Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Review

We know what you might be thinking - that we are totally obsessed with ultraportables with these days. But we can’t help it, there are scores of ultraportable netbooks being launched every other day and most of netbooks we reviewed in the past few days are very competent. It is becoming more and more difficult to choose between netbooks as almost all of them sport the same specifications and are priced in the same range. Don’t worry though, we are always here to help you. Getting back to the review, this time round we review the new Dell Inspiron Mini 12 - the newest ultraportable by Dell which is essentially a bigger resized version of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9.
It can be categorized as both a laptop and a netbook, and actually fits in both - it is a laptop by size and a ultraportable netbook by specs / price. Considering the size, we expected a much more powerful configuration than is provided.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Specs:

• Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 inches
• Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Processor: Intel Atom Z530 clocked at 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Hard Drive: 60 GB HDD, 4200 RPM
• Display: 12 inch LCD, 1280 x 800 pixels
• Integrated Graphics: Intel GMA 500, 64 MB VRAM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g
• Operating System: MS Windows Vista Basic SP 1
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA out, Headphone, Microphone, 3 in 1 card reader

Design and Display:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 sports a very stylish design which isn’t very different from the Dell Mini 9. In a short glance it looks exactly like its predecessor - the Dell Mini 9, just bigger. The design is flawless and the build quality superb. The body is mostly made of black and silver, metal and plastic. The body wears a shiny and glossy look. At dimensions of just 11.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 inches, it is one of the slimmest 12 inch laptops around and definitely the cheapest. It is also very light, weighing just about 3 pounds. This combination makes it so ultra portable that it deserves to be called a netbook in terms of portability. It can easily compete with the ranks of the Apple Macbook Air, the Voodoo Envy 133 and the Lenovo Thinkpad X300 in terms of style, design and girth. It obviously has lower performance than them but that is a no brainer considering its low price.

The build quality is superb and the Mini 12 is very reliable just like all other Dell notebooks. The build material is top grade and the Mini 12 scores high when it comes to design and build quality. The port placement is nice with 2 USB ports, a VGA out and the power socket on the left. On the right you see the ethernet port, a USB port, mic and headphone sockets and the 3 in 1 memory card reader.

Display and Speakers:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 comes with a superb 12 inch display which supports a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. This is the highest resolution yet in netbooks and the display size is also the biggest. It can easily accomodate about two full size windows easily for those who love to multi task. The display quality is great with nice brightness and contrast levels. The viewing angles are wide, both vertical and horizontal. The direct light legibility is decent, but the glossy screen hampers visibility under very bright light. The display is good for movie watching. Above the display you find a 1.3 MP webcam which captures images and videos nicely. The camera quality is nice and clear.

The Mini 12’s speakers are placed on the top of the keyboard. They have decent sound quality but are very weak when it comes to sound volume. You should use earphones if you are interested in music.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 sports a spacious, almost full sized keyboard. The key spacing and travel is excellent and the keys have a great feel. They provide nice feedback and are perfect for touch typists. The keys are arranged in a largely standard layout and look like a normal laptop keyboard. Some of the keys have weird sizes but that shouldn’t be much of a problem, it is just a matter of minutes before you get used to it. The key quality is very good and there is zero flex on the keyboard.

The touchpad is located just below the keyboard. It has been enlarged and now measures 45 mm x 77 mm. The increase in size was needed to traverse the whole screen in one swipe. The touchpad is very responsive and has optimum sensitivity. It has a slightly textured which provides good traction when navigating. There are two mouse buttons located below the touchpad which are nice to click. They are much better than annoying two sided single button touchpads. The touchpad and buttons nicely blend in the silver palm rest and add to the design elements.

Performance and OS:

The Dell Mini is powered by the newer Intel Atom 530 (Silverthorne) which is clocked at 1.6 GHz, the same as the N270 (Diamondville) but is more power efficient. It is coupled with the Intel GMA 500 integrated graphics instead of the usual GMA 950. This also helps in conserving power while delivering slightly lower performance. It comes with 1 GB DDR2 RAM and a 60 GB HDD at 4200 RPM. With this configuration, it is just able to run Windows Vista without any substantial visible lags. The performance is not as good as in other notebooks though. The OS takes about 2 minutes for a cold boot, which is a bit too lengthy. The Mini 12 comes preloaded with the Dell Dock which is similar to Mac OS X’s dock. You can easily customize it and add your own shortcuts for easy access. The Intel GMA 500 scores low on the graphics front making the Mini 12 unsuitable for even light gaming. The hard drive is also a bit slow at just 4200 RPM.

Battery and Other Features:

The battery life of the Mini 12 is good with the 6 cell battery clocking in more than 5 hours, much higher than the category average. The 6 cell battery however protrudes from beneath the laptop. The 3 cell battery isn’t very powerful, offering just about 2.5 hours. The Wi-Fi reception of the Dell Mini 12 is nice and offers good speeds.

Pros:

• Stylish Design
• Superb Display
• Nice Keyboard and Touchpad

Cons:

• Weak Speakers
• Average Performance

Final Words:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a stylish, slim, portable netbook offering the biggest display yet. It is a bit pricey at around $ 700 compared to other netbooks but offers a nice mix of features and a stylish design. If you want a absolute looker, go for the Mini 12. If however you are looking for performance, try out the Asus N10JC which we reviewed a week back.

Our Rating: 3.5 / 5.