battery averaged around three and a half hours under both XP and Linux, which is decent, but several noticed that Dell hasn't made an extended battery available yet. We'd expect that to change soon, but overall it's a minor quibble -- could this be the netbook that finally makes you reach for your wallet? Read - Laptop (3.5 out of 5) Read - Notebook Review ("...fabulous netbook... [but] only 'your new best friend' if you're willing to overlook a few flaws.") Read - Washington Post ("... isn't perfect, but it does offer a terrific design and a good price.") Read - PC Magazine (3 out of 5)
Vodafone to offer 3G-equipped Inspiron Mini 9
It's still not quite a standard offering from cellphone carriers, but it looks like the 3G-equipped netbook is fast headed in that direction, with Vodafone now following T-Mobile's Eee-centric lead by offering a mobile broadband-friendly version of Dell's brand new Inspiron Mini 9. Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing or country availability just yet (that's promised in the "coming weeks"), but the 3G-equipped Mini 9 will apparently be available by the end of the month, and the deal is exclusive for Europe, so it looks like any other European carriers interested in hopping on this particular bandwagon will have to make do with one of the other 9,000 netbooks currently on the market.[Via Xataka]
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 pops official -- Ubuntu starts at $349 (Update: $99 with purchase of 2nd Dell)
Dell doesn't take its site down when it introduces product unlike some laptop peddlers. The result, however, is shots like this of early pre-release gear like the Inspiron Mini 9 netbook as Dell spins the product up for retail. $449 fully spec'd just like we heard with 8GB SSD, 1GB memory, Bluetooth 2.1, Windows XP, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. We still expect to see a lesser spec'd $349 model running Ubuntu. Shipping on the 16th of September in your choice of white or black though white will cost you a $25 premium. Dell hasn't officially announced the product yet but we're sure they'll get that sorted out in a few hours. For now, happy URL hacking as we dig for more details.Update: Here's the $349 model running Ubuntu -- the Inspiron 910u. The top-end $449 XP configuration pictured after the break.Update 2: Starts at £299 in UK and €369 in Germany.Update 3: Oops, looks like someone broke a press release embargo making all the specs and prices listed above extra, super official and in sync with the exclusive we had back in June. In addition, the take home price also includes a free, basic Box.net plan offering 2GB of remote storage. See the full release after the break all you tweens and tweeters.Update 4: Direct2Dell -- Dell's official blog -- says you can get the Mini for just $99 with the purchase of a Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330. Offer ends Tuesday, September 9th. Not bad if you're already gearing up for a back-to-school Dell anyway.%Gallery-31137%[Thanks, Shon]
Leaked flyer reveals pricing, configurations for Dell Inspiron Mini 9
It's everything but official, but hopefully the image above will enable you to rest easy knowing that you'll soon be able to order yourself a Dell netbook starting at $349. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (we're assuming that's the final moniker) will apparently weigh in at 2.28-pounds, boast an internal WiFi module and pack an Intel Atom N270 processor. The baseline model ($349) will include Ubuntu Linux 8.04, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD and a black or white paint job. For $50 more, you'll get an 8GB SSD and a 0.3-megapixel webcam, while the $449 version throws in Windows XP, 1GB of RAM and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. C'mon Dell -- you're only fooling yourself at this point.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
