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Inspiron Mini 9 Released

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    #32
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,033 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    biologikal wrote: »
    Does anyone have a link to a spec where it lists the 3G chip as part of it?
    http://gizmodo.com/5045701/dell-inspiron-mini-9-has-hidden-built+in-3g

    When Michael Dell mentioned yesterday that he thinks telcos will subsidize netbooks to sell integrated 3G services, he wasn't quite talking out of his ass—an unmentioned feature of the Inspiron Mini 9 is an integrated 3G card. The first carrier to sell the Mini with 3G is Vodafone in the UK. No carrier announcements in the US yet, but since it's HSDPA (assumedly, because Vodafone UK is, and they aren't letting you pick your 3G card) AT&T would pretty much be your only option here. Pretty nice trick up your sleeve, Dell.


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    #33
    biologikal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 371 ✭✭biologikal


    Thanks for that. Chance that the 3G chip might be locked to a particular provider then. Maybe that's why they're not blowing trumpets about it.


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    #34
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    biologikal wrote: »
    Thanks for that. Chance that the 3G chip might be locked to a particular provider then. Maybe that's why they're not blowing trumpets about it.

    I'd be very surprised if it wasn't locked to the network.
    311 wrote: »
    Do Pcworld stock all dell models instore ? I.E the mini 9?

    Nope, they carry only a very few select ranges.


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    #35
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    biologikal wrote: »
    Thanks for that. Chance that the 3G chip might be locked to a particular provider then. Maybe that's why they're not blowing trumpets about it.
    :mad:


    By locking out other service providers they are turning away customers like myself. Can they not just have a PCI card or slot that takes a sim?. Im sure spurious ones will be soon on the market.

    Dell_Inspiron_Mini_SSD_1.jpg


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    #36
    ongarite
    Registered Users Posts: 8,218 ✭✭✭ongarite


    mjsmyth wrote: »
    Incredible... $349 in the US (€244 at todays rate) and 399 here in Ireland.... a whopping €150 ($213) more to buy it here in Ireland.

    It is also cheaper to buy it in the UK, Germany and France!! There is something wrong there....

    I did want one of these, just for use when travelling, but now I think I will look at the Acer Aspire One or an older Eee PC.

    mj

    Ehh, learn to read first. If you check the Dell.ie and Dell.com website, Dell Ireland are offering only 1 Mini9, the top spec with 1GB RAM & 20Gb SSD HDD & free delivery.

    The equivalent Dell.com Mini9 cost $449 before tax & shipping.


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    #37
    mjsmyth
    Registered Users Posts: 1,108 ✭✭✭mjsmyth


    Not the point, if i want an Inspiron mini, I have to pay $250 more than in the US. Why not have the same spec here?

    What about the differences in price between Ireland and the rest of Europe?

    Oh and $449 is still only €315, that makes it €84 or €120 dearer here.


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    #38
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    Alright fellas, after waiting to see what this whole dell machine would be like before purchasing my next netbook, i finally took the plunge on one. The advent 4211, and to say i'm impressed would be an understatement, for me it strikes just the right balance between being v.portable and being large enough to see the screen and type comfortably on. The integrated bluetooth is also very handy. There's a few small annoying little things however, the position on the "fn" key! my god that's annoying, they swapped the positions of "ctrl" and "fn". And the battery life i suppose is a bit on the short side, 2 and a quarter hours, but i figure, i'll be near a plug most of the time anyway so it's not that bad.


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    #39
    Trotter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,362 ✭✭✭Trotter


    Well here I am, typing away on my little Dell. The keyboard is weeny but I was glad of that when I had it in a busy Dublin coffeeshop today.

    I've put lots of software on it, itunes, skype etc.. and all work just fine. I have an 8GB SD card that acts as the harddrive for photos, documents etc. I stuck open office on it and thats doing the trick for typing.

    All in all, I'm impressed!

    Its a pity they didnt supply any kind of cover for it though.. I need to get one asap because it looks far from scratch proof.


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    #40
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    So you got it in 9 days from order, pretty good! Nice to hear all went well, i've seen a good few neoprene 9" cases floating around the likes of Pcworld for around thw 15 quid mark, probably worth checking out.


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    #41
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,968 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    awhir wrote: »
    http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3399&p=1
    Sounds like the keyboard is on a par with the Asus eee Pc 901 - that is, too small for me, so I'm not sorry I got the eee Pc 1000. I happen to have a dime handy, so I took a (cameraphone) pic of it on the keyboard, for comparison with those in that review. Doesn't look like much of a difference, but it helps...

    Dime1000.jpg

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #42
    Doodah7
    Registered Users Posts: 3,735 ✭✭✭Doodah7


    Trotter wrote: »
    I have an 8GB SD card that acts as the harddrive for photos, documents etc. I stuck open office on it and thats doing the trick for typing.

    Is that a SDHC card?? I can't find anywhere that confirms that the Mini 9 is sdhc compatible. I would assume so but it would be great if you could confirm...


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    #43
    Trotter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,362 ✭✭✭Trotter


    Yep... SDHC is written on the card and its working just fine.


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    #44
    Placebo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,070 ✭✭✭Placebo


    harddrive is a turn off.
    what would ppl use this for, considering space is only 16gb btw?


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    #45
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    Placebo wrote: »
    harddrive is a turn off.
    what would ppl use this for, considering space is only 16gb btw?

    Well considering it's not really a main machine, i suppose a massive Hd is not a requirement. You can have all the essential programs, open office, firefox picassa etc. It's mainly for internet on the go, and other office apps.


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    #46
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,968 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    Placebo wrote: »
    harddrive is a turn off.
    what would ppl use this for, considering space is only 16gb btw?
    16GB is plenty for XP, MS Office, and a load of documents. You can save a GB or more by not using a swapfile, which is good policy on SSD anyway.

    It's definitely not a rebadged Asus: you can see this in the hinges in particular. If you wish it was just a bit bigger, inside (SSD) and outside, check out the EEE PC 1000.

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #47
    ongarite
    Registered Users Posts: 8,218 ✭✭✭ongarite


    How is the SSD on the Dell Mini 9? Is it like the other netbooks with 4GB of fast flash RAM and then 8-12GB of crappy slow flash RAM giving painfully slow read/write speeds?


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    #48
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,968 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    ongarite wrote: »
    How is the SSD on the Dell Mini 9? Is it like the other netbooks with 4GB of fast flash RAM and then 8-12GB of crappy slow flash RAM giving painfully slow read/write speeds?
    Dunno - you'll have to wait for a proper review that tests that. On the EEE PC 1000, the 2nd disk is slower, but not painfully slow: installing apps is the only time I notice, and I don't do that often. Compared to the extra $1000 that Apple and IBM charge for a 64GB SSD, I'm quite happy.

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #49
    leavo08
    Closed Accounts Posts: 55 ✭✭leavo08


    whaat does spec mean???


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    #50
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    leavo08 wrote: »
    whaat does spec mean???

    specification. The specifics of what's inside a pc in this context. Like RAM, Hard drive type/space, processor, Gpu etc:pac:


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    #51
    leavo08
    Closed Accounts Posts: 55 ✭✭leavo08


    thanks..so what is a decent spec? for first year college..high speed internet access?


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    #52
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    Best thing to do would be to start your own thread. And read this to get the most help out of this forum How to get help on this forum


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    #53
    ongarite
    Registered Users Posts: 8,218 ✭✭✭ongarite


    I looked into the SSD in the Mini9 and there are 2 different types of SSD depending on spec chosen.
    The 4-8GB SSD is by Intel and has very slow read/write speeds comparible to Acer Aspire SSD and 16GB SSD (only SSD sold by Dell.ie) is by STEC with good read/write speeds.


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    #54
    geecee
    Registered Users Posts: 899 ✭✭✭geecee


    Dellare offering the ubuntu version of teh Mini on the Irish site now...€349

    Unfortunately it only has an 8GB drive instead of the 16GB on the XP version

    So although its 50 quid cheaper - i don't know if its worth dropping €50 and halving your disk storage?

    Anyone know if its possible to buy one of those 32GB SSD PCI cards online and stick it into the mini?


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    #55
    Cormic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 818 ✭✭✭Cormic


    That is bizarre geecee. Why are they offering smaller storage! You would have thought that XP licence would be the 50 euro and you would get the same hardware spec with the free OS. I would not really bothered about the extra storage myself but I would be worried about the read / write speeds of the SSD as posted earlier.

    I have read somewhere that it is very easy to access the internals of the Mini 9 so you should be able to replace the SSD provided it's not soldered in.


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    #56
    davemie
    Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭davemie


    geecee wrote: »
    Unfortunately it only has an 8GB drive instead of the 16GB on the XP version

    The cheaper laptop also only has a 0.3 MP web cam compared to the 1.3 MP webcam in the Windows xp version.


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    #57
    Doodah7
    Registered Users Posts: 3,735 ✭✭✭Doodah7


    Bizarrely, I see that the price of the Mini 9 has increased by €30 to €379 for the Ubuntu version and to €419 for the XP one...

    I thought PC prices were meant to come down after a while not go up or is this a sign as to how popular this netbook is?


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    #58
    IrishHomer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,942 ✭✭✭IrishHomer


    I see it is only E299 in Carrefour Spain (spanish version of Tesco)

    They also have it on display beside the Acer netbook, i have the Acer and it looks better as its widescreen and the Dell is not.

    Acer has bigger hard disk too. I got my Acer for E299 undr the Dun nes Stores 25% back offer.


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    #59
    richieg
    Registered Users Posts: 587 ✭✭✭richieg


    What's the 25% back offer?


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