Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Review

Dell has entered the ultraportable netbook market ruled by the Asus EEE PC and its newer iterations with its latest addition, the Inspiron Mini 9. The Inspiron Mini 9 is a 8.9″ ultraportable with a stylish new design and small form factor. While it comes with nothing remarkably ground breaking, it does offer us one more option to choose from. The ultraportable market is now filled with choices with almost all major manufacturers vying for a piece of it. The Dell Inspiron is available in two versions - Linux and Windows XP and the linux version starts at just $349 making it a good alternative for those looking for decent performance in a small package for a cheap price. It comes with the new Intel Atom processor with a 4 GB / 8 GB SSD which increases the power efficiency manifold giving it a good battery life. Let’s have a closer look at the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and check whether it is a good alternative to the other players in the already congested ultraportable category.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Specifications

Processor : Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz
RAM : 1 GB DDR2 533 MHz
Hard Drive : 4 GB SSD
Display : 8.9″ TFT at 1024 x 600 px
Graphics Card : Intel GMA 950
Wireless : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g
Operating System : Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron
Ports : 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Headphone, Microphone, VGA, 4 in 1 card reader
Webcam : 0.3 MP / 1.3 MP
Dimensions : 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches
Weight : 1.05 kgs
Price : $399

Design and Build Quality:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 features a sleek new industrial design and is quite a looker. It comes in obsidian black by default and alpine white for an extra $25, and has dimensions of just 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches. It weighs about 1.05 kgs which is remarkable even for an ultraportable and is the lightest 8.9″ ultraportable we have encountered. It is amongst the best looking netbooks in its range. It’s design is similar to the Asus EEE PC 901 with rounded edges and a glossy body finish. It sports the standard ports and connectors found in most other netbooks - 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, headphone, microphone, VGA out and a 4 in 1 card reader. On the left are the security lock slot, power jack, 2 USB 2.0 ports and a card reader. On the right, you find the headphone and microphone jacks, a USB port, VGA out and Ethernet port.

Display, Webcam and Speakers:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 comes with a glossy 8.9″ LCD display supporting resolutions of 1024 x 600 pixels natively. The picture quality is good with bright and vibrant colors and good contrast levels. It is slightly better than the screen quality of the EEE PC 901 and Acer Aspire One. The viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical are good. The sunlight legibility is not much to speak of, due to the glossy screen. The brightness levels are good for indoor viewing though. The core version comes with no webcam but you can get a 0.3 MP webcam for an extra $15 and a 1.3 MP for an extra $25. The 1.3 MP webcam is a good option and provides clear pictures and videos with minimal blurring during video conferencing. The speakers are adequately loud and have surprisingly good sound quality. The volume is loud enough to be heard in a small room. The display coupled with the speakers provides for a good movie watching experience.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 features a keyboard which is spill resistant and with good build quality. The heys provide good tactile feedback. They typing experience is not the best we have seen, but is definitely good. Some keys are a bit awkwardly placed but that is just a matter of getting used to. There is sufficient key spacing and travel. However it is a bit too compact. All in all, it provides a comfortable typing experience with very few flaws.

The Synaptics touchpad is moderately sized with a nice textured finish. It was nice and responsive with good sensitivity and tracking. It has two touchpad buttons below the touchpad which have good feedback and blend in with the overall design nicely.

Performance:

The Inspiron Mini 9 is powered by a Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6 GHz. It comes with 512 KB L2 cache and offers good performance while consuming very less power. The Mini 9 also comes with 1 GB DDR2 667 MHz RAM which is more than enough for everyday sue with a good amount of multitasking. It has the Intel GMA 950 onboard graphics which are good enough for video playback and can manage older games at low settings. It comes with a 4 GB SSD which can be upgraded to 8 GB and 16 GB at additional price. The SSD adds to the performance and power savings while reducing the weight and increasing the shock resistance greatly. The Inspiron Mini 9 offers solid performance in all aspects, much like other netbooks.

The Mini 9 comes with a customized version of Ubuntu’s Netbook Remix edition. The interface is much better than Asus’s Xandros and Acer’s Linpux Lite. It features Dell’s launcher which is the Dell equivalent of the Easy mode in EEE PC’s Xandros, but with better functionality and animations. Ubuntu’s Netbook Remix is by far the most powerful netbook specific distro ever. You can also get Windows XP with your Inspiron Mini 9 for $50 more.

The Dell Mini 9’s 4 cell battery can easily manage about 3.5 hours with moderate usage, Wi-Fi and some videos and music, which is quite decent compared to other netbooks. To improve battery life, you can switch off Wi-Fi when not in use and lower the display brightness. It does get a little hot though after extended usage. The built-in Wi-Fi adapter is nice and offers decent reception.

Pros:

Nice Stylish Design
Great Build Quality
Good Display and Speakers
Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Cons:

Slightly Congested Keyboard with awkward key placement

Final Words:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is a nice ultraportable with a stylish and sleek design, great build quality and is very light weight. It is perfect for individuals who are looking for decent performance in a small and portable form factor. The basic version is much cheaper than the Asus EEE PC and offers a nice alternative. Dell has lived up to its reputation of being the numero uno laptop and notebook manufacturer and has come up with a superb product. The Linux version is cheap and offers all the basic functionality you would expect from a notebook. It doesn’t have any significant flaws either. We would definitely recommend it to our readers.

Our Rating: 4 / 5.