Inspiron
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Dell's Inspiron 15 ready for ordering, consumption
We heard that Dell's Inspiron 15 would go on sale later this month, and apparently that means now. Dell's latest 15.6-incher is up for order as we speak, and as expected, $699 gets you in the door. Those with extra cash to burn can upgrade to 4GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, 320GB of hard drive space and a 9-cell battery. So, you in or what?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Dell launches Inspiron Mini 10
Here in an atypically small press conference in the desert, Dell has just served up its Mini 10 netbook, complete with an "edge-to-edge" 720p 10-inch display, a built-in TV tuner (!), integrated 3G WWAN / GPS, multitouch support and an Atom Z530 CPU. Moreover, you'll find an "edge-to-edge" keyboard (no wasted space, we guess), a gesture-sensing touchapd and expanded design studio choices. Check another image after the break, but don't expect any pricing or release information, 'cause Dell ain't squealing.
Dell introduces 15.6-inch Inspiron 15 laptop: starts at $600
So, how's about some news not originating from Las Vegas? Dell has chosen today to take the wraps off of its cleanly styled Inspiron 15 notebook, and while there's nothing here to write home about, the price accurately reflects the low-key nature of the machine. Prospective buyers will notice a 15.6-inch widescreen panel, up to 4GB of RAM / 320GB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray drive, integrated webcam, Intel's Core 2 Duo powering the ship and optional Bluetooth / facial recognition software. The rig is expected to be available online later this month starting at $600, though impatient souls can find non-configurable versions right now at Best Buy (USA) and Curry's (UK).
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's Inspiron 1425 leaked: like the 1420, but slimmer?
You really never know what you'll run across when sifting through PDF's on Dell's website, so we're not at all flabbergasted to hear that an all new machine has popped up courtesy of a completely random Product Safety, EMC and Environmental datasheet. The heretofore unheard of Inspiron 1425 now has its very own safety sheet on the outfit's official site, and it seems that two variants are listed (FT01 and FT02). Tipster SalientPilot rightfully points out that this machine looks to be just a hair slimmer and lighter than the existing Inspiron 1420, and given the November 18th "effective date," it sure smells fresh. Obviously, we've no clue if or when the Round Rock powerhouse will get around to doling out the official goods on this elusive machine, but we'd say this is probably reason enough to hold off on that impending 1420 purchase until we see what's what. [Warning: PDF read links][Thanks, SalientPilot]Read - Inspiron 1425 FT01Read - Inspiron 1425 FT02
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 32GB Inspiron Mini 9 netbook blushes pink and red in Japan
What's black and white and now red in Japan? Why Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 of course -- who reads newspapers? Starting tomorrow, Dell's little netbook will finally be available in red to match the initial teaser shots that had the entire laptop world looking Dell's way back in May. Pink too, to offset the decidedly more staid, obsidian black and alpine white versions available elsewhere. Japan also nabbed an Inspiron Mini 9 Platinum Package that features a relative biggie 32GB SSD for a tax inclusive price of ¥54,980 or about $565. No word on a rest of world release date for these Mini 9 updates but we expect them go Stateside in time for Cindy-Lou Who. Mini 9 in pink after the break. [Via Impress]
Dell's Mini 12 netbook is ready for US orders, ships in December
It was bound to happen sooner or later. We received the birth announcement, we read the reviews, and it looks like Dell is finally set to unleash the Mini 12 upon us lowly North Americans. The 12-inch netbook is pretty much what we expected specs-wise, starting at $549 for a 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 40GB hard drive and standard 3 cell battery. Perhaps $758 is a little steep for a netbook, but if you're game the top-end machine sports a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 80GB hard drive and a 6 cell battery. All configurations should be shipping with Windows Vista Home Basic starting sometime in early December.[Via Electronista]
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 reviewed: bigger, not necessarily better
After toying with our heartstrings for like, ever, Dell finally gathered up the courage to formally introduce its 12-inch netbook late last month. After arriving at the testing facilities of Laptop Mag, critics quickly found a lot to love about the relatively expansive display, "excellent" battery life and spacious keyboard. In all fairness, there really wasn't anything to complain about on the surface; the first kvetching we heard was soon after bootup -- er, a fair while after bootup, we should say. The biggest knock on Dell's Mini 12 was its sluggish performance under Vista, not to mention the lethargic hard drive shoved in there. In sum, critics frankly pointed out that the "Mini 12 doesn't have the right hardware to handle this OS," and recommended holding off for one with WinXP / Ubuntu if you were dead set on the design.
Dell launches the Inspiron Mini 12
We knew more Inspiron Minis were in the works, and Dell's just officially announced the next member of the family, the Inspiron Mini 12. Yep, the same machine we first spotted all the way back in June, and nothing much has changed in the meantime -- you're looking at either a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor (a step up from the usual 1.6GHz Atom N270), up to an 80GB drive, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth / WiFi, and that 12-inch, 1280 x 800 display, all in a 2.72-pound package less than one inch thick. The bad news? It's Japan-only for now, but it'll hit the States late next month with a starting price under $600. That's a pretty hot price / performance ratio on paper -- if this thing performs like it should, it could potentially take away sales from more full-featured ultraportables like the Envy 133 and the MacBook Air. We'll see how it goes -- the netbook market suddenly got interesting again, eh?Update: It's worth pointing out that this netbook runs Vista Home Edition, albeit sluggishly according to APC (XP and Ubuntu variants by end of year). It also ships standard with a 3-hour 3 cell battery or optional $79 6-cell battery for up to 6-hours of power. Read - Dell announcement Read - Laptop hands-onRead - APC hands-on Read - Dell Q+A
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 pre-loading Iron Man, world asks "Why?"
While in the throes of customizing your dream machine over at Dell, weighing CPU cost vs. memory cost, would you click on a $19 option called "Iron Man movie with bonus content?" We sure wouldn't, but now you can, part of what the Director of Dell's Global Consumer Group is calling the company's "slow immersion into content as a major piece of the puzzle in terms of what consumers want from a PC." Right. The (surely DRM-riddled) film is available on any Inspiron, Studio, or XPS laptop or desktop, playable on that machine itself or through your choice of Windows Media Extender. Iron Man is the only film on offer now, but meaty palms are likely being pressed as you read this to drive other partnerships and more choices. This could let the company hook customers before even shipping their hardware, a potential advantage for what looks to be a looming content battle with Apple.[Thanks, SebS]
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's Mini 9 netbook gets unboxed on video
We already found that Dell was shipping out the first wave of Mini 9s to eager consumers, so it's perfectly logical to see that at least one particular owner was able to stifle his excitement long enough to video the unboxing process and upload it to the intartubez. Not like there's anything there you'll be shocked about, but the comparison shots with a much beefier sibling really puts things in perspective. Check it out in the read link.
Tesco leaks 12-inch Dell E Slim specs running "Ubunto" -- October 6th launch?
Hard to say what's going on exactly what this clusterfrack of a listing over at Tesco. While the Dell laptop shown is the £299 Inspiron Mini 9, it's labeled with an Inspiron Z530 title bellowing a 12-inch display. Moving down to the specs, we've got a spec-for-spec match to the unreleased 12.1-inch E Slim exclusive we brought you back in June: same 1.6GHz Atom processor; heavier 1.2kg (2.6-pounds) weight; bigger 12-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768 pixel) display; wider 29.9-cm (11.8-inch) dimension; and 40GB hard drive spinning Ubunto Ubuntu Linux. So Tesco, October 6th you say? Full Tesco specs listed after the break because that read link won't be up for long. P.S. Dell doesn't sell a Atom-based 12-inch laptop under any model number presently, nor does it have a Z530 in its product roster.[Thanks, GeorgeJ, Craig and Yau]
Dell's Mini 9 now shipping, arriving on doorsteps everywhere
The headline pretty much sums it up -- it appears that Dell hasn't wasted any time getting the first batch of Mini 9's out from Round Rock (or China, or wherever), as the earliest of adopters have already had the pleasure of peeling away the shipping label and firing one up. Hit the read link for two unimaginative shots of the netbook on a dirty desk, but only after you've phoned up Dell in search of your own tracking number.[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C. Kim]
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 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]
