Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Review

In the wake of the Asus EeePC range of mini notebooks, the so called 'Netbook' market has become flooded with new models from the top-tier electronics manufacturers. Dell is the latest to join the fray with its new Inspiron Mini range. The Inspiron Mini 12 is Dell's latest model and side steps the competition by offering a significantly larger screen than its competitors in a light and ultra-thin form factor. Complete with Bluetooth, WiFi and an integrated webcam the Dell also includes a glossy LED screen, 1GB of RAM and Intel's Atom processor.

Key Features:

• 12-inch LED backlit glossy widescreen TFT display
• Intel Atom Z230 1.3GHz Processor
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• 40GB hard drive
• Built-in web camera
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth
• Intel GMA 500 Graphics

Specification

Compared to the Dell Mini 12 XP Home Edition:

Name	Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Ubuntu	Dell Inspiron Mini 12 XP Home
Thumbnail
Form Factor	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)
Operating System	Ubuntu 8.04	Microsoft Windows XP Home
Display	12-inch Glossy TFT display, 1280 by 800 resolution	12-inch Glossy TFT display, 1280 by 800 resolution
Processor	ASUS Atom Z520 1.3GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)	Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)
Memory	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2
Hard drive	40GB 4200-rpm SATA	80GB 4200-rpm SATA
Graphics	Intel GMA 500	Intel GMA 500
USB	3x USB2	3x USB2
Firewire
VGA	Yes (VGA out)	Yes (VGA out)
DVI
HDMI
Video
Other Input
Audio	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in speaker	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in speaker
Expansion
Keyboard	Almost full-size	Almost full-size
Pointer	Trackpad	Trackpad
Memory card reader
Modem
Network	10/100	10/100
Wireless	802.11b/g	802.11b/g
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Other wireless
Webcam	Built-in webcam	Built-in webcam
Remote Controller
Power Supply/Charger	Yes	Yes
Dimensions	27.6mm (H) x 299mm (W) x 229mm (D)	27.6mm (H) x 299mm (W) x 229mm (D)
Weight	1.236kg	1.236kg
Warranty	1 Year,	1 Year,

Compared to the MSI Wind:

Name	Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Ubuntu	MSI Wind U100
Thumbnail
Form Factor	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)
Operating System	Ubuntu 8.04	Microsoft Windows XP Home
Display	12-inch Glossy TFT display, 1280 by 800 resolution	10-inch Matte TFT display, 1024 by 600 resolution
Processor	ASUS Atom Z520 1.3GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)	Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)
Memory	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2
Hard drive	40GB 4200-rpm SATA	80GB 5400-rpm SATA
Graphics	Intel GMA 500	Intel GMA 950 (64MB shared memory)
USB	3x USB2	3x USB2
Firewire
VGA	Yes (VGA out)	Yes (VGA out)
DVI
HDMI
Video
Other Input
Audio	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in speaker	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in stereo speakers
Expansion
Keyboard	Almost full-size	80% of full-size
Pointer	Trackpad	Trackpad
Memory card reader
Modem
Network	10/100	10/100
Wireless	802.11b/g	802.11b/g
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Other wireless
Webcam	Built-in webcam	Built-in webcam
Remote Controller
Power Supply/Charger	Yes	Yes
Dimensions	27.6mm (H) x 299mm (W) x 229mm (D)	31.5mm (H) x 260mm (W) x 180mm (D)
Weight	1.236kg	1.18kg
Warranty	1 Year,	1 Year,

Design

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is well made; the base constructed from metal and the lid from good quality plastic. The lid's glossy finish looks good (although it does attract finger prints) and the screen hinges are sturdy. Input ports are found along both sides of the body and the fit and finish are a cut above the Inspiron Mini's competitors. All in all it's solidly built for a notebook this thin.

Design - Details

Screen

The 12-inch screen is bright and clear, with the rich deep colours one would expect of a glossy display. Its native resolution of 1280x800 is far more practical in general use than that of the Dell Mini 9 or MSI Wind which are only 1024x600. Fonts are easy to read and colour rendition is good. Glossy displays tend to have problems with reflection and the Dell Inspiron is no exception - although the problem is not as severe as with other glossy displays. What is impressive is the screens viewing angles which are very good horizontally and reasonably good vertically. For a notebook screen this big and at this price point Dell has produced a very usable display.

Ports

The Inspiron Mini 12 has its ports along both sides of the machine with none to be found on the back. This is good news for those used to picking their notebook up from the front and finding they have bent a connected usb stick or power connecter plugged in the back. On the left side is a Kensington lock slot, the power input, VGA port and two USB ports. On the right is an Ethernet port, USB port, microphone in and audio line out, as well as a 3-in-1 memory card reader. The Ethernet port is only 10/100 which although forgivable on a netbook, should really be gigabit. The memory card reader however is useful addition and offers SD, MMC and Memory Stick support.

Keyboard

One of the more important parts of a notebook is the keyboard. Whether tapping away on your latest novel, typing on your blog, or entering numbers into Excel, a bad keyboard can bring down a notebook which is good in every other way. Fortunately the Dell Inspiron Mini 12's keyboard is excellent, and very close to full size. The keys have good travel and touch typists should certainly be able to reach full speed on the comfortable matte, black keys which really do make this keyboard one of the best on any netbook.

Trackpad

The trackpad on the Dell Inspiron is large and well designed featuring left and right click buttons. It has a grainy texture that is comfortable to use and features vertical scrolling as well as tap to click. Unfortunately there's no side scrolling or any sort of gesture support, but the trackpad is responsive and accurate and looks very svelte moulded into the wrist rest of the notebook itself.

Battery & power

The Dell Inspiron's power adapter is the standard black brick which ships with most laptops. The battery is a 3-cell design which sits completely flush with the body of the notebook. A 6-cell option is available separately (and also in the more expensive models in the Mini 12 range) which should double battery life over the standard 3-cell. Removing the battery is simple with two catches sliding sideways to release it.