There’s a pretty cool event going on as you read this out in Carlsbad, Calif - the D: All Things Digital conference. Conversations from it have been lighting up the front page of Techmeme since last night. For those who aren’t familiar with it, D6 is a two day-event during which tech industry leaders and luminaries share the stage with Walt Mossberg and/or Kara Swisher and participate in frank discussions about their companies, their products and prognosticate about the future. Michael Dell chatted with Walt earlier today and they covered a wide range of topics.
Hats off to Brian Lam of Gizmodo as he seems to have caught Michael roaming the halls between sessions and saw he was carrying something our Ideastorm contributors will recognize. Michael positioned it as the perfect device for the next billion internet users. While we can’t share any details, we can share these (click on them to see a larger version):
Stay tuned for details.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10089149/Add_a_media_drive_to_the_Dell_mini
May 28th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
[…] a gander at Dell’s new entrant to the mini-laptop market. Almost nothing is known about the device, but aesthetically, it’ll compete with the best of […]
May 28th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
seems like a mighty fine device. needs basic camera, 3g and bluetooth support. this seems great for a telecommuter, student, photographer, with a bluetooth headset and his 3g Internet. This is something that needs to swivel screen and be multitouch! These have a right market if you are willing to work on it. incremental updates also means incremental profits… or something.
ps, lose the vga, put hdmi. an vga adapter included would suit fine.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I know people see this as great for the EEEPC market but its competing with the hp-mini note. there could easily be a low-end low budget option for this without the interconnectivity but wifi and long battery life is a must for a device this small.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
10″, 120GB HD, good processor, 2GB, be able to run Solaris 10 and I will buy this with my eyes closed, is that asking for too much?
May 29th, 2008 at 12:05 am
[…] Dell Blog via Gizmodo tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px; padding:5px; } table { border: 1px solid silver; margin-left: 20px; width: 540px; padding: 5px; } […]
May 29th, 2008 at 1:57 am
No DVI/HDMI? No eSATA? No SPDIF? Sorry, don’t want old CRAP and a toy only. (I’m) wait for the next modell instead of buying old crap now.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:56 am
please release this in the US. and seriously, screw 3g and bluetooth support, and fancy video. wifi is more than adequate. i just want something small, light, and cheap that i can take to the library!
May 29th, 2008 at 3:16 am
[…] Dell via Engadget via […]
May 29th, 2008 at 3:20 am
[…] Update. New Pics and a few lines of confirmation in a Dell blog […]
May 29th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Wow! Can u share other info such as the price and feature? When do you give us more information? Hope in your reply,thank you.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Here are the specs for the Dell Mini Inspiron: Atom 1.6 GHz, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, Card reader, Kensington lock, Adapter socket, Mic/line-out, VGA port, screen resolution at 1280×800. Scheduled to be released before the end of June 2008. It costs less than $500.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:23 am
looking at the picture made me kinda think that this may be just a 7 inch device
i mean
check out the pencil
a standard pencil is ~7in and thats what the screen compared to that pencil looks like
this would be a shame
i mean you can buy 7″ devices on one.de for 200€ (~300$)
i dont think that dell will compete in SUCh a low price range
so lets hope the resolution will be better than those shabby 800*480 of the eee…
May 29th, 2008 at 5:27 am
[…] It’s also more than likely to be running on one of Intel’s Atom processors, have WiFi and come with a Linux option to keep the cost down but we won’t know more until Dell sqawks. For more pics, click on over to Dell. […]
May 29th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Dell Mini boasts impressive keyboard….
Gizmodo managed to get a sneak peek at Dell’s forthcoming into the UMPC market. Dell had earlier announced that they will be releasing a product sometime in the Summer to compete with the likes of HP and Asus. There is no word on the specificatio…
May 29th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Surely the Dell logo\’s upside-down!
May 29th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Try this. A small portable PC that is under $500 but has at least 10-20gbs. It needs to weight under 2lbs and be some where near the same size as the Eee. If this doesn’t happen your just playing with the public. You guys can do it but aren’t sure if it is cost effective. The problem is that when you get this the cost will be over $500 and you will lose a great deal of customers.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:01 am
HA! how did I miss that goof? Good catch JamesWeb
May 29th, 2008 at 7:06 am
[…] Update: Dell confirms it, but is only willing to reveal "stay tuned"… […]
May 29th, 2008 at 7:55 am
… and comes with a huge pencil as an optional accessory.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:27 am
The Mini Inspiron looks great!
We posted about it over at ShinyPlastic.com and can’t wait to see the full specs. I think the combination of Dell’s marketing power combined with a great looking product could make this a category killer as long as the price and specs are good.
http://www.shinyplastic.com/archives/05-29-2008-computer-systems-dell-mini-inspiron-eeepc-killer.php
May 29th, 2008 at 9:27 am
[…] of these Asus EEE PC’s after all…Gizmodo has the details, albeit brief but this looks great. Dell also put some shots up on their blog Filed under: […]
May 29th, 2008 at 10:24 am
so small…
May 29th, 2008 at 10:25 am
[…] else has or can find on the Dell product website. (Though you can see official pics of it on the Dell Blog here). The picture was snapped up by Gizmodo’s Brian Lam at the “All Things D” […]
May 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
HP has put in a C7 via chip ….I think this puts their machine out of the running..
It had to be done for maybe 2 reasons.. 1. intc can’t make enought atoms …or 2. its cheap like in Via china
May 29th, 2008 at 11:33 am
This is the second time I read about the next billion internet users (Pixel Qi, who is Mary Lou of OLPC fame’s IP company mentioned this on here site at:
http://www.pixelqi.com/mission
“While Pixel Qi is concentrating on screen design and production, we do not design the screens separately from the rest of the sytem. We believe that looking at computers in a new, holistic, systemic way, with a clean-sheet approach to the system - rather than incrementally increasing the horsepower of the CPU - is critical to bringing computing and Internet access to more than the 1 billion affluent who now are its beneficiaries. The key is a new generation of low-cost, low power, durable, networked computers, leveraging open-design principles”.
So I hope there is a relationship where Dell is going to beat EeePC with a laptop that has OLPC dual mode screen and long long long battery life (with a $10.00 user replaceable battery)?
May 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Puts grila.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Enquanto Pixel Qi se na tela de concepção e produção, nós não o desenho telas separadamente do resto de o sistema. Nós acreditamos que a olhar para computadores em um novo, holística, sistêmica forma, com um limpa-folha abordagem para o sistema - incrementalmente, em vez de aumentar a potência do CPU - é essencial para a interposição computação e acesso à Internet para mais de 1 bilhão os abastados que agora são os seus beneficiários. A chave é uma nova geração de baixo custo, baixa potência, duradoura, em rede computadores, alavancando abrir-design princípios “.
Por isso, espero que haja uma relação onde Dell vai bater EeePC com um laptop que tem OLPC dual mode tela e longa longa longa duração da bateria (com uma bateria substituível usuário $ 10,00)?
May 29th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
[…] Something at D6 [via Gizmodo] […]
May 29th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
possibly the most good looking mini around, and it’ll be nice to see VIA new cpu in there, for a change. 4-hours battery life and under US$400 will get you loads of buyers.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
It looks like the “netbook” market is really heating up now. Hopefully Dell will keep the pricing affordable for students as well.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
[…] Direct2Dell More at Small-Laptops.com: - Dell Mini Inspiron Gallery - Dell Mini Inspiron […]
May 29th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Looks awesome. It’s a shame all these sub-notebooks have fairly large bezels. If they could fit 10in in the same form factor, they’d be onto something.
I don’t know about everyone else, but all I really care about is battery life, wifi, and a small bezel (i.e. larger screen for form factor). Then larger HDD, HSDPA and webcam can be in the premium model.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
[…] Mr. Dell gave him an exclusive closeup look at the thing, and a little later Dell officially confirmed the subnotebook’s existence. No details on specs yet, though the company is saying the product is a response to a call they […]
May 29th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
[…] Link: http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2008/05/28/something-from-dell-at-d6/ […]
May 29th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
A worthy successor to my current workhorse, Latitude X1. Please keep the price low and make sure that it has plenty of USB ports. I do not care about a camera but I do care about its price (the size and weight look like they will be perfect) and its battery life (the X1 battery is terrible). You will get my loyalty with the right price–and sales of five of these machines in first few months.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I think price and availability have been the two biggest things I’m hearing people talk about - we all assume it’s going to be Intel Atom, but will Dell be able to keep the price at or below the HP 2133 Mini-Note? If they can’t get it down to that level, people are liable to go with the HP or with the MSI (or even the Acer Aspire One).
May 29th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
finally, a umpc that looks beautiful
May 30th, 2008 at 12:25 am
[…] on this miniature notebook, you can bet that we’ll have it here! Also be sure to check out the Dell blog to see the two pictures they […]
May 30th, 2008 at 2:19 am
Price it at £200-£250 with XP, 1GB ram, 8.9″ screen, 12GB (minimum, 16 to 20 preferred) SSD, SD slot, Wi-fi, >2 hours battery life and a few USB ports and I’ll be first in the queue.
Ideally the SSD needs to be in one piece, NOT seperate 4+N like the EEE!!! Don’t bother with MS Works, Openoffice is perfectly adequate and helps to keep the cost down. Open source software = lower cost to the customer = more sales.
I’m going on holiday in early July, so would REALLY like it to be released at the end of June at the latest please Michael. If your guys could drop me an email when it’s coming up for release, that’d be good too
May 30th, 2008 at 2:37 am
If this will be dirt cheap (less than $400 USD) here in my country (Philippines) as well as featureful enough (read: >2 hours battery life, 3 USB ports, good keyboard quality, 8GB SSD, wifi, 1GB RAM), you’ll give ASUS a run for their money. Offer it with a option of Ubuntu and my money (as well as many of my friends) are yours!
May 30th, 2008 at 6:59 am
This new ultra-portable looks very nice. At present I use a large Dell laptop, which I have had for about five years (with four newer Dell laptops also in my household), and about six months ago I bought an ASUS EeePC (4GB, running Linux) and I have to say that the EeePC is superb. It is extremely useful because it can easily handle all my day-to-day tasks, including some software development, and yet it is so convenient to use - small and light, robust and very fast to boot-up and shutdown.
If this new Dell improves on my ASUS EeePC then I may be tempted to upgrade - compared to my EeePC a slightly larger screen would be nice and perhaps a better keyboard (although the EeePC is surprisingly good in these respects) and a larger solid-state disk. Also Ubuntu Linux would be preferable to the Xandros Linux on the EeePC (I plan to install Ubuntu when I have time).
However, I will not upgrade to the Dell if it has a conventional hard-disk (HD). One of the big advantages of the EeePC is its solid-state disk (SSD) - an ultra-portable should be robust and fast to boot-up and shutdown. I would much rather have a ’small’ SSD (plus SD card slot for expansion) rather than a huge HD. And Linux does not require a large disk.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:09 am
[…] is courtesy of Dell and […]
May 30th, 2008 at 10:50 am
[…] also appears that Dell will be pre-installing Ubuntu 8.04 on the so-called mini-Inspiron. This is Dell’s answer to the Asus Eee and other UMPC. While almost no details are known […]
May 30th, 2008 at 10:54 am
sexy - i’d buy one if it had a camera (with a manual cover) and 3G on board.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I would surely replace bloated, unstable Linux with OpenBSD on one of these, now that would be ultra awesome!
May 30th, 2008 at 11:32 am
The “Race to the Bottom” continues, as prices and margins drop down closer and closer to Zero!
Beware that the idea is to offer the BASICS at a lower price in a smaller, lighter form.
Remember, these Laps are designed for small size, not big performance. You won’t find all of the features of a laptop on these machines as you would on a traditional laptop; at least if you expect a lower price and a lighter computer.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:35 am
[…] snapshots back to head office where they were quickly posted on the Gizmodo website, forcing the Direct2Dell site to release it’s pictures. It’s a cute looking little unit in Candy Apple Red, with […]
May 30th, 2008 at 11:36 am
[…] news on the Dell UMPC Add The Direct2Dell Blog mentioned the ultra mobile PC they are working on last night. I guess the information on the net was too important to let out unsubstantiated. I know […]
May 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am
WELL DONE! 1280 x 800 screens are an absolute must (or 1024×768 as a minimum) for any device intended to be read by humans. firefox is impossible to read on a 1024 x 600 device: i bought a fujitsu lifebook P1510D for £1700 ($3500) and threw it away within a couple of months. firefox takes up fully 2/5ths of the screen with impossible-to-remove toolbars, leaving only a couple of inches of useable space on a 1024×600 screen, especially after you’ve opened a few tabs. those extra 168 pixels on a x768 screen (or extra 200 pixels on a x800 screen) make all the difference.
plus, many applications are simply not designed for anything less than 768 height screens: many KDE dialog boxes, and the KDE control panel, are all impossible to use on a x600 screen because the dialog buttons are off the bottom!
so, for anyone with bad eyesight, you can always increase the font size by 50% and get a readable screen still on 8in or so with the benefit that the screen will be pin-sharp clear - but you can’t reduce the font size to get similar results if the resolution just… isn’t there. yes, i’ve tried reducing fonts to size 5 on a samsung UMPC Q1 (screen resolution: 800 x 480) and it’s just… don’t do it
May 30th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
DON’T add a media bay. Please, keep it small, cheap, with a good keyboard and make the battery last forever.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
We did some measuring of the photos dell provided and based upon a known dimension (the 0.5″ width of a usb port) we estimate that the mini inspiron is about 6.6″ x 8″ and has a 8.9″ (or 9″ screen):
http://www.shinyplastic.com/archives/05-30-2008-computer-systems-confirmed-dell-mini-inspiron-has-a-89-or-9-screen.php
If Dell can deliver a basic spec of 8.9″ screen, 512MB RAM, 12GB+ SSD, atom processor and ubuntu for under $500 and an upgrade to a faster processor, XP and 1GB RAM for about $100 more it will be a winner.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
These pictures were taken by the same guy who takes pictures for the McDonalds’ ads. The burgers are the same size of a huge coup of coke
May 30th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I like it’s design, I already dream of one
May 30th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
This is so “last century,” someone is going make DeLL cry…
May 30th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
It will be half-assed. The logo on prototype is upside-down, so how can we trust the mobo design, battery and BIOS code
My guess is it will have a 7” LCD display, a Via CPU, 512 gb RAM, 50 gb IDE drive, 1 hour battery life and run Vista. And the cost will be $666.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
[…] around a prototype Dell mini notebook. Gizmodo was able to get the full scoop and Dell actually posted a follow-up on their blog. The information is scant on actual specs (as in none), but pictures are […]
May 30th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Please do not make this a swivel screen, unless you can do so without: jacking up the price, making it more damage prone, or sacrifice the current look (I love how it looks in these pictures).
Touchscreen sure, but without swivel to make it a tablet, touchscreen is a bit awkward. I know a lot of users are asking for whole bunch of technical features, but as long as it is powerful enough to run Eclipse IDE or H.264 movies without a hitch and has a great battery life, I’m in for one for sure. Other than that, an option between SSD or HDD is a must.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I’m biased, in that I work at Sun, but I’ve got a EeePC which I bought myself for my own personal use - mine runs OpenSolaris 2008.05, and I’m very very happy with it.
I do find the 4gb disk a bit restrictive though, and while I can write stuff to a large SD card, I’d love a slightly larger disk. The main thing that’d make me upgrade though, is battery life - if the Dell had more than 4hrs of battery life, and ran OpenSolaris 2008.05 like the EeePC does, I’d definitely consider it as my next day-to-day laptop.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
[…] snapshots back to head office where they were quickly posted on the Gizmodo website, forcing the Direct2Dell site to release it’s […]
May 30th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
At last, a non-mac that I would buy. Linux? Vista? XP?
May 30th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
[…] posted the Dell Mini Inspiron specifications on the Dell blog, they sound reasonable enough for me to trust, and nice enough to want one of these new machines. […]
May 30th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
[…] Source […]
May 30th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
[…] [Dell Blog] Read […]
May 30th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Peter… Dude….
I have a Pavilion 576x since they where release, the Darn Desktop it’s working… It has like 5-7 years old.
I have a dv6000 laptop… Has been working 100% fine, and I have Vista and XP Dual-Booting… And all my drivers are for Vista. the laptop is made for Vista, and drivers are made for Vista. You just need to sit on a chair, go to google and Find the drivers build from their own manufactures on google. My laptop runs Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 100% Fine. The only thing is not working, it’s Wireless. because Atheros has launched the Wireless driver even for Linux, except XP.
In the past, I’ve had, Dell’s C400, C600, D400, X300 and D600 laptops. Loved them all. I’m someone who gets a laptop, sells it, and grabs a more powerful one.
And I’ve been a Windows User since Win98. I personally, Don’t like Windows. But My Favorite OS Remains Mac OS X and Linux. I worked with it once, for a full month, never had a problem. I worked with Win98, BSOD, 2000 Same story… And since XP… Driver problems…
Thanks…
I’m a Computer Science Student, and a Computer Tech, And i’ve fixed over hundreds of computers…
P.S.
I’ve been a Windows user, because it’s my only remedy for Work. If I could use a mac for work, Everything would be different. But it’s not apple’s fault, Apple just needs to bring developers in so I can get the Software I need. And wait… Bootcamp… Parallells… and stuff….
*This has been posted from an HP Laptop*
May 30th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
This thing looks very much like MSI’s Wind PC. Could this actually be a re-branded Wind?
May 31st, 2008 at 2:03 am
Thank you for this outstanding article.I thought Centrino was the best technology for laptop battery performance.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:36 am
Can someone clean the eJunk posts from this blog? There sure are some limited posts on here. To everyone else who has posted something worth reading, I would love to read it but the consistency of the Blue link to web pages and blogs covering the same topic hurts my eyes, and I hate reading from a monitor. Kudos for thinking though!
When do we get to see specs? The Gizmodo pics look like a protoype compared to the DELL pics. Is the keyboard going to remodeled a little? It seems to be missing some keys, and that black box in the Gizmodo pics is bulky and limiting. How much customizing can we do to it? What is the base price?
oh man . . . I’m almost freed from my desktop so I can work and play!!
May 31st, 2008 at 6:55 am
…or this could be an ordinary Dell Inspiron photographed next to an abnormally large pencil.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:56 am
NEEDS 3G (HSDPA) –> not locked to any specific provider (850/1900mhz). Without that its just another laptop that won’t get my money. Wake up manufactures and start putting your money where your mouth is and make your “mobile laptops” actually mobile with a CONNECTION lol. Wifi is nice but has less than 1 % of the coverage that 3G HSDPA has.
May 31st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I have a feeling June/July is going to be a month of decision for me! This looks like it is going to be a very sweet little notebook. Between this Dell and the HP mini-note I would prefer Dell. However, for me my deciding factors will be:
1) Is Linux available? I’m a Windows and Linux users, but for these lower powered notebooks (and I’m assuming this is one of them) I find myself happier with Linux. I don’t really want to spend my brief time at WI-FI hotspots booting up/down the machine currently required by Windows XP or Vista.
2) Screen resolution of 1366 x 768 or greater. I have no desire to replace my 12 inch notebook at max 1024×768 resolution with a notebook of the same resolution. It is why the ASUS Eee PC is off the bargaining table for me.
3) Under $600. Besides the convenience of an ultra-portable/mini-notebook … I also want low cost. If I lost this think at the airport, I’d have heartburn if I paid a grand or more. A reason why the Mac Airbook is of the bargaining table for me.
Hope to see more soon from Dell!
Bryan
June 1st, 2008 at 12:12 am
OMG!! Thanks you for removing all of the clutter. I am not sure if anyone saw this but:
topsecret says:
Here are the specs for the Dell Mini Inspiron: Atom 1.6 GHz, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, Card reader, Kensington lock, Adapter socket, Mic/line-out, VGA port, screen resolution at 1280×800. Scheduled to be released before the end of June 2008. It costs less than $500.
That sounds pretty close to what the rumors were. No WiFi? Serious? The price jumped $100.
meh. I didn’t get to see that before.
June 1st, 2008 at 7:27 am
@Michael Dell:
Please include a PC CARD SLOT,for a wi-fi card, if there’s no WI-FI feature !!!
June 1st, 2008 at 8:51 am
Nice webcam. Huh? Where is it?
June 1st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
If this was to be an eee killer it would have to have a BIG edge over the eee. Everyone listing matching specs to the eee is non-sense. Give us something irresistable.. now what would that be??
June 1st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
MS> The webcam is a little dot that is near the top of the monitor (center). You can see it. You can also see the speakers at the bottom of the monitor.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:07 pm
So are all of us interested parties here going to get some advance notification for its release? My credit card is at the ready and I’m itching to use it!
With the Asus EEE coming in at $399 (and there are some 2nd hand, but close to new ones for sale at sub $300), I’ve got to admit that I’m thinking about buying an EEE, keeping it for a year and then swapping to the dell, which by then might be onto its 2nd iteration.
Bottom line, I’m highly unlikely to buy the dell if it costs more than $399.
As far as this price-sensitive mobile office consumer is concerned dell will have justify every extra $ with an absolute-must have feature that gets a lot of use. Sure the liquid metal outer casing is lust-worthy, but it aint worthy of an extra $100!
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:34 am
[…] company has “positioned it as the perfect device for the next billion internet users”. Images of the pint-sized notebook appear to indicate that it will come in a choice of two colours: black […]
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
[…] “Sneak” look at Dells Entrant […]
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Should have Bluetooth, Wifi, 3g net option, upgradeable ram, good cpu, And a stupid thing, but the dell logo should be the right way around, so when you open it…It reads dell not lled.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
@All Some really good conversations here! We’ll be blogging more on this as soon as we can …….
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:05 am
where.are.the.F1,F2,F3….buttons?…what.if.i.need.to.change.the.boot.screen.configurations?…where.are.the.audio.buttons?
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
When will this be releasing? If it has decent performance and comes with Linux standard, I’ve already bought it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I am extremely excited if they can get this shipped with Ubuntu. The combination of a free OS and portable, affordable hardware will be a huge blow to the socio economic barriers that exist to information access.
http://www.jackpicks.com/2008/06/sneak-peak-at-very-cool-dell-computer.html
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Dell are ‘bringing sexy back’!! I want one.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
[…] caught my fancy this week? The Dell Mini Inspiron. There are photos, and the specifications according to Slashdot (take it with a grain of salt) […]
June 4th, 2008 at 6:51 am
All I really care about it whether it has a decent sized keyboard. As a student the sole purpose of me purchasing a mini-laptop is so I can pop it in my bag and use it for taking notes in classes and doing assignments. Typing is really annoying with the tiny keyboard on the Eee, but HP has done a really nice job getting the keyboard to 92% of regular size without compromising the size of the machine. I really hope dell manage to match this feature or better it!
June 4th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Hhuuummm…
They have these things called, Blackberries and iPhones?!
If I wanted something that small…
June 4th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
[…] around a prototype Dell mini notebook. Gizmodo was able to get the full scoop and Dell actually posted a follow-up on their blog. The information is scant on actual specs (as in none), but pictures are […]
June 4th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
[…] Same color, too. […]
June 4th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
But where’s the nipple?
June 4th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Hi, Julia makes a good point - yes the EEE’s slightly too cramped keyboard means that you spend a lot of time using the backspace & delete keys to fix the spelling mistakes.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:03 am
[…] the affordable notebooks are coming to market. Dell, HP, and Acer all are introducing mini-notebooks (competing with Asus’ EeePC) that can […]
June 5th, 2008 at 4:21 am
It looks pretty awesome. Any guess on when it will release?
June 5th, 2008 at 6:59 am
This month!
June 5th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I want a Spring Green one to match my 1720
Seriously, just show me where to pay, I will give my deposit right now!
June 6th, 2008 at 3:56 am
Dell-iscious!!!
June 7th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I have an Eee PC 900…if this is kept at the same size/weight as the 900 - with the 7+ hour battery life of the ATOM based Eee PC 901 and the ability to get Dell Complete Care on it - it may be worth it. We are in one of the cycle points now though were technology changes are hitting - and this box really needs HDMI and eSATA. VGA is fading fast. Missing row of F keys will really hurt sales though - one target market of this box is college students and most of them will install Linux (I work for a university with 50K+ students).
June 8th, 2008 at 2:47 am
If you just MAP the F keys to other keys with the Fn key we can all be happy.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I’m a travel writer and was about to get an Eee, for a trip in a few weeks, but I’m holding off for more specs and delivery times. PLEASE get more information out as soon as possible!!!
1. Solid state or hard drive? How big?
2. Battery life?
3. Linux or Windows? (Ditch Windows!)
4. PRICE.
I have been praying for a subnotebook just like this. Function keys aren’t at all a problem — I run Linux and rarely if ever need to use them. But a keyboard that’s relatively touch typeable and which has good travel and feel, THAT would be a huge help. As would long battery life, and storage that allows for backing up video and audio files that are huge. 30GB is the low end, 60 or 80GB would be awesome.
More than anything PLEASE release some specs and start shipping!!!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
[…] from Dell Over at Dell’s blog, they have some pics of a new UMPC that they are apparently working on. Looks pretty good for Dell […]
June 11th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
With a number of great products that can be purchased today, the key for me is knowing if this notebook is for real and when it will be available. If it is around $500, with the Dell brand, wifi, and decent features, it will sell like crazy - unless someone else beats Dell to it. So this is a great blog, and stirs interest in the product, but don’t overplay the suspense!
June 12th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
The more I read on this note book the more I like it. I like the KB redesign with the larger shift key and moving the arrows down a bit. The keys are larger than the ASUS which is VERY good news for my plump digits!
June 13th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Umm. They removed the Function keys (F1 - F12) to keep the keys are larger size (unlike the ASUS Eee PC and I think the MSI Wind which have full keyboards …even HP does) but, last time I checked, the function keys play an important role.
Getting rid of them is not a good idea.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-sw/
The latest!
June 13th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
http://www.slashgear.com/dell-e-e-slim-ultraportables-look-out-eee-and-macbook-air-1312034.php
More.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Can someone tell me what they mean when it says HDD 4/8/16 GB flash? Is this the DELL way of saying SSD? Because as far as my research points me, and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is not necessarily a disk spinning if it is a Flash drive. If so this sounds like my dream machine. $299 starting price? Wow!! Too bad the RAM looks like it upgrades to 1GB only. Can we upgrade that on our end?
Some one from DELL please answer..
June 14th, 2008 at 3:38 am
http://digg.com/linux_unix/SplashTop_Linux_On_HP_Dell_Notebooks
“This week HP announced the Envy 133 and details surfaced surrounding the Dell E and E Slim. These new notebooks from HP and Dell will each ship with an embedded Linux environment, which the manufacturers have dubbed Voodoo IOS and BlackTop, respectively… In addition to the instant-on Linux excitement this week for the HP Envy 133, Dell is apparently working on a similar Linux solution… The E and E Slim also ship with what Dell is calling “BlackTop” for providing an instant-on Linux solution.”
Click the link above for more information.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
What is the price scale for these now? I admit that $299 is a great deal for a 4gb / 512 MB / 1.6ghz laptop, but I am certain I will want the 16gb / 1 GB / 1.6ghz model.
Do you think they go up $100 each? Like the EEE PC did when it first came out.
June 14th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
[…] posted more information on their blog about it: Something from Dell at D6. There is more info on Ars Techica: Hands on with the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Another related piece of […]
June 14th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080610-canonical-wants-netbook-partners-to-open-drivers-for-ubuntu.html
“The revelation of OEM partnerships implies that we will likely see the Netbook Remix on upcoming subnotebook devices from mainstream hardware vendors. In light of Dell’s existing relationship with Canonical, the recently unveiled mini laptop from Dell is a likely candidate for Ubuntu Netbook adoption. What we have seen so far of the software is impressive, and the final product will likely be a lot more polished than current options like the flavor of Xandros that Asus ships on the Eee.”
June 16th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Glad to see this without a camera. Leave off the 3G and bluetooth as well on the entry model, but include an internal dial-up modem to complete its’ mobile connectivity (unlike the Eee PC blunder). Include a small solid state storage option. If you offer a Linux option, make it full Ubuntu, not the completely insecure Xandros junk. Lock up the security out of the box!
Great addition Dell. Can’t wait to see the final product.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:19 am
After reading the specs listed in a post above, Dell needs a Dell E Slim “CLASSIC”.
Dell, please give us a 12.1″ screen Dell E Slim “CLASSIC”! Meets basic needs with large screen. That will be a no-brainer hit at the right price IMHO.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
This looks really cute, I currently use a DELL Latitude C600 sadly this laptop that I’m currently using the battery sucks on it and needs replacing, so does the hard-drive..20GB ain’t doing it for me. Also will this Mini Laptop have a CD drive at all? Because what if we need to reinstall the operating system? I really like this design and if it doesn’t have a built-in wi-fi then atleast have the external wireless slot for the wireless cards, 3 USB ports on that mini laptop would do it for me, 1 USB ain’t doing it for me, I had to buy a hub, when will this be released? I can’t stop looking at it!
June 16th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
This laptop made me look in to others and I was happy to find that competition is again driving innovation. The Dell E and E Slim, MacBook Air, HP Envy 133, and the ASUS Eee PC are what competition is all about. The cost/performance is yet to be seen, but if the Dell E and E Slim live up to half the hype and ship with Ubuntu Dell will crush the competition by having the best of all worlds for the right price. I really can’t emphasize enough how important Linux (Ubuntu) is to that strategy. I use open office every day at work and have no problems with sharing documents with all the Windows zealots. Dell has forever said his company is a hardware vendor. Ubuntu will sell the hardware. I would love to see Dell let Ubuntu go head to head with a M.S. operating system on this unit. Dell will make money either way.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Maybe DELL needs to offer a Mac OS on their systems as well. I know a lot of people stick to Microsoft simply because of the software compatibility. Yay for Virtual Machines!!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:14 am
@sirebral Dell has been on record for some time that we’d offer a Mac OS if Apple would license it.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am
I spoke to a Dell representative last night and she said the new mini would be released on Monday June 23rd. She didn’t know the price.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Does anyone know if this one (or what UMPCs) has broadband capabilities? Thanks!
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 am
I’m sure Dell can sell this mini pc at a cheaper price and still pack it up with some awsome features that Asus would have least imagined, on the other hand, if Dell would tie up with nVidia and its new chip which is a Genie in a bottle, check out the ‘Tegra’ chip from nVidia, so if Dell is going to include that on their pc’s, we can most likely expect some cool ultra light pc’s out in market. Well, let’s hope for the best.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Ok: its the 23d, and I see no announcement from Dell. Looks like a great product, and a lot of buzz, but after a while supsense will turn into irritation. Any reliable news on release dates or other information about the product?
June 24th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I’ve seen on a few sitea now that the release will be in August.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-sw/
It will be called the Dell E.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Where can I buy??
June 27th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
A look at the latest competition:
http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/7/4/ASUS_Eee_1001_specs.jpg
Taken from here:
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-eee-pc-1000-specs-leak-2gb-ram-80gb-hdd-0211861.php
June 28th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Here is another good article on the mini-laptop.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_24/b4088032594249.htm
I myself would like to see a version of this mini notebook with the features of a full sized notebook PC, as far as processor, hard disk, memory, wifi, and video performance while keeping the screen size around 9 inches. I am willing to pay whatever it costs for this. I am not saying we should not have a budget mini as Dell appears to be working on, but I would like the power of a full PC I can put in my pocket and I think it should be available to those who are willing to pay for it. I would definitely be able to make use of such a device. In fact, I have been wanting something like this for many years, but it wasn’t possible years ago, so I wasted so much money on pocket PCs like the Dell Axim X50v. I would feel much better about spending my money on something like this, if it becomes available, even if it hit a higher price bracket. For those looking for a budget mini PC, you could stay with the budget mini. For us extremists, we could purchase the new Dell pocket power (P2) mini.
June 29th, 2008 at 2:26 am
I submitted an idea for an optional docking station for the Inspiron Mini that would hold a CD/DVD-RW drive, an express card, and possibly a notebook 2.5 inch SATA drive, along with the most needed ports.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10090050/A_Docking_Station_for_the_Dell_Inspiron_Mini__Dell_E__Dell_E_Slim
I also submitted an idea for a non-budget full featured mini notebook to run along side the budget mini for those of willing to spend the cash for such a device. This would not compete with the current Dell mini, but instead it would offer more options to the power user.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10090049/True_Inspiron_Mini
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 am
Twice faster than ee PC, screen from border-to-border, same size/weight and equipped with XP, that should rock!
Jaak http://shop.it.ee/
July 4th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
The Asus EeePC 900 has a touchscreen option available for it. I submitted an idea for an optional touch screen for the new Dell mini.
The touchscreen option for the EeePC is unofficial, thus installing it voids your warranty because you must disassemble your EeePC to put it in. I found it all over eBay for around $50.00 USA currency.
I would like Dell to have this touchscreen as an available option while building your Dell mini, so we don’t have to take apart our new mini notebooks to install it.
A video is attached of the touchscreen in action showing practical uses for the screen.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10090337/Touchscreen_Option_For_Dell_Inspiron_Mini__Dell_E__Dell_E_Slim
July 6th, 2008 at 11:01 am
hello…i am big fan of dells…i (personally) have: Latitude C840 (amazing device still working like charm), and the MAGNIFICENT xps m1210..this is my love… however, when i saw the asus eee 701, i started thinking of a smaller laptop, definitly that secreen was nothing, therefore a 9″ would be amazing (the eee 901) i am totally buying this device, then i saw the hp2133 which I THINK is better, however with via processor so i changed my mind on it, now the DELL MINI INSPIRON Vs ASUS EEE 901
the hp screen is much nicer than the eee 901, however the dell’s is even better:D, i just wish that dell take in consideration a 2.5″ harddisk like the hp2133 and this would make the device the ULTIMATE device…. for now, i think dell’s mini inspiron is the best, however a 2.5″ HD option (with a 500GB samsung hm500li inside….yes 500 GB in 8.9″) that ROCKS
July 7th, 2008 at 7:37 am
topsecret Says:
May 29th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Here are the specs for the Dell Mini Inspiron: Atom 1.6 GHz, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, Card reader, Kensington lock, Adapter socket, Mic/line-out, VGA port, screen resolution at 1280×800.
i read some where else it is 1024 X 600…..which is like the asus eee 901, however the hp2133 is better 1024X800….!!!..
i hope the mini inspiron with 1280X 800, or @ least 1024X 800….
July 8th, 2008 at 2:27 am
“i hope the mini inspiron with 1280X 800, or @ least 1024X 800….”
You should submit this idea at http://ideastorm.com
July 9th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Another look at the competition: (Just Released)
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NjU3Ng
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=163 (Linux)
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=164 (Windows)
July 9th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Eee PC 900 Specifications:
Models:
Eee PC 900 Pearl White
Eee PC 900 Galaxy Black
Operating Systems:
Linux
Genuine Windows XP Home with Preloaded Software:
Microsoft Works, Windows Live
Display:
LCD Size: 8.9″ Wide
LCD Resolution: 1024 x 600 (WSVGA)
LCD Type: TFT
Colors:
Pearl White / Galaxy Black
Chipset:
Intel® Mobile CPU & Chipset
Memory:
1GB DDR2
Ethernet Communication:
10/100 Mbps / RJ-45
Display Card:
Intel UMA
S.S.D. Storage: (Solid-State Disk)
12GB/20GB S.S.D.
Audio:
Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
WLAN:
Built-in 802.11b/g
Camera:
1.3M Pixel webcam
Storage Cards:
SD / MMC (SDHC)
Input / Output:
3x USB2.0 / VGA-out (D-Sub, 15pin) / earphone jack / mic
Battery:
4 Cells, ≥ 2.5 hours
Power:
Output: 12V, 36W; Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Dimensions:
8.86″ x 6.69″ x 0.79″ ~ 1.33″
Weight:
2.18 lbs (with Battery)
Infusion:
Shiny Black, Shiny White, Purple
July 10th, 2008 at 9:10 am
I can’t WAIT for this to come out.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Frankly speaking, the progress from Dell is very slow and I really want to purchase one. May be I will purchase Aspire One when Acer launched the XP version.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I couldn’t wait/caved in and bought the MSI Wind. Specs look good. $499
July 11th, 2008 at 2:57 am
Does anyone know when the Dell Mini Inspiron will be released??
July 11th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Does anyone know if the Inspiron mini and the Dell E are two different products, or the same product? I was wondering if one was a budget PC comparable to the OLPC project PC and one was a PC that competes with the EeePC?
So I guess my question is:
Is the Inspiron mini the same thing as the Dell E?
July 12th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
wo krig ich diesen nootebook
July 13th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Oh, this is the cutest thing! I want a mini laptop, so if this is released soon, maybe I’ll purchase it.. Or the Eee, if it takes like a year before it will be released in Norway, which it always do.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I read on the IdeaStorm website that the Dell E is an expansion of a business line and the Inspiron Mini would be the name of the Eee killer. The post was by a Dell employee.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
@DawnEBurns: Yes, it is. (if i remember correctly
)
By the way, some new info about the Dell E would be great. For example the price for the video and video + versions.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Inspiron Mini = Dell E
August release. Starts at $299
July 15th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Presuming Ubuntu 8.04 I wonder if there will be enough to run openoffice.org… Portable Thunderbird should work for email, and it’s a given Google Maps will have to sub in for Google Earth… which leads to the “huge plug-ins” question, particularly when it comes to online media…
Which reminds me, will this use the Ubuntu Netbook Remix? That would be sweet, and hopefully the Firefox would be tailored slightly to the limited resolution. Speaking of which, I keep seeing different numbers: 1024×600 versus 1024×800. While I absolutely hope for something XGA or better, the 1024×800 seems kind of unlikely compared to the WSVGA. Anyone feel confident they know the resolution?
July 15th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
“Danny Says: Inspiron Mini = Dell E”
Where did you get your information. As I said, on Dell’s Idea Storm website, a dell represented specifically stated that the E and the Mini are not the same device.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
“As I said, on Dell’s Idea Storm website, a dell represented specifically stated that the E and the Mini are not the same device.”
I hope you are right!
July 16th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Well the name “mini-inspirion” came up (nonofficially) for dells netbook, simply because first it was not named officially.
May 29th 2008:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/dells-mini-inspiron-eee-pc-killer-revealed/
->”Even the name “mini-Inspiron” comes from the file name of the Dell-supplied pics.”
It was later named -officially- Dell E:
Jun 12th 2008
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-sw/
->”We got a nice helping of slides dropped on our virtual doorstep this evening, fleshing out Dell’s upcoming netbook — which they seem to be calling the “Dell E.”"
Even though these are engadget-links and not dell (and therefore not binding), it seems very unlikely, that dell would bring up a mini inspirion an the E (actually three E-models + the “bigger” E-Slim models) with quite similar specs (8.9″, <500$, webcam, identical case, …).
-Perhaps the mystery will be revealed when, the E will be rolled up.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
When is the laptop going to be released? Late August? Gosh i hope not too late in august. i really want it to be nice though. The news buzz on the machine sorta died after Engadget released the specs. Can we get more leaks on the machine?
I got computer fever this year as I prepare for this device and then an upgrade to Quad Core, leaving me with an empty motherboard and a 2.4 Single Core….. I need a power supply!
July 17th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
[…] “early adopter”.The Dell E interests me, ’cause I like Dell but there is only a blog post on the US site and nothing on the AU site, so more waiting for me. The Acer Aspire One was launched at the start […]
July 18th, 2008 at 8:44 am
“Even though these are engadget-links and not dell (and therefore not binding), it seems very unlikely, that dell would bring up a mini inspirion an the E (actually three E-models + the “bigger” E-Slim models) with quite similar specs (8.9″, <500$, webcam, identical case, …).
-Perhaps the mystery will be revealed when, the E will be rolled up.”
On the Dell Idea Storm site they said it had officially been named the Inspiron Mini. If you go to the Dell home site and search for “Inspiron Mini” it responds:
“Inspiron Mini
Looking for more information on our new Inspiron Mini? Check out our consumer blog “Your Blog” post for more information.”
And links to this blog.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Where were all of you people when the news was being released? The name of the computer is not Inspiron Mini, that was just a code name. The link to this blog also points out that Gizmodo spoke to Micheal. (in fact that exact article says ‘no official name yet’) So if their news is good enough to be in the blog the first time, when did it leave the valued queue of knowledge?
http://gizmodo.com/5016086/dells-mini-inspiron-laptop-named-e-and-e-slim
Anyways, how about some new info on the device for the late comers and the long watchers?
July 21st, 2008 at 3:31 am
[…] New Pics and a few lines of confirmation in a Dell blogSpotted by Gizmodo at the ‘D’ conference, Mr Dell and his mini notebook.Very little information […]
July 21st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Dell better rethink the 16g flash drive. MSI offers an 80g HDD for 585.00 with an August 4th release date.
I’ll take this over the Dell E video +. Take your time Dell. You can loose market share to MSI.
MSI Wind
version: US,1.6GHz,1GB,80GB, XP Home,1.3MP,6 Cell,Black
http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=171046
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Well, I called customer services asking about any timescale and they said they were unable to help me. Great! I really like the look of this, hope that the exchange rate for the UK is a ‘real world’ exchange rate and this will fly off the shelves. I really want to get my mitts on one of these… Hurry up Dell!
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
HDD option is ok, but I still want an SSD. I won’t be looking for much storage capacity on the device. HDD’s cost more in energy and they are slower. Eventually the HDD will be replaced with the SSD.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
That Thing Looks Sexy Im Getting Me One Of Those
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I want SSD for performance. If it is running Windows, it will need the added performance. If it is running Ubuntu, it doesn’t matter as much, but will still be a benefit.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:18 am
I want Dell to release products in a timely fashion.. NO wonder they’ve dropped as far as they have in
pc sells. Not only are they slow in releasing competitive products but they under equip them too. Look at
most of the sell items they email us about like crazy, 1/2 only come equipped with a “core dual” processor,
not the more common “core 2 dual”… They aren’t fooling anyone & it cost them sells..
July 24th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I would like that touch screen that is available for the EeePC. That makes surfing the net a breeze. The touchpad is way too slow compared to the touch screen. They aren’t that expensive either. I have found them on e-bay for around 50 dollars. I hope it’s an option while building your Dell mini. That would be sweet!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:14 am
One more thing about the touch screen…
If it were an option, I would pay an extra 100 dollars to have it included versus paying 50 dollars for the Asus version and having to do it myself and void my warranty by taking my unit apart. It could be optional as some users may not want it, but I am sure they would sell like hot cakes. <–Not sure what that means though because I am not sure how hot cakes sell, but I think the touch screen would sell like crazy anyway.
July 25th, 2008 at 4:51 am
[…] I can pretty much guarantee that one of the two is Dell and that theirs will look like this: […]
July 25th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
There are no versions of Linux that run iTunes…right, or wrong?
July 25th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Another look at the competition: (Rumor)
http://gizmodo.com/5029112/eee-pcs-to-get-whole-day-batteries-says-rumor
July 25th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Is the Dell E going to have this?
July 25th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Is the Dell E going to have this? Please make this an option Dell!
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10090337/Touchscreen_Option_For_Dell_Inspiron_Mini__Dell_E__Dell_E_Slim
July 25th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
OK, here are some more rumors and information on the competition. Dell, pay extra attention to the comments! You could learn something…
http://gizmodo.com/5028850/asus-continues-flood-of-eee+branded-gear-with-external-hd-optical-drive-and-3g-card
http://gizmodo.com/5027014/eee-pc-1000h-price-drops-now-549
July 25th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Can we get a release date on this yet? Some of us want this today!
Also, did Dell ever think of mapping more of the keyboard with the Fn button so that F keys do exist?
July 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Can’t wait!
July 27th, 2008 at 4:48 am
when it’s gonna be availbale in Europe??
July 27th, 2008 at 7:50 am
hey, I´m from Germany, and we wished to get this in August, too. Lots of blogs write of it, and I daily inform myself about the inspiron mini, does anyone know when dell will produce the German edition? I´ll be one of the first buyers, surely!
I need it to write, for my self-written book, and I need something which my baby (coming march ´09) and my elder daughter (7 years getting) can´t reach and destroy. It sounds like it could be the best soloution for me.
July 27th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
When is this gonna be on sale already? The Asus sales are enormous! Better get this out quick!
July 27th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I have looked at other possibilities in this market and would really like to purchase the Dell product. I have four other Dells at this time and would much rather purchae another. This product, with a weight of about 2 lbs. and all the needed specs for me to take on the road would be terrific. Amazing what a few extra lbs. feel like when lugging thru O’Hare or another airport. Any idea of when Dell will launch. Will the price be competivie with Acer, HP and Assus? I am a faithful Dell user, but am getting a bit inpatient for this new product.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Asus eeePc with a 20 gig solid state hdd coming in one month. It also has an 80 gig hdd option. I don’t think Dell can kill the eeePc now. They even come with Linux and a 6 cell battery. Why wait on Dell. I just ordered mine.
http://www.amazon.com/Display-Intel-Processor-Solid-Battery/dp/B001BYF2WK/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217223143&sr=8-4
July 28th, 2008 at 9:04 am
hm… i’m waiting too… someone on the dell support chat tell me, the dell mini will came in september/october to europe… i can’t wait… my asus eee 701 display is broken and i need something like the eee with a little more of memory and screen size…
July 28th, 2008 at 9:25 am
DELL, PLEASE open ALL the hardware specifications and information to allow the Open-Source Community develop drivers for the Dell E (Mini-Series). Also, PLEASE advertise and publish Ubuntu availability. (DO NOT SELL OUT TO MICRO$OFT!)
Can’t wait until the release date.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Does someone know the release date for Europe. I can’t believe we have to wait until september!!!. If true, I think I will buy acer one. Hurry up Dell!
July 28th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I am kind of disapointed … I mean this is pretty much just a re-branded Asus EEE? Why? I understand Dell wanting to cash in on the UMPCs, but come on … inovate a little bit. I think I will go ahead and pick up one of the MSI Winds.
July 29th, 2008 at 5:19 am
if the Dell “E” would be available right now i would order in one second.
so i hope they can deliver it to europe in august or i will get the msi wind.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:23 am
i so agree with alot of people on here,dell is waiting too long ,i do understand that ,some things take time to perfect ,BUT i can also see acer and eee with there counter attack(Eee with there deluxe models IE power of a high laptop in a netbook body IE S91 coming)I have been a long time dell buyer,all my desktops are dell,i Would like to buy a dell netbook,But way its going eee are set to domate again for another year,come on dell put the extra resources(as we all know you have em) on this,netbooks are the way forward
July 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
The longer I wait, the better the ASUS Eee PC 900 w/FingerGlide looks. There’s no question that Dell’s delay in releasing final specs and pricing for the E/Inspiron Mini has delayed my purchase decision. But it also made me go look for alternatives and I found the MSI Wind and the ASUS Eee. Now, I’m not certain Dell will be my choice even though I’m a long time customer (and stock owner). ASUS’ FingerGlide feature looks too cool! Further, my machine will have XP, not Linux, and I’d prefer to not install it myself. Dell?
July 29th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I have been looking at the reviews on the ASUS 900, 901 and other ASUS products, as well as the Acer Aspire One. All of them have their faults, it appears, and I assume the Dell UMPC will as well. Give me a sub-$400 machine with an 8.9″ screeen capable of a full page view on the average web site, an adequate keyboard, a decent touch pad, WIFI, adequate storage (20gb or better), igb of RAM, and running either XP or a solid Linux release and I’m good to go. I don’t want to have to dissassemble the thing to upgrade RAM and I’d like to be able to swap out SDGHC cards as temporary storage. Keep the webcams, touch screens and other bells and whistles for those in love with toys; just give me a tool I can carry with me easily and can rely on and leave my Inspiron at home.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Am I the only one who would like to have the 12″ device with an ssd? My Linux won’t need more than, say, 3GB. An ssd of 16GB would leave more space for audio, video and other data than I need for a mobile device.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’m looking forward to this. I just played with an ASUS today and the keyboard drove me up the wall, by size and by SLLLLLOWWWWNESSSS of typing, on the other hand the 1000 breaks the form factor I’m hoping for. With the airlines absolutely soaking people for luggage, I need something I can chuck into my carry-on and still fit a few days worth of clothes and everything else. At the same time, I need something I can actually carry with me in a backpack at the other end of the flight without looking like I’m going off into the national forest… This would be perfect, dimension wise, especially if they’ve put the thought and effort into the keyboard they claim. Here’s what I’m thinking/hoping the final specs will be:
Atom 1.6Ghz, Ubuntu Netbook Remix, 16GB or better SSD, 8.9″ screen with WSVGA or better, 85% or better key size, touchscreen, 3xUSB 2.0, VGA, Express 54 or at least SDIO, 4 hour or better battery, b/g or n, Ethernet 10/100, approx. 9″x7″x1″, all for the low low price of $299 (not likely, I guess, since they probably will bump the price up for the 16GB SSD and again for the touchscreen)
I also hope they have spent some time tweaking the apps for the screen size: google maps in particular is horrible on the EEE PC, and my main uses are a)looking stuff up (to include maps & “satellite” pictures, as well as ecommerce stuff), b) taking notes on meetings, conversations, etc…, and c) keeping my data at the ready on spreadsheets or (dare I hope) a database.
Of course I like entertainment at the hotel that doesn’t cost $20 a day, and I’m hoping there is some kind of decent FPS or 4X game that will run on it, in addition to website video like the news and “other”
July 31st, 2008 at 7:33 am
[…] gotten into the game. HP launched the Mini-Note earlier this year, and Dell plans to launch the E sometime in the near […]
July 31st, 2008 at 8:40 am
Interesting how Dell doesn’t link this page from their site when you search “inspiron mini” as of today. Maybe a release soon?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:52 am
>>Interesting how Dell doesn’t link this page from their site when you search “inspiron mini” as of today. Maybe a release soon?<<
Maybe Dell doesn’t want to link to a page, where everybody is asking questions and nobody is getting answers (from dell) for quite some time :-/
July 31st, 2008 at 1:09 pm
cannot understand, why dell is not telling us how long we have to wait for it…..
July 31st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
maybe because they dont have an exact release date yet?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
here is what dell chat agent told me ……..Yes, we do have a product called the Inspiron 13 and we are very excited about it! Stay tuned to dell.com for more information or I’m happy to call you when we have these systems available to sell
July 31st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I think the Dell 13 is a different animal, the new back to school notebook. Check the specs. I think Dell needs to leak something more, maybe a final set of specs if not a final date. If they will be available this month, it’s not like they haven’t been made yet…
I know it’s presumptuous to say Dell needs to leak something, but check out the new Sylvania G specs (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/31/sylvania_specs.jpg, if the link will blog), which is definitely a head to head of what we know sofar of the Inspiron Mini. These two are absolutely in competition for market share, with Dell’s advantage probably being the brand reputation and aesthetics. Opening day may not seem to be that huge a factor defining market share, but if you swapped the fielding dates of the cloudbook and Eee PC the story may well have been different for a while… probably to the detriment of the entire niche, admittedly.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I think you’re correct Tyrsten the Inspiron 13 is different and not a UMPC like the Dell E is “supposedly” going to be. The Inspiron 13 from what I’ve seen is a 13″ inch laptop with a dvd drive and other standard specs but nothing particularly different about it except for the fact that its new. Looks like the starting price is going to be $899. Its says august 3rd is the release date for it.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:26 pm
>>Interesting how Dell doesn’t link this page from their site when you search “inspiron mini” as of today. Maybe a release soon?<<
Agreed. I noticed this today as well. Even worse, I very politely and professionally submitted an idea to ideastorm asking Dell to release some specs, a release date, or anything. It was receiving very many votes, but the next day when I went back to check on it, it was deleted completely. There is absolutely no record of its existence. This is very strange indeed. I think this is an attempt to censor us. Why all the secrecy? Dell could just come forward in ideastorm or in this post and state that they are not willing to tell us anything yet, if they so desire, instead of deleting ideas submitted to ideastorm and removing this from the Dell search results. Let’s keep it professional Dell!
I wonder how long this comment will stay here..?
July 31st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
>>Interesting how Dell doesn’t link this page from their site when you search “inspiron mini” as of today. Maybe a release soon?<<
Maybe the Inspiron Mini will release on 08-01-08..?
August 1st, 2008 at 5:11 am
I agree with earlier comments, the ASUS and Acer offerings are close to my needs which is for a lightweight but robust laptop that enables me to easily get connected to the web, allows some low level document management and provides better entertainment than most airlines offer in-flight, oh and is cheap enough (sub $300) such that its not a big deal if it gets lost/stolen/damaged while travelling. I’m expecting that Dell will have learnt from ASUS, Acer and others and will deliver something that meets those needs more closely than its competitors. We will see………..
August 1st, 2008 at 11:53 am
I hope what is taking Dell so long is to perfect it to the Ubuntu notebook remix. I guess they have to if they are going sub $300
August 1st, 2008 at 12:12 pm
UPDATE:
I posted another idea in Dell ideastorm. Here it is:
Title:
Give us an update on the Dell Inspiron Mini / Dell E / Dell E Slim
Body:
We have been waiting very patiently. Please give us an update on the Dell Inspiron Mini / Dell E / Dell E Slim. Include some specs, an estimated release date, or simply tell us what you are and are not willing to discuss about the upcoming product.
Dell’s Response:
jackie_c @brokencrystal: You posted this same “idea” a couple of days ago and it was removed as this is not an actual idea. I sent you an email to advise why it was removed. When we have more details on this item, we will share it with the Community. This “idea” will be removed as well. Thanks!
My thoughts:
This is an idea. My idea is for you (Dell) to give us an official update, specs, an estimated release date, or at the very least, officially announce what you can’t tell us, but give us something! While you do not have to comply, since this is just a submission to ideastorm and nothing more, I have to argue that it IS an idea and I have seen MUCH worse ideas on ideastorm that have not been removed or tampered with. I can give examples if you like, but I don’t think that is necessary at this point.
Thank you for your time,
BrokenCrystal
August 1st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
We appreciate hearing from everyone who has commented on this thread, but there’s a lot of rumor and speculation being posted. Just want to reiterate that we’ll be posting product details on Your Blog and elsewhere as soon as they are available (read actual product launch). The post above was published shortly after an enterprising blogger spotted a prototype; a lot of interest was generated by his reporting, and we wanted to take the opportunity via the post to let our IdeaStorm contributors know that we had been listening to their ideas. That said, the general practice at Dell, and for much of our industry, is to not pre-announce launch dates or specifications.
Couple of clarifications:
We don’t link to content referencing any of our unannounced products.
@brokenchrystal We don’t censor our social media sites but we will remove content that is outside the scope of a site’s terms & conditions. In this case, your submission was not an actual idea (in the context of product improvement, etc.) and that was why it was removed. I’m told you were notified of this, as well as given the courtesy of an explanation, via the e-mail address you provided. If you did not receive, please check to ensure we have a correct address.
Thanks to all for your interest and sharing your preferences!
August 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Will this run Crysis at medium??
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
@ John Pope: The industry standard you cite most prevalently applies to enterprises who market their production through retailers. Despite the fact I have a real and pressing need for a netbook, I am holding off to see the Dell line. Though the specs cited previously go toe to toe with the Sylvania rebrand MESO, I would always prefer a Dell and I think I can wait because I am NOT waiting for the Dell product to move out to retailers. Since I can order direct from Dell my consumer decision process is different than the predicate of the industry standard. That even presumes the industry standard is an intelligent standard to start with, as opposed to an Appeal to Popularity fallacy.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the problems associated with premature release of information, particularly when it means tipping your hand to competitors who will immediately adjust their market posture to engage. It’s just that if you want people to be interested enough in your product to forestall a purchase until your product line fields, than you may need to consider at least giving up which week in August that will happen, if not an actual date and/or official specs.
Of course, that may not be a priority in context with the other ramifications of disclosure, but it is at least a valid consideration (though apparently not an “idea”
).
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
@JOhn Pope: For me, what this product is about is mobility and basic functionality. That means: wireless card slot, light, long battery life and decent keyboard. For me, the size of the screen is not all that important, nor is the size of the hard drive or having an optical drive. These features may also imply the Atom chip, not sure, but that would be a means toward the ends itemized above.
On the other comments: I appreciate the position you are in, but the clear trend in these posts goes from intense interest and buzz early on to outright frustration, even among many loyal Dell customers. This is not a trend line that Dell should enjoy, but it is only going to get worse until Dell gives a release date. Dell is getting way behind. True, by the time it announces it may be the best on the market, but by that time (a) many Dell customers would have already purchased the competitive product and (b) the other brands will be ready to leapfrog over whatever Dell comes out with.
Thanks!
August 4th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I also can not longer wait for this gadget. At the moment I am close to buy an eee-pc (9inch display, 20GB drive, 1 or two GB of ram, 4-5h running on battery and wifi of course- I’d like to see these features) but I can wait for a month I think.
My main focus is to use it as an replacement for a PDA, yes even it is a bigger.
I want to run it under Linux (ubuntu net version prefered). My Inspiron is also very well running under Kubuntu Linux.
So please make it availiable in your shop (in Europe) as soon as possible.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:46 am
why is there no official information about the dell netbook? did they cancel it? i mean we didnt heard anything for weeks now, very disturbing.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I saw some photos on an asus eee blog (german site), which offered a chameleons´ design, and I´d wished a blue/violet colored notebook, with a big adapted keyboard, a better solution than a mouse (like apple did), a none-glossy display, long-living rechargeable batteries, linux as operating system (maybe ubuntu), intel atom or such else as processor, an eight gigabyte solid state disc, and with an high resolution.
I need the netbook for writing my self-written book, surfing in the internet, maybe for letting my daughter play some linux games sometimes, and cause of her it has to be very robust. It should be good-looking and also made for both: women and men, and it has to look professional not like a child’s toy, and also not like an usual notebook.
Before I can´t get anything like this, I use my usual, ugly pc from which I can configure my hardware by myself, and use the operating system I want.
The impression I got from dells´ “eee”/ the inspiron mini was, that I could have the tool I need as an author.
I still hope so, best wishes, bine
August 5th, 2008 at 8:03 am
As a SBO i have at least 12 dell machines,desktops and lappys,And would like to also have the Mini,as our prime outside,job site comp.As we have gone thru 3 Asus EEE pcs in the field,not very robust,but cheep!.Not only is this more rugged looking but I’m sure it will also carry dells warry and replacement plans,so its really a no brainier for me or the company.But true to Dell its now the first week of Aug and no word of the Mini release or pending release.So I’m going to give it 1 more week to be released or dated.After that or no word then It looks like the MSI Wind will become our field comp.And Dell loses another sale to the other guys.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:01 am
As a student, I’m guessing I’m probably in the target demographic group for the Dell mini, accordingly, I think Dell will probably release the mini during the back to school frenzy of end of august. I sure hope Dell does not make the same mistake as HP and decides to sell a overly expensive and slow UMPC. Anyway If Dell needs ”field testers” for the mini I’m willing to make the necessary sacrifice *wink *wink.
However as ahh_H2O said the MSI wind looks really tempting… I hope Dell understands that back to school means the Laptop must me in our school bags when school begins, not two weeks after the first school bell ring…
August 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Folks - all you are saying is being said for every new product release for decades now - and yet the world never ended when a manufacturer didn’t provide a precise release date. In fact it’s taking the wind out of the sails to announce a product release months ahead… Whining and whining. Dell have apparently long term plans for this device with a gen 2 and 3 already planned so you guys go ahead and buy your eee. I will do so too should the Mini not live up.
Bine - chill out. Was Du brauchst ist entweder ein richtiger laptop order einen HP 2133.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Well…. Lenovo HAS announced thei s10, even though availability is not until the beginning of October. AND they have an ExpressCard Slot for my WAN. hmmmmmm……
August 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Raphael brings up a good point, one related to my position (though I’m not a student). My need for a netbook is fairly imminent, and I’m hoping the back to school market will provide. If Dell intends to release in late August, when everybody is already back in school, or even mid-August when delivery before everyone goes back to school is less than certain, it will miss my suspense as well. The annoyance is, how long do I wait until I cut bait? I can’t afford to wait so long I don’t get the netbook before the point at which I wouldn’t know where to have it sent to…
August 6th, 2008 at 4:47 am
a really cool device.
I guess students and many mobile workers have been waiting for the perfect mobile device between a mobile phone and a normal notebook.
Hope to see it soon on the market
August 6th, 2008 at 6:32 am
the dell information politics are very strange, i mean lenovo can kick out 4 news per week and dell once a month … wow
someone did a bad job there …
August 6th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Come on Dell, Lenovo has just joined the netbook war and it’s your turn so come one, release it! Or at least give us some more info =P
I’m interested in getting one before uni.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
DeLL … you are left behind now….
Your fans here were from hopeful to hopeless and that was including me here~
Am from Asia Pacific part~
10 more days to count down…
Gonna buy Asus 901 if …there is still no news from DeLL~
This is just a scratch on the surface, many had been moving towards other options~
Look at your global pizza, it had been devour quite a huge amount by your competitors out there~
Act fast now….
Are you planning for stealth strike? Only announce it when all stocked up at dealer stores worldwide?
Make it happen ASAP …our resistance towards temptation is running out.
OMG …my hands is so itchy and urging for that MSI or Asus 901~
HELP~
August 6th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Release date August 12.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
How do you know that?
August 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
maybe it’s Michael as in Michael Dell and that’s how he knows…. :-))
August 6th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
if it realy was michael this news will be made public tomorrow
but for real, if dell does do the stealth move they will lose the big pot against asus on 18th … i realy dont understand how they act in that situation … they just fool the people
August 6th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
OK so if the Aug 12 day comes and goes then what.I’ll tell my move will be to call Dell and ask that my Corp account be deleted from their list.All 21 dell desktops and lappys will then be replaced by HP desktops and the HP mini will be used instead.Why because as the corp sales rep at Dell stated and I quote”the product you are asking about has not ,or is not slated for production until the 4th quarter of our sales year.” So much for a company that has the customer in mind.Have gone thru this before with Dell to start this company and each time all I got was the runaround.Can you say Hello HP!.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
It is doubtful this will be released in August. Dell wants to sell their other laptops like the Studio because those have higher profit margings. The Inspiron Mini will be cheaper so they don’t want it to compete against their higher price new models. So my thinking is they won’t release anything til after back to school. Most likely September. Even though it pisses off the diehards.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
ray that doesnt matter if they dont drop some news until the 12th im out and on other borders and i think im not the only one
August 6th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Asus EEE hits Target stores
http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/08/seee-spot-save.html
August 6th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
We have had the Asus Eee at our local Best Buy store for some time now. (It is pretty sweet!) I have been holding out to see what Dell has to offer since I have a credit card with them. I hope we hear something soon. My wife and I are both looking to buy an ultra mini very soon.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Here is yet another netbook. It is the high end model Asus EEE S101.
http://www.umpcfever.com/news/?postid=1131
August 7th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I could not wait and purchased the Asus EEE PC 1000h on amazon for 549, when I purchased it had only 3 in stock and now its temporarily out of stock. Dell you are missing the boat!!! Hurry up!
August 7th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
[…] a while, but we are now starting to see interest from major players like HP with its Mini-Note and Dell with its rumored device. When HP and Dell take notice, you should too.Why have ULPCs become so popular while other mobile […]
August 7th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Dell E = Vaporware
August 7th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
HP is coming out with a new netbook in October with a 10 inch display and Atom chip. Looks like Dell compete no more.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Inspiron Mini delayed till December.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
@ the individual purporting to be “Dell Says,” you’ve just provided the community here an example of the rife rumor and speculation that I noted in my comment above. If you have no accurate or useful commentary, we respectfully ask that you refrain from commenting.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
To *Dell* - don’t know who you are -but you are NOT an official Dell spokeperson and so need to let everyone here know that your comments should be treated as rumor and speculation. It is good to see the high level of interest on the *mini Inspiron* here..and I wish I could share more details with you all. But I cannot, except to say we are committed to bringing a fully baked product to market - stay tuned.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Would it not be an option to allow the inspiron mini to be pre-ordered that way it would at least satisfy fustrated potiental buyers.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
What about the individual purporting to be “Michael”? Does that mean August 12 is the date?
August 7th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Dell does not know how to market. Almost every other company since the dawn of time pre announces a product. And no preorder is rediculous. Look at Apple, Lenovo, HP, and others who announces product 3-4 months before. This product hasnt even been officially announced. What kind of marketing 101 error is that? There are not any reviews This product wont happen for a very long time. Dell has an elitist attitude that they dont have to market and one day it will show up on their site and people will buy it
August 7th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
So I’m reading this on the road again, across the street from a best buy… typing this on my venerable Omnibook XE3… but reminding myself that both of the HP desktops I’ve owned are toast. Yet, my house has an embarassing number of Dells that I’ve handed down to kids or bought for my wife and have just SURVIVED, even when retro-ed with Edubuntu and/or with cards in them that are more expensive than the systems were originally.
I hope “Michael” is right. I’ve set RSS for products and press releases, just in case.
Still, I do respect Anne’s comments, I would be briefly satisfied to get a Dell, but thoroughly pissed off if it didn’t live up to the brand. This Omnibook really sucks, but the idea of a Ubuntu Netbook Remix Dell Inspiron Mini is worth holding out for. Hopefully it’ll be within the budget, perform as advertised, and maybe I can even get an extra battery despite the factory fire…
I’ll just imagine they are spending the extra time tailoring Ubuntu to work perfectly on it
Unfortunately, that has it’s limits and after playing with a HP 2133 at one store and an Eee at another, if I get home and Dell hasn’t come out with it I’ll get an eee, load it with eeebuntu, and see what next year’s version of the Inspiron Mini brings to the game.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Dude your getting a Dell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nHM93z1wAc
August 8th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
This just in launch next week
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/08/dell-could-unveil-netbooks-next-week.html
August 9th, 2008 at 1:47 am
well it looks like “Michael” could be right…let’s hope so…
August 9th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Dear Dell,
I’m from Australia, and while I know that it will probably take even longer to get a Dell UMPC here than for those in the US, I thought I’d throw in my two cents worth.
I need a UMPC by September, and we have EEE 901’s in stock here. I was initially so excited by the rumoured Dell, but really have been disheartened by the complete lack of official news. I really hope this latest rumour about the possible release of info next week is true, because I’d love a Dell, but I’m getting tired of scouring message boards.
For my very small personal vote with a wallet, you will need to have at the least, an official release date by August 30.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Matthew
August 9th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Mini Inspiron: Dell’s Announcement next week?…
UberGizmo indicated that Dell will be having a media event next week and Dell might use the event to announce their mysterious new line of low-cost notebook, Mini Inspiron to the whole world….
August 9th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I suppose dell will be too late with the E for me and i am going to buy a 901 in about 9 days for my vacation. Too bad….
August 9th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I hope it’s released August 12 for back to school. If it’s not available on that date Dell is missing out on the back to school crowd that this device is tailored for.
August 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I hope this machine will have at least 2GB of RAM and 120+GB hard drive. It also needs to have at least the capability for extended battery life up to 8 hours. I’d also like the XP / Vista transition-at-will OS set up as my VPN and online business apps won’t run on Vista yet. Also need full version of Office Small Business. I’d prefer to have it cost as much as $800 to have top end components and battery life than a $300 machine that isn’t practical for business use. I actually think it could come to market for more than the HP unit and still do well.
August 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
“I’d also like the XP / Vista transition-at-will OS set up as my VPN and online business apps won’t run on Vista yet.”
I am having the exact opposite problems. I have new software designed for Vista that will not run on XP. This is a good example why Dell should give the customer custom OS choices while building their systems. I may also purchase one that runs Ubuntu if it is available. My wife also wants one. After I get them, I am sure my kids will all want one as well.
August 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
@MobileBizGal: Do you really want to run a Vista on Atom? I think you may be more in the 1330 market, like the Vostro or XPS. I got to play with one at BestBuy this weekend, if I wasn’t watching the budget so carefully I’d be very tempted to get the XPS 1330 over the Mini. It’s really thin, light, but extraordinarily powerful. More powerful than any of my desktops (not counting the video card, which is still pretty damn impressive).
@BrokenCrystal: They should, but we shouldn’t underestimate how much of that is driven by Micro$oft. I understood that they won’t allow anything with more than 1GB RAM to OEM with XP. One of the reasons why I like Ubuntu: there are both 32bit and 64bit versions and as the OS community gets larger solutions for individual applications (like WINE development) are happening a bit faster, and a bit more reliably. Thank God for idealistic college students and OS purists… they make the world a better place for the rest of us
August 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Tyrsten: Thanks for your thoughts. I have a tablet kiosk eo which I purchased with the intention of using it on the run. It is fine for checking email but is just too tricky to maneuver in Excel and other apps without a keyboard and carrying a keyboard defeats the whole purpose. So, it\’s now my on-the-kitchen-counter-always-up internet machine and I\’ve been carrying around my Inspiron 9200 at what feels like about 10 lbs. I\’m really excited about this new class of laptop that apparently combines all the big machine functionality I need with the convenience of being able put it into my purse. I\’m even more excited that Dell is entering this market because our corporate platform is Dell and I\’m a bit concerned about the reliability of HP or Asus. The machine will have to be able to access our network apps as well as online and VPN apps and I think my IT guys would freak out at someone wanting to run anything but XP at this point. I have no idea about the effect of running a particular OS with a specific type of processor but I\’m aware that some are better paired than others. I\’m considered a power user but frankly, unless there is some sort of major problem running XP or Vista on this processor, I will probably never know the difference since I don\’t do anything too exotic. From a size standpoint this is exactly what I need and that\’s high on my requirements list. Had this been available a couple of years ago I wouldn\’t have bought the Tablet Kiosk, though that machine has turned out great for me.
August 9th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Dell, please, PLEASE make a worldwide release of this mini-notebook. I am_this_close to buying an ASUS Eee 901 as it’s just a click away. I really want a Dell for various reasons (helping an American company, environmentally friendly contributions etc.), so don’t let us down, Dell.
August 9th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Yes, I echo many others above. I need a mini-notebook by Sept. Preferably earlier. If the Dell is not announced this week and is not available this month then I am forced to go elsewhere. Probably with an XP/6 cell Aspire. While nobody likes non-delivered/late-delivered products, no announcement at all, this close to a key buying time is inexcusable.
I have long disliked Dell but this would have been my first. If they don’t, they’ve missed the boat on not only the back to school crowd but people who might have been willing to give Dell a chance in a new area or the market.
August 9th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Tyrsten: I believe you are likely correct about your MicroGarbarge comments.
The ultimate irony being that this is yet another area that MS is forced to bully their way into as it is yet ANOTHER area they completely missed the boat on. Now they have been forced to back-peddle(xp) to insure their iron-grip on the industry does not falter. As has always been the case so far, it’s been better for them to be rich/corrupt rather than good/innovative/insightful etc
August 9th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
@MobileBisGal: I hear you on the physical size, but I think your expectations on performance are out of the netbook realm. Netbooks just don’t have “all the big machine functionality”. To date I’ve played with the HP 2133 and ASUS Eee (w/ XP) and I don’t think what you need a notebook for is going to match up with a netbook purchase. There are some 13 and 12 inch notebooks out there from Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony, etc… that would probably do what you need. Of the group my socks were knocked off by the Dell XPS 1330 and a Sony VAIO, though I’m prejudiced towards the former (especially since it was more like $1300 as opposed to Sony’s $1800). That’s still way over what I can cough up out of the personal discretionary toys part of the household budget. Here are the things I hear you saying that don’t add up to a netbook so much as an ultra-portable notebook: 1) VPN: VPNs suck an amazing amount of performance out of a system, and if your IT (like most peoples) is XP oriented, your are stuck with it too, which means you are stuck with Micro$oft’s 1GB or less restriction, which means you definitely need a system which is overkill in every other area, because XP plus VPN crypt/decrypt = full bore system, not a light netbook 2) When you are talking Excel (and I am thinking about mine, so I could be wrong) it’s not performance but display resolution that is going to get you: the Dell netbooks are reportedly going to top out at WSVGA (1026×600). If you are addicted to being able to see a lot of your data at the same time WSVGA is probably not what you are looking for: the “x600″ part in particular means that you will be able to see far less of your spreadsheet than on a full computer. Even the “1026″ part isn’t great: I typically prefer to work with my sheets at 1280×1024 and anything less feels cramped. 3) Email, which you list at the minimum: that’s getting towards the heart and soul of what a netbook is for: information web surfing and email. For example, Google Earth would probably kill most netbooks, and if you like the news from video a netbook will likely be annoying. 4) Vista probably flat out won’t run in any effective way at all on these: it takes too much muscle. Even the XP running on the ASUS at BestBuy was having issues, I constantly had to wait for it to “catch up” with what I had just written. 5) 120GB: They might have it, but if what you are going to use this for needs 120 GB that sounds like it’s multi-media heavy: I just don’t know if a netbook will do it. 6) $800: The final straw, I think this puts you out of the practical advantage portion of the netbook market. At the $800 we aren’t talking about a netbook, we are either talking about a notebook or a really exquisite netbook that will lose half it’s value the moment you open the box. For $800 and the stuff you are looking for, and with an interest in Dell, I strongly recommend the Vostro 1330. And as for XP, well…, if you key into the business area instead of the Home area, or prevail on some advice (and maybe some help) from your IT people, that can be arranged. Plus, you can still buy XP off the shelf and install it (or have it installed). You can even get an ebay special and then pay the $99 genuine ms advantage fee when you register it… Just some thoughts, and I could easily be wrong since Dell hasn’t exactly put their cards on the table yet.
August 9th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
@MobileBizGal: “So, it\’s now my on-the-kitchen-counter-always-up internet machine and I\’ve been carrying around my Inspiron 9200 at what feels like about 10 lbs. I\’m really excited about this new class of laptop that apparently combines all the big machine functionality I need with the convenience of being able put it into my purse.”
Weight is not really an issue with me. Size is the big issue with me. I need to be able to put this notebook in my pocket, or in your case a purse. That is the big selling point for me.
@Tyrsten: “They should, but we shouldn’t underestimate how much of that is driven by Micro$oft. I understood that they won’t allow anything with more than 1GB RAM to OEM with XP.”
I agree. This could go both ways. It could limit what Dell does with the mini to stay within these guidelines for running XP, which would be bad. On the other hand, Dell could offer a higher end version and offer Vista with it, which would be a good thing, if it were an option.
“One of the reasons why I like Ubuntu: there are both 32bit and 64bit versions and as the OS community gets larger solutions for individual applications (like WINE development) are happening a bit faster, and a bit more reliably.”
I love Ubuntu. I have used it from the beginning, before that I ran SuSE Linux. I run Ubuntu/Kubuntu on many of my desktops and on one of my notebooks, but there are situations in which I cannot run certain applications that I use to interface with hardware devices and gadgets, for example the Microsoft Zune, and I am forced to run Windows. Also, some Windows only applications are required by businesses and schools. I wish this wasn’t the situation, but it is. I hope this changes soon. Adobe/Macromedia needs to step up and make their applications cross-platform. Graphics artists, programmers, and so many other professionals are stuck with Windows software. Until these applications become cross-platform, I am forced to run Windows also. ;- (
August 9th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
@bety: It’s kind of odd that my comments here are comparitively libertarian while similar comments in the OS arena are comparitively fascist (in the original sense of the word). Micro$oft is one heck of an enigma. On the one hand, within the confines of their corporate establishment they have created some truly awesome tools, tools whose development may not have been possible without the kind of dedicated, moderated, controlled, and substantial, commitment of resources. On the other hand, their business model combined with their market share, given our gradual transition from the information to the knowledge age (and from the third to the fourth generation warfare age, though that is more tangent than parallel), is quite a detriment. Thete are definitely decisions made in their boardrooms that are logical for them, but bad for everyone else. Some decisions about how an entire segment of our economy develops are best left to the free market. The XP/Vista scenario is one. Vista is a great piece of work, but it is far beyond what most of the market needs, and I’m still under the impression it is a bit of an immature beta. XP however, is mature, understood, meets the IT needs of most of the market, and also works reliably on platforms that fit the physical, financial, and security requirements of most users. Vista… not so much. In the absence of Micro$soft federating it’s OS business units and allowing the freemarket to shape their individual activities… well…, long live linux, and here’s to US antitrust laws!
August 9th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Trysten: I really appreciate your insightful remarks. Based on what you’ve said I need to rethink my mobile computing and whether email & internet access is more important than being able to do real work on the fly. I suspect email will win out since I’m not a crackberryite and would like to continue my non-conforming ways as long as I can
Even if I end up with a light notebook this is so cute I may get it anyway. . .
August 9th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
@BrokenCrystal: Of everything you note (which I stone cold agree with) it’s the comment about your Zune that screams the loudest. I don’t have a Zune, but I do have lot’s of little things whose drivers and interface programs are only available on Windows. So, at the moment, I am typing this on an XP system with lots of USB cables dangling from it… for my eBookwise, for my Palm knock-off PDA, for my camera, for my crappy personal cellphone, for my unsettlingly expensive employer-issued cell phone… it’s just sad. I think there are glimmers of hope though, in SOA and SaaS in particular. I am definitely a Google Labs frequent flyer… Here’s a thought, too: If Micro$oft screws it up and loses substantial netbook marketshare to Ubuntu Netbook Remix, might not the revenues for Canonical give them some capability to close some of these gaps? Also, how much of the code to support these unique little toys may start to converge and form standards? Standards by which somebody more competent than I can djinn up some daemons that will handle lots of gizmos at once, in multiple OSs or as SaaS? I think there is room to be optimistic, even as Micro$oft continues with this latest episode of their traditional business jackassery.
August 9th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
@MobileBisGal: Blackberry = Another excuse for leadership to completely fail to backwards plan, and/or change their mind (and your work load) compulsively. I’m glad you are fighting the good fight, I however have been tethered off by an “issued” blackberry. Nice toy, worth more than my paycheck, but a horrible crutch for spastic and insecure managers. For my personal productivity, creativity, sanity, and spinal curvature, however, I am hoping the Inspiron Mini more or less matches the “leaked” specs.
I like the “crackberryite”, haven’t heard it before and will be using it
August 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Going to order my Wind this week unless Dell comes up really really soon..
August 10th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Acer Aspire One has launched XP version. A credit card company has launched a discount program for some electronic store that if I purchase from such stores with the credit card, I can save 10% cost (around USD50). The last day of such promotion is on 29 Aug. Thus, if Dell does not announce any official news before that date or the product is not attractive for me to purchase, I think I will buy Aspire One iso waiting for Dell.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
If this is not available on Tuesday I will buy a EEE 901 instead.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Dell bloatware comments are getting old. Most idiots still complaining about Dell bloatware haven’t owned or used a Dell recently. I’ve opened up several Dell notebooks at my IT job and only 1-3 minor unwanted apps but that’s it. Makes my IT job easier than before. The models with the most bloatware are the Inspiron models for home users. Since most consumers attribute having more is “better” mentality.
August 10th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Yep, me too. If the DELL E doesnt come up till Aug. 29 I’ll be getting my very first Acer! [Aspire One]
August 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
One more day… (maybe)
August 11th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Dell will answer questions from reporters and customers in real-time online during a global news conference Tuesday (Aug. 12) unveiling the company’s new generation of mobility products.
Users of Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, will be able to ask questions about Dell’s new products and the company will “tweet” the answers.
When: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. PDT
Where: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (151 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94103)
August 11th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
are dell products usually announced and released in the same month?
August 11th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
watch the live stream of tomorrow’s conference, by signing up here:
http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=50463
It begins Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:00 a.m. PDT
August 11th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Mirror on Dell Island? (They should, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything else there, though it’s a nice park and the giant computer is entertaining to fly through)
August 11th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
[…] via yourblog […]
August 12th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Today is the day!!!!!!!!
August 12th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I didn’t say that (what “Tysrten” wrote). There is a report from Pocket Lint that today is not the day. Hopefully the report is wrong. We’ll know in a few hours.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:55 am
OK, I just got an update. Today is the day that it’s going to be released!!!!! I’m so excited.
August 12th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Michael Dell is on CNBC/Power Lunch (probably next hour) to discuss the “new line of laptops”…
john
August 12th, 2008 at 10:58 am
You stupid idiots! None of the webcast or twitter stuff is about netbooks! It is all about some new business latitudes! Worthless!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Gotta hand it to their marketing though, given what they were marketing, by being cryptic they probably got quite a bit more coverage than marketing efforts for a new line of business notebooks would usually get. Too bad none of them are small enough to even play in the same part of the market as the netbooks. I have to wonder if any of the extra attention translates to purchases of the new series, or if the more low-end personal-use netbook consumer crowd is overwhelmingly differentiated from the business purchase consumer base.
Of course, there is also the issue of whether disappointment on the part of those who were assuming the netbooks would be available today translates into disaffection.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Looks like Acer is getting my money, I am going with Aspire One since Dell doesnt offer a product.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Although I may be leaping to wild conclusions, I’d like to point out that “Tysrten” may be a troll, and it’s comments may be an interesting countermarketing tactic that I don’t think I’ve seen before. Moreover, if I go way out into the wild specious conclusion zone, “sam”’s link goes to Sam’s Club, which may be in with Wal-Mart on Sylvania’s G Meso… a very direct competitor to Dell’s Inspiron Mini (that is, if the Inspiron Mini doesn’t turn out to be one of the least expected pieces of vaporware ever devised).
I wonder how paranoid a chain of questionable assertions and conclusions I can piece together out of this…
August 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
actually, disappointment has turned into disaffection with dell…
i dont quite understand why their marketing-department behaves in such a strange manner - they just lose customers.
and since i need something ultraportable: MacBook Air, here i come…
August 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
The webcast should have end like this. One last thing….Dell Sucks!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
HELLO ASPIRE ONE!
Wouldn’t ever think about getting a DELL now!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Yes they generated extra buzz for a general release, but if they don’t release by the end of the day, people like Mike are going to stop waiting. Personally I can only hold out for a few more days because I wanted to get a netbook for while I’m traveling and if it’s not out in time I’ll just need to get something else. Dell is lossing a lot of the market share that was holding out for the mini as a result of lack of actually getting their product to market. Which really sucks for them because of all the hype generated by the cheap price and a sleek look that people were attaching to the mini.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Well that’s disappointing, I really wanted a Mini for all the traveling I have to do next month but now it’s getting down to the wire and without any confirmation from Dell on whether the things actually exist, I guess I’ll be ordering an Aspire One :-/
August 12th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I’ve been waiting…. and waiting… unless Dell is able to cough up an actuall buyable product by payday, I’m looking elsewhere. Perhaps a bit premature to announce it’s development as early as they did? - Asus, Acer, Msi, lenovo etc…. starting to get a bit to choose from, but Dell is not on the list yet. Can’t understand I actually signed up on twitter for this.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Dell Sucks. Never gonna buy a netbook from them. Asus here I come!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I have to admit the ploy sort of worked on me: I actually looked at the series and briefly considered the D430 (at least, I think that’s one of the new series), since I didn’t know Dell offered a 12″ screen for anything except the hideously expensive Tablet. That’s a big “sort of” though, I won’t be buying the D430, and sometime here shortly I will be getting a netbook… apparently not a Dell, though. I am very disappointed, I’ve actually been holding off for about a month and a half (which doesn’t say much for my gullibility).
Anyone care to bet on whether Dell decided the Inspiron Mini margin was too small, and it has privately transitioned into vaporware?
August 12th, 2008 at 11:54 am
OK, I just found out that Dell will be releasing the Inspiron Mini by the end of this month.
Tyrsten - Don’t think so much of yourself!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:54 am
need to get a netbook before school! hoped that today was the announcement and consumer netbooks would be made available in the next 1-2 weeks. like the studio desktop line.
i can afford to wait one more week for some dell awesomeness. if they don’t announce the mini inspiron by august 22nd, i’m getting an acer, eee, or hp mini-note.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:59 am
@Tysrten: Why not? I love my huge ego! BTW, cutting piece of info you’ve got there: the same as has been put out since May, but now devalued based on the validity of your prior disclosure. Who are you getting your reports from?
August 12th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
[…] Todavía no está a la venta…pero desde la web engacha con este post del Blog Oficial de Dell. […]
August 12th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Michael Dell is giving a press conference in India tomorrow: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14738518
I’m guessing that it’s just a rehash of today’s info, but I’m hoping he announces the E or I’m getting an Aspire One or 1000H.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Sorry DeLL~
I had bought myself an Asus 901 here~
It had been running for 4 hours 20 mins now with Bluetooth On..
I just cant afford to wait more here. I guess others were dissapointed too~
August 12th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Like many others have posted, I have been waiting for some concrete release info on the mini. And, like many others, I have to make a decision soon. It is extremely unfortunate that Dell has chosen to leave so many of its customers hanging in the lurch. I for one cannot afford to wait until some marketing exec feels that the time is right for maximum impact. Sadly, Dell has lost the opportunity to keep this long-time customer as it relates to this product. While it is too late for my business, I might suggest to Dell that they release something soon if they expect to get any of the mininote business (brand loyalty only goes so far).
August 12th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I was hoping this would be released today then I might have had a chance of getting it for my trip next week. I suppose I will just take my money elsewhere. Good job Dell, you’ve just lost my business!!!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I am going to get the acer aspire one. With the $200 dollars that I save buying that vs the asus 901 I will buy a used canon s3is digi cam from ebay. Everything will be great!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I too have been waiting and postponing purchasing a netbook for weeks for news about the release date. Since Dell will not divulge this information, I’m out the door to buy the Acer Aspire One at my local store this afternoon.
Dell, you’re really blowing it. You may not be ready to release, but you should have at least kept us informed.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I am another watiing on the mini, and the complete and utter lack if any information is pushing me to Asus.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Same story here. I’ve been waiting patiently for this because I’ve had great experiences with Dell computers in the past. It feels like we’re getting played. Time to look elsewhere.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I’m waiting till Aug 13th for the India conference. If he doesn’t say anything about the mini inspiron by then, i quit waiting.
Any ideas on other umpc’s? Asus 1000 or 901?? I don’t mind the Acer, but i heard it has a 2 hour battery life? When are they coming out with their 6 cell battery?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Here’s another thought: The name of the new Latitude series is the “E” series, which is the same name a number of news and blogs were originally ascribing to the Inspiron Mini. Even the “leaked” slides cited “E”, vice “Inspiron Mini”. Now, the E series has been released, and in August as indicated, but without any netbooks to the line. The lightest item in the lineup is the E4200, and that’s not even available yet.
However, even if we assume something happened to the original “E” product line proposal that morphed it from netbooks to laptops, we are still left with a couple of problems: the netbook Michael Dell was carrying at D6, this blog which launched off of the comments at the top of this page, and the link in Dell referring to “our new Inspiron Mini” which leads to this blog. Now add in the complete lack of reliable new information since May… Do we have anything reliable that says the Inspiron Mini, vice the E series, is going to be released in August at all?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I thought that perhaps the 12″ Lat with the SSD they showed at the press conference was the E Slim, but I doubt it was.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Joshua,
Check out the EEE 901, 1000, Aspire One (which only gets about 2 hours of life with the 3 cell battery), the MSI Wind, and HP 2133. Those are the main players right now. Out of that bunch though, the EEEs appear to be the strongest.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
OK, I’m really over this. I’ve been looking into the MSI Wind — what does anyone else think of it. It is a 10″ vs 8.9″ and seems to have everything needed incl an upgrade to 2GB and runs on Windows XP Home. Any ideas?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Could not somebody from DELL, John Pope or Anne@dell comment on this, please?
Will information concerning the release-date of the mini inspiron be made available?
I phoned the dell-hotline and I was told that this product will appear in autumn 2008. I don’t know whether a call-center can be called a reliable, trustworthy source, but regarding the total absence of information from DELL about the product and the entire hoax with the products released today, I guess this might be correct. Maybe.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I think we might here about it tomorrow when Dell is in New Delhi, India….seems like a perfect place to launch cheap UMPC. As i’ve said before, i’m waiting till tomorrow. If dell has nothing to say by then, i’m going Asus. this is stupid, at least there are more recent rumors about mac products (their new upcoming line of pc’s) over the summer than this mysterious e-slim/mini inspiron
August 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Liz,
The Wind is a nice little machine. It’s pretty solid (can run Vista Home Premium) and includes everything you could need outside of 3G. The one problem it has, is battery life. Nearly all units are shipping with a 3 cell battery which gets about 2.5 hours of life. The places that are selling the 6 cell units are asking in excess of $600 for them. Check out the EEE 1000H as well. It’s basically the same as the Wind specs-wise, but it includes a 6 cell battery that lasts about 5-6 hours.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Perhaps Dell E = Delhi
August 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Thanks, Adam — U’ll look into the 1000H
August 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
“Autumn”, that runs from September through November, right? So, uh…
Has anyone touched enough of these to be able to recommend one with a keyboard large enough for an average person to touch-type on?
August 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I hope that Dell makes the announcement tomorrow. I am growing inpatient with this process and am looking forward to getting a machine - either a Dell or an Acer. This concept is very popular and Dell needs to take advantage of a very hot market. Hoping that tomorrow is the day….
August 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If Dell doesn’t annouce it tomorrow, I think they’ll lose a fair amount of sales, especially when you consider that you can stroll down to Circuit City and buy an Aspire One without the hassle of buying it online and waiting for it to show up.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Circuit City, eh? I’ll check it out after work. Wikipedia had this chart, for those who haven’t seen it yet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_netbooks
Not entirely accurate as far as I can tell, but not hideously wrong either.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Very disappointing. It won’t keep me from buying a Dell in the future, but my UMPC money will be going to a different company. Acer looks like my top pick now.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Sylvania’s G MESO has stats very close to what Dell was advertising. It would be amusing if the Sylvania G MESO was to the Dell Inspiron Mini what the Sylvania G was to the Everex Cloudbook (an exact knock-off):
http://www.sylvaniacomputers.com/products.php?p=meso
August 12th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
From what I read, the MESO is a Wind knock off. At least they’re running Ubuntu on theirs. From the few leaked photos I’ve seen it looks like the E might be running Splashtop. I sure hope not….
August 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
It would appear that if we use those who’ve posted here, that they’re not waiting any longer, as a sampling it would appear that “Dell” is losing a lot of “E Mini” sales due to slow product release. It would appear that nothing has changed much with Michael’s return. They are releasing products but not those that the market is hot for. Their delay has also caused me to have second thoughts about waiting, especially with the wide selection that’s already been released. I was very excited at first, & I like red, but as usual Dell has cooled off my excitement with no relevant updates & more importantly no release.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
It would be cool it Dell released the product that looks as kick ass as it does, however, it seems that their marketing department needs a complete overhaul on how to do business. Look at the Macbook Pro. People have been waiting on the newest version to come out for months because they’ve been told what to expect, for how much and when they’d be able to get it. Dell flopped pretty hard on all three of those parts at the moment. No official release of specs, no pricing other then for the most basic of the options, and people who liked what little they know about the product aren’t willing to wait anymore because there’s no way to confirm that the “mini” would be part of this month’s release as they’ve already released the “E” series. It all leaves me with a serious, “what were you thinking.” feeling.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Hmmm, last time I was especting for a Big launch in Dell, got quite dissapointed. Was expecting for the Santarosa Plattform, and never came with specifications I was waiting for.
I hope this won’t be the same case.
Personally I recommend to all of my customers Dell and Mac. If this product is coming with a good price and a good hardware, definitelly will be a HIT on my area.
Michael, you need a more dynamic team for the innovation of the Industry, perhaps this is the begining of a new age of new products. Good luck.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
You guys don’t like the E4200? I thought it was what ‘we’ were all waiting for…
john
August 12th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I agree with Joshua—if Dell contiues to leave it’s loyal customer base in the dark, myabe we should look elsewhere
August 12th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
goodbye dell im out …
August 12th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Dell has just lost me as a customer!
August 12th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Is not the E4200 the mini…?
john
August 12th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Like this…. http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop_latitude_e4200?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
john
August 12th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
No it’s not check the specs
It has a Core 2 Duo processor and
Solid State Drive up to 128GB
And it was called a ultramobile
That means this thing will be very expensive compared to a netbook which will have a Atom chip and 4,8,12gb SSD.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
jmgiv,
The mini most people here are hot for is a smaller version with a 8.9″ display.
John L
August 12th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Hmm, no, I don’ think so.
A Netbook and those notebooks presented today do not have much in common - different styles, different aims and purposes, different usage, different specifications, very different prices and different customers; thats why so many people here are disappointed.
As you can see the “mini” people here are looking for is not a smaller version of the e4200, its a completely different product from a different series.
Following your “argumentation” one could pick any of the DELL laptops and say: Hey, but the “mini” you are looking for is just the 8.9″ version of this vostro- or studio- or whatsoever-laptop.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Digitimes reports that their will be 10 inch models in October. Akso provides some numbers like
“Dell’s 8.9-inch E series netbook is expected to provide Compal with monthly shipments of around 250,000 units, while the 10-inch model, which is scheduled to be launched in October, is expected to have monthly shipments of around 400,000-450,000 units.”
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080812PD203.html
August 12th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
@jmgiv: No, the E4200 is not in the netbook category. Right off the bat there are three differences, which add up to the difference between a small laptop and a netbook.
1) The netbook is about 9×7 (53 square inches). The E4200 is about 11×8 (88 square inches), or about 40% larger. Nice, very nice, but not a netbook in the original sense. Granted, it’s not a horrible trade off, since you get a 12.1″ screen instead of an 8.9″, but it’s essentially a competitor to the HP tx2500 series (only with a business focus instead of an entertainment focus and without the tablet capability) or the MacAir. I haven’t heard of anything bigger than a 10″ screen (and hence, about a 10″ width) credibly considered a netbook.
2) The netbook costs starting at $299. The E4200 price isn’t noted, but with the core 2 duo and other laptop-grade features, there is no way it is less than $1G, and probably will have a similar price to the Tablet XT, easily running to a couple grand + (that’s an absolute show-stopping factor for most would be netbook owners right there).
3) The E4200 is primarily a Vista system with an XP option. That means a system you have to constantly update and maintain or have it be pillaged. The netbook is more likely to have Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which you can leave on a shelf for a month and still use, with, at worst, one solid group of packages to download from a trusted and free location, as opposed to lots of little update thingys that you hope you don’t screw up and/or, are required to pay for.
Anyway, the E4200 definitely resembles the “E Slim” concept somewhat, and it’s very nice (depending on if/when it actually fields and how much it costs), but it isn’t the Mini. For a last consideration, look at the E4200 pictures and compare to the ones at the top of this page…
August 12th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Am I alone in feeling like Dell is messing with us? I mean give me a break, this kind of crap doesn’t encourage interest, it just pisses people off. I think it’s my turn to mess with Dell, and take my money elsewhere. No more Dell computers for me.
August 12th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
fair enough… The specs certainly had me wondering how they were gonna make the $300 cut-off but the 1 kg weight had me thinking this was what became of the Mini.
As for Ubuntu, I’m an unconverted, unwashed heathen and would prefer my netbook to run XP. Maybe I’ll just chuck the whole idea and go take another look at the Touch… Rumors over on that side say there are new models coming in September. Darn, that sounds familiar!
john
August 12th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I’ve been waiting and waiting for the Inspiron Mini, but I’m done. I need a laptop for school, and my Inspiron E1505 is just too big and heavy, and the battery is dead anyhow. I’m going to pony up the cash and get the EEE PC 901. It’s considerably more money, but it has all the features and great battery life, and I’m tired of being led on by Dell. I’m done.
Charles
August 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Got to play with an ASUS 901 today (Circuit City didn’t have any Aspires). Couldn’t touch-type, and its not like I’m either large or overweight. The keys are tiny. Other than that, it seemed very nice, but not being able to type is a show stopper for me. Anyone here had a chance to type on a Wind or 1000/1000H?
August 12th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I have only tried the EEE 900 keyboard and it was really cramped even with my small fingers. I think the 901 uses the same keyboard so it’s pretty poor for typing for long periods of time.
The HP 2133 has the best keyboard followed by the MSI Wind.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Seriously can’t “Anne” the PR Person give us any details? All this hype has backfired and now people are going to buy alternatives.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
E4200 starting price is rumored to be around $1300. This is the reason that most are waiting for the Netbooks because their cheaper.
Damn all the news articles today while announcing the Latitude series. If you check the comments everyone could care less for these overpriced POS business laptops. We want our Dell Netbooks and we want them now! Way to keep a pulse of what the people want Dell. Only Dell can mess up a sure thing so bad.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I’m upset also. Got 3 Dell laptops for all the kids in college and wanted the mini, just for me. Tired of PDA’s but don’t want the weight and bulk of traditional laptop. Come on Dell - I was on the edge of my seat waiting for this mini. Prefer Dell, but will look elsewhere.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Ars Technica confirms: Michael Dell will reveal the ‘E’ in New Delhi, tomorrow.
http://arstechnica.com/journals/hardware.ars/2008/08/12/india-dell-to-announce-subnotebook-
in-delhi-tomorrow?bub
August 13th, 2008 at 12:34 am
oops.. broken link:
http://tinyurl.com/6gzm8w
August 13th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Hey Dell, we need at least a word from you! I’m sure every body’s gonna go Taiwan. I can wait two more days and that’s it. No word means it will be coming to us. You have a responsivility for releasing the pictures to the world. I want, http://gizmodo.com/393815/exclusive-dell-mini-inspiron-their-first-mini-laptop ,ASAP.
PS: Don have to worry about the keyboad for abroad, HP 2133 has only one. and still out of stock in Japan.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:49 am
@ Chris: The Indian source’s statements could easily be referring to the E4200.
@ Tac: The Inspiron Mini is supposedly OEM from Compal, which is Taiwanese…
@ Billy: Thanks, I had no problem with the 2133 keyboard, maybe the Wind is my choice, though I’ve been looking at the ASUS EEE 1000.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Chris — Just another set of rumors. If you troll the internet, most of what you read is rumors. I have been trying to find info directly from Dell and they’ve been dead silent on this for a month or more. They have no respect for their customers or they would have at least mentioned a date yesterday. Today’s news conference will likely be a foreign version of yesterday’s.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Was trying to decide between the Asus 901 and the MSI Wind, but was secretly hoping Dell would come along and offer something comparable and I’d buy that (the solid appearance of the released pictures sold me). I’m gonna buy the Asus 901 now. What I’ve read about the real, live device is very convincing, even if i might have a bit of trouble typing on it (though I’m sure i’ll adapt!).
It’s disappointing, all the people such as myself who’ve wasted time checking this page several times a day hoping for an update or any scrap of info. I can see a spike in sales of other netbooks happening soon..
August 13th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Well, I looked elsewhere. Bought the Eee and am already adapting to the keyboard (took about an hour or so). I’m very happy with my purchase.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I’m looking real hard at the Wind, any horror stories?
August 13th, 2008 at 8:40 am
The Wind’s only downfall is battery life. It gets about 2.5 hours of life using wifi. If you really like that size, you should check out the EEE 1000H. It gets nearly 6 hours of life and Newegg sells it for $550.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I’m done with dell. I’ve been anxiously waiting for the mini, but school is starting and I’m just going to pony up the extra cash and buy the EEE PC 901. It actually exists, I’ve seen it and touched it. The mini is looking more and more like vaporware, and I just can’t delay my purchase based on unfounded hope that Dell will come through.
Charles.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:05 am
@Adam: Thanks, I’ve been looking for a link to a 1000 that wasn’t exhorbitant.
@ all: Here’s something slightly entertaining, you can’t buy an Inspiron Mini, but you can get a case for one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/8-9-Carrying-Case-for-Dell-Mini-Inspiron-MSI-Wind-701_W0QQitemZ280253683177QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280253683177&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
August 13th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I have been waiting to hear about this as well. I am close to buying the EEE 901 by next week if we do not hear anything about the Mini by then. You would think they would want to release it NOW with all the “Back to school” buying people are doing. Bad business decision on Dell’s part. It is not going to force us to buy the more expensive and bigger systems.. it is going to make us buy from someone else!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Not that it significantly impacts Dell, but when my voucher comes back from this last trip (by either Friday or Monday) I will buy a netbook. If there continues to be no Dell, and no word of a Dell, then (since the Meso isn’t out yet) it will be either an EEE or a Wind, probably the Wind. Even if the Inspiron Mini comes out and is everything Michael Dell implied at D6, I now have a permanent doubt about it.
My biggest issue with the number of times I’ve been checking Dell, jumping to this blog, listening to the press conference, etc…, comes down to courtesy. Brand loyalty comes from a lot of different sources, but two-way respect is definitely a huge factor. The utter lack of communication is an utter lack of courtesy. Maybe the profit margin is too small, maybe there are tech issues, maybe this was just a marketing ploy, maybe, maybe, maybe… it’s irrelevant.
The information neglect implies a mindset wherein the consumer, the netbook consumer anyway, does not merit so much as a heads up or a notice of delay. But Dell netbook consumers are just Dell consumers with an interest in netbooks, not necessarily the other way around.
I buy lots of stuff for the home, and have a pretty respectable degree of impact on purchases were I work. I have generally defaulted to Dell on anything signficantly complex. While I have always had a very high opinion of Dell’s quality and customer service this is the first time I’ve made the mistake of basing a decision on Dell’s marketing information. Between the original “leaked” E Slim specs and the final E4200, there’s been lot of change. Of the netbook Michael Dell flashed around D6 two, almost three, months ago, there has been no word.
In future decisions, whether personal or professional, there will now be an asterisk next to Dell in my mind, with the permanent footnoted caveat: how much of the information on the Dell question is accurate, and how much is haphazard spin, implication, or vaporous market tactics? No good decision can be made without reliable information
August 13th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I’ve been checking this blog and http://www.endgadget.com every day for word on the Dell E/Mini. I don’t mind waiting for the Dell product to come out. I just would like to know a timeline. I like Dell and their products. The price and specs of the Dell E/Mini are exactly what I’m looking for. I don’t want to buy another netbook, but I also don’t want to wait forever for vaporware. So Dell, please just let me know when to expect this product.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
It’s possible that Michael Dell would annouce it in India. If you look at the leaked info the first thing that comes up is 1.) (emerging market/children)
http://www.engadget.com/photos/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-swoop/859933/
August 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Egads people, they say August and you’re all flipping out and the month isn’t even half over. I’m waiting, because, hey, if they slip, I’ve waited 2 more weeks for price drops and deals to show up with the competition. If they do ship, I now have the product I think will do the job for me. Either way, I win.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
You lose because your an idiot. Egads! Egads! Egads!
August 13th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Dell never said it would be released in August. People are basing August on the leaked info from Engadget. But if you read it again it says on top “Subject to change” in the leaked documents. So no one really knows when this thing will be released except the powers to be at Dell who are not talking.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
And why aren’t they talking? This blog is on their site, there are messages from them in the thread… How hard is it to get approval to say “Yes, August, maybe early September if there is a hitch” or “There was an unanticipated design conflict, and since we will not ship a faulty product we are about a month behind”, etc…? If the release was the latter, who would really condemn them? Quite the contrary, most would laud their integrity and further anticipate the refined Dell-quality product. Plus fifty points for information security, minus about a thousand for courtesy.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Looks like Michael Dell in India was about the new E-Series of latitudes.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?tp=on&autono=44679
The articles mentions nothing about the Netbooks. Instead talks about the new latitudes. More waiting:(
August 13th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Dell has a section where you can leave a comment. Maybe if enough people tell dell that their marketing strategy is just bad. They will finally listen.
http://communitypulse.direct2dell.com/
August 13th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
are you serious?? they didn’t release it today???! what is this??
Maybe they have no intention of releasing a product like this for a while. I”m starting to think that the E-series are the ones released yesterday.
Forget this.
Hello Asus.
August 13th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
The order was placed with Compal in June… More e slims than e notes… stupid a$$ decision .. should be the other way around…
What is the turn around from order placed to launch?
Late August launch… at the earliest???
I will wait… although that Acer Aspire One for 379.00 fits my bill perfectly… afterall this is a toy.. to keep me in touch while I play and my boss don’t know I am playing..
August 13th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
When I worked for a computer company it typically took 60 days from order to delivery.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Anne B. Camden, please respond with something as to a time frame or lack there of. (your profile says you are in public relations, so lets have it, talk to us)
The people posting are the people you are trying to sell these products to. The way you have left this is nothing but damaging to dell’s image with its customer base.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Still waiting…
August 13th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I agree with everyone else. It is not right to lead your customers on about a product and then not post details about when we can expect to purchase it.
I have bought nothing but Dell computers for the past ten years.
But, I am going to Circuit City this weekend to pickup the Aspire One if Dell does not post details on if/when we can expect the Inspiron Mini.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
After reading through some post on aspireoneuser.com, I think I’m going to pull the trigger on an Aspire One. Oh well, such is life.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Come on Dell release the Mini Inspiron. August is the perfect time to release back to school consumer products like the Mini Inspiron. In this economy it makes sense that we want something that is affordable, light, and has many features.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
When you say “Stay tuned for details” that means you will be giving details soon.
You don’t say crap just because is sounds good.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Vote : http://communitypulse.direct2dell.com/category/topics/inspiron-mini?#content
August 14th, 2008 at 2:49 am
I can’t wait any longer so I just purchased Acer yesterday. Dell is too slow vs. the other netbook suppliers. I bought mine for my daughter in School. Dell is going to completely miss out for “back to school” pruchases.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:39 am
I agree with Parry, it’s getting difficult to wait and I am tempted to go out and buy the Aspire One as well. I am living in Germany and would like to buy three Dell minis for my company for when the reps are out on the road. I hope Dell gives us some news very very very soon…..
August 14th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Apparently its now called the inspiron 910..
http://www.umpcportal.com/2008/08/report-brazil-dell-e-becomes-dell-inspiron-910/
August 14th, 2008 at 7:44 am
3G too? Oh man!
August 14th, 2008 at 9:02 am
“Parece que sairá ainda esse mês, dia 22, e o preço da configuração mínima vai girar em torno de R$ 1.200″
I don’t know what this means (I have no Luso-Brazillian background), but as was noted on Declan’s link, it seems to mean an August 22 release date. It also seems to mean the minimum configuration will cost 1200 Brazillian Reais, which is approximately $742 US dollars according to XE.com. Here’s the direct link to the Brazillian site:
http://www.odontopalm.com.br/gsf/arquivo/2008/08/exclusivo_inspi.html
August 14th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Here’s some Dutch, http://techworld.nl/article/5626/dell-netbook-toch-uitgelekt.html
Atom processor, 4,8 or 12GB, 8.9″ screen. Ubuntu or XP…
August 14th, 2008 at 11:13 am
You sure there not talking about version 1.5? The roadmap shows there will be a 1.5 version which will be more expensive that will have options for WWAN(3G), Wimax in Oct/November. The 22 they state could be October 22 or November 22. Unless they actually stated August 22?
http://www.engadget.com/photos/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-swoop/859928/
The first version is not supposed to have any advance features which is the reason the starting price will be $299.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
[…] - http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2008/05/28/something-from-dell-at-d6/ […]
August 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I’m not going to keep guessing, unless I could get the netbook by the beginning of september, in my hands and useable, it’s not possible. With a release date as late as the 22ed it won’t make it to me in time. Grrr. All this waiting and now it looks like I’m going to end up with something that’s different from what I wanted to get. I wanted the Dell mini video+! The Specs looked like a prefect match to what I wanted.
Also, I like how the direct to dell pulse thing dropped like a stone today, I’d say that’s a pretty clear message.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
@Donny: As best as I can figure with BabelFish, it’s “this” month on the 22d. I don’t how that jives with the roadmap, except that since the Slim E does appear to have become the E4200, there may have been some very big changes.
According to BabelFish the line I quoted has a word-for-word translation of “It seems that month will still leave this, day 22, and the price of the minimum configuration goes to turn around R$ 1.200″.
The Dutch article had no further detail that I could discern.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I disagree that the Slim E is the E4200. I think Dell decided to make the 10 inch the new Slim E probably to have Windows XP instead of Vista(Which probably would have been the case with a 12.1inch version). The E4200 is a latitude ultraportable and their have been previous 12.1 latitudes. The 8.9inch and 10inch models will be under the Inspiron line. And they will be geared to consumers. While the latitude is for business.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Good point. I am still baffled at the 250% increase in projected price from $299 to $742. Hopefully this is not accurate, at least not accurate outside Brazil.
August 14th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I think the problem with Dell is the breakdown in marketing. Unlike an Asus or a HP. Where 3rd party retailers like Amazon, buy.com and newegg will give an estimated release date. Since Dell sells the product themselves. They need to notify the consumer when their products are going to be released at least 3 months in advance. Apple runs the same business model but they announce there product during press events and give exact dates or at least says it’s coming in the next couple of weeks. Instead Dell just announces a product and then releases it.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
This just in Bigfoot is real but Mini Inspiron is not.
http://www.geardiary.com/2008/08/13/say-hello-to-bigfoot-or-at-least-a-picture-of-something-big-and-hairy-in-a-freezer/#more-12165
August 14th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Chupacabra found in Texas
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/08/13/move-over-montauk-monster-there-s-a-chupacabra-on-the-loose.aspx
All we need now is Pigs to fly and maybe Dell will release the Mini Inspiron.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Hello I would like to buy the Mini-Inspiron for my grandson who’s going to college. Do you plan on releasing this soon. Thank you.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Edith is actually a teenage (or 20-something) male who thinks that kind of pressure will force Dell to announce the product details quicker.
Everyone, stop saying things like: “Listen Dell, if you don’t release this product soon (or at least tell us when it will be out exactly) I’m going to buy a netbook from another company!”
They aren’t listening, and you’ll buy it when it comes out anyway.
Despite their crappy PR and marketing, I’ll buy the Mini as soon as it’s available.
August 14th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
How can you buy a product that doesn’t exist. Dell never officially annouce a mini. I tell you what I going to buy a flying car when it’s available.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
“I tell you what I going to buy a flying car when it’s available.”
HA HA! :- )
August 14th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
While I am very interested in the Dell Inspiron Mini I would still like to see specs, pricing, and maybe even some reviews. All netbooks are not equal and even though I assume some people will just buy this product on name alone. I am not one of them. Dell outsourced the netbook hardware to compal(Which poses a question of whether the build quality and durability is as good as other Dell models). Also I’ve heard some of the EEE pc such as the 16gb has really slow SSD. This is another factor in my buying decision. Also price is going to be an important factor. At a starting price at $299 this a good deal. Even if the midrange version will be around $500. But if it has a starting price of $750 that would change things.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
People. Let me be up front. I’m not a Dell fan. In fact, I have a very low opinion of them. I think they have been a corrupt company with 2nd rate products. HOWEVER, I would have been right there with you to give them a chance to “convert” me with this subnotebook.
In any case, maybe that makes me the person to say this:
First, Dell has no real obligation to tell us when it is releasing the product, particularly when they have never actually announced it. Having said that, they know the rumours better than anybody and if it’s never coming out, they should quietly end the expectations. But they are not obligated to tell anybody, NOW having said that, this is a special time of year: back to school. A huge buying segment needs the product an/or info about the product and they need it NOW. They can’t wait. It’s not due to “impatience”, they have a deadline. Dell knows this also and Dell WANTED to sell them this notebook.(that’s why they were aiming for August)
There are 3 possibilites:
1.They have no respect/sympathy for waiting customers. They simply say, you’ll know when we release it. Could be the 22nd, could be the Sept 4, could be Sept 28, could be Nov 11. That’s your problem. Now, this is actually not likely because they are already missing out on back to school sales which they really wanted. Even if they release it next week, they’ve already lost sales/money.
2.They don’t actually know when they can get it out. Even at this late stage, something is screwed up and they haven’t even been able to even establish a date when it will be rectified. This simply means they’ve blown it and don’t have their act together. Not reassuring at all.
3.They KNOW, but it’s bad news and they don’t want to tell anyone. Now if they said “actually, we missed our deadlines and it won’t be out till October”, many people would respect them. Some might actually wait. Perhaps even suffer through some school work and try to work in the laptop later. Lenova told everyone they won’t be ready until October. It’s honorable. On the other hand, if you don’t announce, while you’ll still lose some back to school sales, maybe you can string some people along, especially LOYAL FANS. Oh…I heard maybe next week….maybe beginning of Sept….maybe at the stroke of midnight….. In fact, if you string them along long enough, it will delay other purchases….oh, now it’s too late for the beginning of school….oh…well hopefully I can get along with it this month, it’s only the beginning….. they will still be netbookless by the time you release and while they might be a bit peeved, well, now it’s there, so they’ll buy one. As you can see, some even admit it “I don’t care when it is, I’ll buy it when they give it to me”.
I think this third option is the most likely, but even if it is #1 or #2, I’m out. They can release tomorrow, I’m not buying it out of principle and will procede with another brand. Tell them what you think with your money. I hope none of you suffer to much more and I hope those who can wait, are eventually satisfied!
August 15th, 2008 at 4:30 am
How do I find out more about the Dell mini?
August 15th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Go see your sorcerer.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Nothing to see here… please move on.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Even though August has never been offcialy announced, I find it amazing how slowly the time passes when you are really waiting for something….very slowly…..
August 15th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I keep checking the Dell website every few hours, hoping it will just show up.
This morning, is it me, or does the Dell website appear to be down?
Maybe they are refreshing the site with the new mini?
** Fingers Crossed **
August 15th, 2008 at 7:08 am
@KeepChecking: It’s just you.
@richard: True. A minor, plausibly deniable, leak to a Brazillian site fits well with your theories.
Incidentally, I finally found a Circuit City with and Aspire One and it is very nice. I was able to touch-type on it without any problems, which I wasn’t expecting in anything less than a Wind or 2133. It was blazing quick, too. Most of the retailers seem to be out of stock but there are quite a few eBay “Buy it now” listings. I’m torn between the Aspire and the Wind, and I wish the Dell had come out, but it hasn’t. Now if I can find a way to get Ubuntu Netbook Remix on to the Aspire or Wind, whichever I go with, then I am set.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Coming in September?
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/08/dell-nntbook-coming-in-september.html#disqus_thread
August 15th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Maybe the Portuguese keyboards and language packs came through but the English ones didn’t
August 15th, 2008 at 11:48 am
It’s good to see that I’m not the only one going absolutely insane waiting for Dell to release the Mini. I’ll give you guys one more week then I’m pulling the trigger on an Aspire One. Is there any way that we can pre-order it?
August 15th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I guess I should have read the other posts first
I still want one, and I still want to know when I can get one, but I’ll retract my threat and my question.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Just an announcement…that would be so wonderful. If they put pre-order up right now, i’d snag one in a second!
August 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Well, dell didn’t offer any hard new info on their E/mini inspirion/inspirion 910 or whatever they call it now this week, so i just bought an eee yesterday. And guess what. I love it. And guess a second time -my mother loves it, too. So i’ll buy anotherone tomorrow. So, two inspirion 910 more for all remaining dell-enthusiasts to wait for. I am really fed up, frustrated and disappointed with this 0 Information behaviour of dell. I really hope, they make it better the next time.
For all who are unsure about the keyboardsize of the Eee 901. It’s not that small and not that hard to type or adapt to. I am able to type in a quite acceptable speed for me after only 1.5days of tipping. The one thing i dislike is the touchpad -there’s always something to complain about.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
You do realize if the rumors out of brazil are correct as to the release date you’ll feel quite silly, right?
August 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
and if the rumours are incorrect and the release date is in october you’ll feel quite silly, right?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Nate:
No i don’t, because that would imply, that the 910 will be as good (for my personal needs -to much uncertainties about the exact specifications) as the E AND available before my vacancies (in 2 weeks). And with available i mean at home with me (Germany) and not orderable and shipped within 3-6 weeks (depending on how many are ordering the 910, and if it’ll be available worldwide).
August 15th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
We need a Dell spokesperson to end the speculation and give us a date. Not more rumors and speculation from sites that want more hits to their sites.
August 15th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
@wallflower: The Acer Aspire One (about $400) will likely be the cheapest netbook for touch-type note-taking. ASUS EEE PC 700 and 900 series have keyboards small enough that people have to sink a little time into learning how to retype. The ASUS EEE PC 1000 (about $650) and MSI Wind (about $500) are the next tier up from the Aspire One, but I think the Wind is the better deal. This is presuming the Inspiron Mini specs were center-mass what you were looking for. If you want to go up another step than the HP 2133 ($700 or so) has a very nice keyboard.
If you get the Aspire One, particularly for portable note-taking, you definitely want the six cell battery which will last about 5 hours, as opposed to the 3 cell which lasts about 2. The MSI Wind is better on battery consumption, but about $100 more expensive (it’s a 10″ instead of a 8.9″).
That’s my take, more or less.
I’m probably getting an Aspire One on August 23rd, maybe sooner. My second choice is the Wind.
Good luck.
August 15th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Buy has the low end version of the Aspire One in stock. You can use this coupon to get 5% off(up to $15).
http://www.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp?prid=84773074
August 15th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
A150-1006 is the model number for the Aspire One with Atom, 1GB RAM, 120 GB Harddrive, Windows XP, but… 3 cell battery. I can’t find a six cell. Googling by model number and then opening all the results in tabs will let you page through to find someone who has it in stock (there are a few out there who still have some)
August 15th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Thanks for the help. I see they took down my comment. Guess they did not like what I had to say
August 15th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
one more question, I saw a netbook called the sylvania gnet, it has 1gb ram and 30gb harddrive.
it is on sale for 299.00. good/bad???? thanks for the help
August 15th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Jack, I suspect your comment will be removed….
Wallflower, there are two Sylvanias, the G and the G Meso. If you found a G Meso available and in stock somewhere, please advise! It meets the specs of the Inspiron Mini… and runs Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which I seriously want.
The G or G net is a knockoff of the Everex Cloudbook, which had a pretty horrible reputation on a number of fronts. For some reason the G Meso was supposed to field at $299, I suspect to go head to head with the Inspiron Mini. The G or G net usually goes for around $325, and is not worth it.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Oh, and the G or G net was a 7″, whereas the G Meso was an 8.9″. You can tell the G by the huge space between the monitor and base when it is open, that is a unique little detail that is only on the G and the Cloudbook. It looks cool, but apparently it runs hot and has lots of technical glitches.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Ooops, nevermind. What you are looking at is definitely the Sylvania G Netbook, and you probably don’t want to get it. Lot’s of technical issues and a teeny tiny keyboard you can’t type on.
By the same token, checking the reviews on those who’ve actually played with a Meso indicates the keyboard is also teeny tiny, a flashback to the first EEE, and very difficult to type on well. Not a good idea for note taking.
Anyway, good luck.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
The Lenovo S10 is supposed to launch in China September 5. If I can find one on ebay around that time I think I might decide to go with Lenovo. They offer Atom chip, 10inch screen, 512mb ram, and 80gb hdd for $400. There’s also a 8.9″ S9 with 8GB flash memory. I think the U.S. Release is set for October or something.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Rumours point to Aug 22 release… recent post points to san francisco… maybe?
http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2008/08/15/dell-summer-rocks-tour-next-stop-outside-lands-festival/
August 16th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Lenovo Ideapad S10 would be the next choice.
Atom 1.6G
Up to 2GB memory
Size is small enough width is same compared to Aspire One.
And an express-card slot.
I like what the guy said “Using the Intel Atom processor, the IdeaPad S10 netbook provides basic notebook functionality as a user’s secondary PC”.
Tyrsten, For note-taking stand point, 9.8inch width might be the edge?
Little compromize would be it is not Taiwanese….
August 16th, 2008 at 4:25 am
Nate: NOBODY should feel silly for buying another system now. If Dell is actually ready to release these soon and hasn’t bother to tell the back-to-school crowd, WHO’S FAULT IS THAT?? You can only make a good decision based on the available info. Dell has chosen not to give any. If they did release this model immediately, what should be felt is not “silliness” but rather “anger”!
Trystan: yes, plausible deniability. If they do want to leak info, why not leak it to a large, international site? But in fact, if the Dell is ready, why “leak” info at all? Why not just announce it and maximize sales which they are losing every day?!
Regarding the Aspire, I would love to buy one, the 120gb, 1gb, 6 cell is going for 430$ here in Canada, but the problem is that they come with a terrible bilingual french/english keyboard that noboy wants! If I could get a US six cell, I would. I think in terms of bang for the buck, they are the leader and most reviews say it’s an excellent machine. (with regular hd and 6 cell….) Looks great also.
August 16th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Hello there,
I also looked ervery day for some news about the Dell E / Inspirion 910 on the Dell site, this blog and everywhere in google.
But I will go to Glasgow by flight on 28.8. I will study there for one year. So I bought an Asus eeePC 901 today (379€ = 559$). Sorry, no time to wait anymore.
Specs:
8,9″
12GB SSD
1GB RAM
Intel Atom 1,6 Ghz, N270
1,3MP Camera
3x USB, 1xVGA, Bluetooth, WLAN (300 MBit/s, IEEE 802.11b/g/n)
Greetings
Strahler
August 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am
@Tac: I think the trend is that the netbooks with a 9″ or smaller case have keyboards too small for seamless touch-typing for people who use a regular keyboard at work or home. The netbooks at 10″ and up all seem to be okay. It’s the CASE size, not the monitor size, that dictates, as the Aspire One demonstrates. One question is if the 910 would be an exception to the rule. They appear to have eliminated the function keys, which improves their vertical space. When I get a chance I think I will count horizontal keys on the Wind, Aspire One, 2133, and 1000(H) divided by case size, and count the keys on the 701, 901 and Meso, divided by case size, and compare the 910 horizontal key count divided by space size. I’m working from the premise, based on personally having played with it, that the Aspire One is the minimum seamless touch-type keyboard. That same method might be applicable to the Lenovo, too, although I will never buy a Lenovo for a completely different reason I won’t go into.
@richard: Keeping in mind I think they have made a poor decision with respect to their lack of priority on courtesy, there are a number of reasons they could be doing this. First and foremost, by posting to their blog, in fact just by viewing their blog, we are giving them a quantifiable measure of interest in the 910. Whether we are pissed off or not is irrelevant, we are clearly interested. By maintaining silence, they preserve their future spin latitude (no pun intended). When it comes time to release, a devout apology, maybe some incentives, any kind of effective spin, might easily turn pissed off customers back into paying customers. What can’t be as easily overcome is apathy: it is people not being interested that is the hardest hurdle, not people being pissed off. Additionally, the moment they say something official and definitive, they limit their future marketing flexibility. The question then is, what is going on that makes preserving that flexibility more important than consistent rapport with their customer base?
August 16th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Dell is clearly using this time to build up some buzz about the product… Do you recall the original Samsung UMPC???
I have no issues waiting - unless they deliver a less than perfet product. This device MUST be the best Netbook or Dell will fail in this market.
HP has to come back to earth with thier prices. Who wants to pay $700-$800 on a netbook when you can get a better equipped UL Notebook for the same cost.
Asus has to hire a new industrial designer and make thier Netbooks look better.
Acer seems to be doing ok… I just can’t bring myself to buy an Acer product… I don’t know why…
Just my $.02
August 16th, 2008 at 11:15 am
It’s close, very close, but it looks like Dell thought this one through.
The MSI Wind (which is reviewed as having an excellent keyboard) has roughly 14 keys across 10.2″ of space, also for about 1.37 keys per inch.
The Aspire One (which I thought had the minimum keyboard for reasonable touch-typing) has roughly 13.5 keys across in 9.8″ of space, for about 1.38 keys per inch.
The HP 2133 (which is reviewed as having the best keyboard) has roughly 14 keys across 10.04″ of space, for about 1.40 keys per inch.
The EEE PC 901 (which has been reviewed as requiring retraining for touch-typing) has roughly 14 keys crammed into 8.9 inches, for about 1.57 keys per inch.
The Inspiron Mini has roughly 12.5 keys across in 9.13″ of space, for about 1.37 keys per inch, which puts it right at the top of the list with the MSI Wind (despite being more compact than all of them except the 901). Of course, they did that by moving some keys out of their traditional line-up (for example, the quotation key isn’t where touch-typists would expect it to be). So… when it comes to straight up text, touch typing should be easier than any of the others, but once you get into symbols and punctuation, you may have to look at the keyboard. Of course, this doesn’t take into account spaces between keys, key surface type, key shape, key offset, etc… This is also based entirely on case specs and pictures, and doesn’t account for how much of the case width is actually keyboard, which might explain why HP ranked lower than it has been reviewed: the HP configuration runs the keyboard right to the edge of the case, while others (including the Dell) have what I guess you could call a “keyboard bezel”. Anyway, the Dell, unfortunately, looks like it will be shorter than all of the touch-typable keyboards, and yet as touch-typable as at least the Wind. That kind of sucks, because it undermines my “screw it, I’m buying an Acer” inclination.
Anyway, I find it very interesting how much thought must have went into this. I wonder if there was an active debate on that issue in a Dell boardroom as people argued out the comparitive merits of moving which key, where. Their best subject matter experts were probably their “administrative assistants”, rather than the grey-suiters
August 16th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
If one reason you are waiting for the Mini is the Canonical-tweaked Ubuntu Netbook Remix OS, as opposed to the Aspire One’s Linpus, this link shows how to get it onto an Aspire One (along with notes on what will and won’t work, and the best fixes):
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne
It looks like a half-day pain in keister to me, and I was hoping Canonical did a flawless custom job on fitting it to the Mini anyway. But, I just want to point out that it is do-able.
August 16th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Oh and also, I think those who are already interested are interested despite lack of info not because of lack of info and if it is ready in the next 2 weeks…the marketing should already have started and be in full swing. The idea of unleashing it with a viral strategy at some future date, seems to make it more likely IMO that we’re not looking at August at all.
August 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Ouch!! richard, you got mediated… It’s looking a lot like Dell has set the standard of blog entries as permitting shameless impeachment of their character, but not anything that isn’t rated for General Audiences. Hmmm… how can we mess with that… ;( I wonder if it’s automated?
As for the “unleashing”, the same derogatory comment I made towards Dell applies in the inverse as well: their customer base does not require the slowness of retail distribution, and if they do release at $299, they can almost use impulse buy oriented tactics. Given the shovelfulls of spam they sling at my throw-away hotmail account on a weekly basis, along with the obvious dearth of courtesy information, I bet that will be their approach. It’s a bit primitive, but it may be all they need to hit their sales objectives.
That said, I do agree with you on one point, I would think Mini’s would be dropping into the hands of journalists by now if there is any truth to 22 August 08 report. The fact nothing seems to be publishing means that they have either limited their distribution to those with an established capability to adhere to time-sensitive non-disclosure agreements, or they have decided they will have enough of an initial push that the journalists can just wait. Of course, it could also mean the 22 August 08 release is a huge steaming shovelfull of something completely different.
Suddenly my Aspire One interest is rekindled (as opposed to my Kindle interest being respirated, I guess).
August 16th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Oh well. I have been monitoring this site and any others I can find since Computex on May 29 and guess what — I just ordered my pink MSI Wind! I’ve heard good reviews on it and I am tired of waiting. Good news for all others waiting — since I ordered my Wind today,
Dell will probably release info tomorrow. I’ll have no regrets though. I would like to have compared the Dell to the Wind but am sure I’ll be happy with the Wind. Good Luck to all.
August 16th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Heh, yes, Tristan, apparently my “potty” mouth has gotten me in trouble! First time I’ve ever been flagged in anything, written or real life for “profanity”. I have no idea how automated the process is but I did get an email from a moderator that appeared to be more than a form letter! I won’t post his email to me of course, nor was there anything of interest to others in it. But I am going to try to post my reply below, as I consider my reply an “open” letter.
Yes, it’s would certainly be standard for journalists to be getting machines in preparation for review. It is possible they are being held to a very strong non-disclosure agreement. Though I know not why! If it were indeed a week away from launch, were I Dell, I’d love tech sites to be trumpeting upcoming “reviews” and even allow “preview” statements. The net could be abuzz and pull in not just ULPC fans and Dell fans but the general population. If it is a great product at a great price point, and if indeed you have your supply ready, these things could be FLYING out the door starting on the release date.
August 16th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Hello John,
Thank you for the email. I do understand why you have pulled that post and have no problem with that. I am sure you can tell both by the abbreviation I used and the context in which it was used that it was not meant to be profane or insulting. It was only used to make a point but admittedly the terms used was indeed “informal”. Sometimes it’s difficult to know at where specifically a line will be drawn, note the use of the term “half-assed”!
In any case, you mentioned in your email the importance of not bringing “half-baked” products to market, something I absolutely appreciate! I only suggest that IF it’s not ready to go in the next couple weeks, that a statement be made even if it’s something as simple as:
“We are aware of the speculation and anticipation regarding the “mini-inspiron”. While, we are working on a product line of sub-notebooks, at Dell we are commited to bringing only fully- functional, finely-tuned products to market that meet our demanding engineering standards. We feel to do less would be a disservice to you, our customers. Though this product will be brought to market in the near future, the completely unofficial release date that has been leaked to the media is not part of our current timeline. We’d like to thank everyone for their interest and rest assured we are working hard to perfect this product and we believe that this product is going to meet or exceed the high expectations of our customers.”
This reveals little more than what you posted here and what you said in your email. If Dell were willing to release a bit more, all the better. But it at least would officially confirm that the product is still in the works and that the August release date anticipation should not be given any credence.
I think a lot of customers, particularly brand-loyal ones will not hold this against you, but instead, appreciate the information. It may turn the negative feelings back to positive anticipation. Further, while you MAY not get quite as much “false-launch” attention in the media,(though you’d still get some) this simple announcement will itself get a great deal of play on the tech sites.
While I certainly understand that Dell may not ordinarily do this, I think 3 mitigating factors should be taken into consideration:
1.back-to-school deadline
2.info HAS been leaked by somebody, regardless of the source, it appeared to be and was taken as, official Dell documents. This has set an expectation of August
3.there is a lot of genuine interest in this particular product, for which there is nothing in your line-up currently available.
Sincerely,
Richard
CC: yourblog
August 16th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Richard,
Thanks for cc’ing the blog. The fact they are still “baking” certainly helps put the 22 August comments in perspective. I may well end up regretting it, but I can’t keep jumping from specious suspense to specious suspense.
This is not a want, the existence of these systems affects competiveness and productivity expectations. Not having a “research and reports” laptop with me at any given moment has become a liability which begs the “why don’t you just get a…” criticism from peers and superiors. Not having a computer close to hand has become a sign of the professionally uncommitted or the professionally unprepared. At the same time, the work I do has enough layers of complexity it’s not feasible for me to not have a relatively comprehensive set of references close to hand.
Not to mention which, I am quite adamnant I will not be paying US Air extra so they can lose my luggage again, and the primary reason I do that has been the bulk of my seven year old laptop which tips the balance on the carry-on reasonableness scale.
Of course it’s nice to think of the convenience at airports, coffee shops, and on the road meals, but that isn’t quite enough in and of itself to motivate me to shell out the $400-$450 this Aspire One is going to cost.
Professional embarassment, now that’s a motivator that has almost no equal for me.
I wish everyone blogging here the best of luck, and here’s hoping that about this time next year I’ll see a Dell product so refined it will make my Acer arguably obsolete…
August 16th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Some unknown website claims that Dell has ordered 1 million units of the Dell Mini.
http://blocksandfiles.com/article/6432
August 16th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
There’s an awful lot of “a source” “maybe” and “apparently”s in that article
August 16th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
You’re welcome Tyrsten, and just to clarify. The email to me did not specifically say they were still baking THIS particular product. But it did say
” it is to no one’s advantage to bring half-baked products to market”
and that they are moving as quickly as possible. So what stage they are at now, I know not. But in truth, it was somewhat reassuring even to get that much and I’m sure there are at least some individuals who would like to tell us more but are not allowed to. I too find myself pre-occupied with the subject as my own need draws near. While I’m not quite as far gone as refreshing the Dell product page ;-), it is natural for thoughtful and intelligent people to be disturbed by in-the-dark decision making! Incidently, you seem very well-spoken, may I ask what line of work you’re in? (datacipher@hotmail.com if you don’t want to post it, or feel free to ignore the personal question!)
I think you make a great point about it not being an optional item or a luxury. For students or professionals (as in your case), it’s a work tool. In any business, if a rumour is floated about something directly affecting your job in the near future, at some point, you need to get an answer or simply proceed on whatever options you have based on what limited knowledge you’ve been given. Which is why I urge those who have now pulled the trigger on something else to not regret it. They did their job, trying to do research and make the most informed decision they could. Whatever happens, they should pat themselves on the back and try not to agonize over it. I sympthize since I have this same personality type. I want to make the best decision and agonize over it when I don’t have all the info I need. But any company MIGHT release a killer product the day after you buy something. But if you don’t even have a date and you’re down to the wire, you need to move.
Anyways, I hope it works out for you and everybody else. There are other viable options out there and more on the way, hopefully the Dell will be great whenever it gets here. As you refer to, products have relatively short life spans in the tech world.(make them to last though Dell and co. !
So those who end up buying something else now could look into a Dell E v3.0 next time!
Anyways, I do hope it works out well for you and everyone else. There are viable options out there now and more on the way. I hope the Dell will be one very soon!
August 17th, 2008 at 12:40 am
This is the niche market I’ve been looking for a long time. A small ultraportable PC I can take with me everywhere.
Key features:
Small screen, yet allows you to clearly see movies or videos. Hopefully, it will eventually come with a touch screen (probably an option).
Digital video output? Maybe DVI or HDMI would be perfect, but for me VGA is perfectly fine.
Hard drive: Depending on how rugged you want it, I’d leave the choice to the buyer to be HDD or SSD. SD card reader is a good pro.
Wireless access: Mainly WiFi. If they want to give 3g as an option. It’s ok.
GPS: Adding a GPS antenna, will steal several people from the Cell/Phone PDA market. (I’d buy it immediatly, and get a decent small phone just for calls.
August 17th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I enjoyed your keyboad analysis, Tyrsten. It\’s definetaly important for me. The idea of eliminating F-keys also caught me. Aspire one might not let you down. One thing I have to say about it is that the frame is bit too thick and I guess it could have a 10inch display instead of 9.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
At this point, Lenovo’s S10 may begin factoring in. They’re planning on releasing sometime in October with models starting at $399. I’m definitely looking forward to the Inspiron Mini (910), but if September rolls around, I’ll be having a good look at other options, specifically the Lenovo. Dell’s elimination of the F# keys is forgiveable in my mind if they release SOON at the $299 price originally “leaked”.
I’m about to head off to college and want a small notebook for notes, calendar, etc.
I appreciate all previous comments keeping us up to date on the latest speculation, and as Tac mentioned, the keyboard review by Tyrsten was excellent.
August 17th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Dell will be Dead on arival into the netbook market with lenovo’s
ideapad S10 and S9.
I would like to say I am getting the lenovo out of spite for the way dell has left us all in the dark but it is really just because Lenovo has a better product.
S9
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/17/lenovos-ideapad-s9-lite-gets-a-site-more-specs-and-discounted/
S10
http://www.engadget.com/tag/S10/
August 17th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
If Dell is so anxious to secure the number one spot again then why would they continue to stumble when it comes to marketing products at the right time.. The “Mini / Inspiron 910″ is a perfect example. They had to know that this product would sell well if released in time for the back to school crowd but here they go again without so much as a word, much less any official notice, so that those of us who might wait can’t because we can’t trust that Dell won’t leave us hanging for months.. If I was a stock holder I’d be really upset that with all of “Michael’s” promises nothing has changed. Oh, I forgot, we’ve got colors now..
August 17th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Yet another netbook being announced. This time from Fujitsu they will announced the Amilo Mini Netbook at IFA Trade Show on August 28.
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/08/fujitsu-siemens-amilo-mini-coming-soon.html
August 17th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Hands on with the Lenovo Netbook - Dell Netbook Killer?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10017879-1.html
August 18th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Nick: I must admit the Lenova will be my choice to if I decide to put off buying this month. I will wait through Sept. and buy it….assuming it lives up to it’s specs and heritage.
I’d actually rather have a HD over SSD right now (until SSD capacity is increased and high quality SSD starts giving significant speed advantage) and in fact, the Lenova’s are the best looking machine I’ve seen in this class, but of course that is subjective.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Hello All,
I just have a general question. If you buy a netbook with say… Atom 1.6Ghz, 512MB RAM or 1GB RAM, 4GB to 12 GB SSD and Linux OS, would it be possible to install an OEM version of XP via an external DVD/CD drive?
I’m not too concerned about storage space. I have a dedicated server @ home and you can always drop a big media card into one of these.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:20 am
depends on other components within the system. Windows does not support as much hardware as Linux, so do your homework first I’d imagine.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Most likely yes. Pretty much every Netbook release has had Windows XP drivers released online. I think it’s harder to do the opposite. Put linux on a xp netbook because not all drivers are released and hardware supported.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Umm doesn’t the Mini Inspiron have to pass FCC in the U.S. to be released? I asked this as Engadget uncovers the Lenovo S10 FCC filings which is slated for October. So if Mini Inspiron was to be released very soon it already have FCC filings in place?
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/08/lenovo-ideapad-s10-hits-the-fcc-photos-lots-and-lots-of-photos.html
August 18th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Don’t like the Amilo changing faceplate thing. Maybe for a 12-year old. Otherwise it’s dumb.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Seems like the FCC filing would have to be in place. Another reason to believe this is vapor ware. I went back and looked at some older posts though and back in June, Dell was making reference to their “upcoming netbook.” I’m confused and angry.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am
More, “firm”, but not much new, info here… http://gizmodo.com/5038298/leaked-dell-inspiron-910-mini-note-specs-and-release-date
john
August 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Engadget picks up the story from Gizmodo. I am hoping that the 22nd is true.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/18/dells-mini-inspiron-910-gets-specs-pics-and-potential-relea/
August 18th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
it’s something… unfortunately it’s still a “leak”
August 18th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
just checking to see when this mini laptop will be released???
August 18th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
An ever growing circle of mutually confirming intelligence claims this Friday is the big day…[and Dell has WMDs…
]
john
August 18th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
at least there’s no delldad dave spinning lies and deceit.
“Everything is under control; we have no minis or WMDs”
August 18th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
is this the best you can do DEll? may 28th posting?!?!?!?! come on, i might but an HP while i wait, and forget about this…….
August 19th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Just ordered a Lenovo S10 with a ship date of 9/9/08. No more Dell for me. Price came out to $386.53. Check the Engadget thread and use the coupon in the comments to get the discount.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/19/lenovos-ideapad-s10-netbook-ready-to-order-maybe/#comments
August 19th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Interesting.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2422
August 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
On the Dell’s blog of mini inspiron has been published a review of eeepc 900 :-O
http://www.miniinspiron.net/ultra-portable/asus-eeepc900-eee-pc-900-16gb-ssd/
It’s the first new article since june! Maybe friday will be the day!
August 19th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I’m holding out for the inspiron 910 here…
I hope friday is the day, but i just have a bad feeling that it’s not going to be.
anyways, i’ve been looking into the Asus EEE pc 1000H, it seems like a pretty good buy.
Dell, please…i want your product.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Here how the power supply will look like
http://www.eeepcnews.de/2008/08/19/dell-inspiron-910-weitere-fotos/
August 19th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Dell you are to late. I just go my Acer Aspire One by FedEx today. I is great and has a 120 g. HDD. say what you want about the speed of flash but I can get a lot of music and video on 120g sata. All this and more for 399.99 from Micro Center. http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0293528. I may try yours when you come out with wimax or 3G.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
After reading a number of sites on netbooks I am going to go w/ the Lenovo S10. The frames around all of the smaller 8.9″ screens are too thick. It would be nice to see the 10″ version of the Dell but I don’t think that will happen anytime soon… I only wish Lenovo used SSD more.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Lenovo has launched the S10 with 10 inch screen with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500. It is very attractive when compared to others except the RAM is quite small (with only 512 MB).
August 20th, 2008 at 7:25 am
The Aspire One does look pretty good. I don’t like the glossiness of the Dell anyway; I prefer a matt finish. I guess I’ll start looking for an Aspire One I can actually touch to try it out.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Lenovo website is updated and now states ships in 3-5 days for the S10. I have to hand it to Lenovo. They stated it would launch in Oct. And now are about to start shipping in 3-5 business days.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I just wish you could customize the Lenovo more. I’d like to add 512MB ram to make 1GB total and swap the standard HDD for a smaller SSD drive (8GB -12GB). I’d also like to see Wireless N as an option. Aside from those 3 things - This is the perfect Netbook for me.
I am going to buy 2 when I can get the specs I want. A red for my wife and a black one for me! (ALL FOR UNDER $1000!!!) I love Netbooks!
Can’t wait!
August 20th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Can anyone provide the link to the lenovo netbooks everybody seems to be able to buy from. I went to the Lenovo US site and the Ideapads are no where to be found.
Rick
August 20th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
What’s wrong with you people? Listen to yourselves. “I can’t wait a week for a netbook,” and, “I’m going to buy an X because Dell is too slow!”
Are you really that important? Is Dell really dropping the ball here? This all sounds like, “Mommy gimmee gimmee gimmee,” and “I’m taking my ball and going home!”
Get real kids.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Here the link Rick
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=02695ADDF94544E5A11D24AEBC064493
Use the Coupon Code USPIDEAPAD15 (case sensitve) to get an extra 15% off!
Liver Dell is dropping the ball. Dell doesn’t have to release their netbook. But consumers don’t have to buy their netbook either. So you look at Dell side and not look at consumers who actually want to buy their product. Poor Dell people actually want to buy their product. Boo hoo for them.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Looks like the date change on the S10 to more than four weeks. I guess too many people already bought it.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Lenovo? That isn’t even worth it with only 512 MB of RAM. Sorry, but if you are jumping on the Lenovo train you are missing out on a better value. Sorry if that hurts your feelings. The Acer Aspire One is the other one that looks nice.
I think my biggest problem with the current DELL is that it appears that black box underneath the monitor was never removed, reducing the size of the keyboard space. The second is the F Keys don’t seem to have ever been implemented even though the Idea Storm community asked for that.
I really want the net book though, so I hope Friday is the day.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
It’s been fun watching the buzz, good or bad, build while Dell has done nothing (officially). Perhaps in all this looonnngggg, drawn out time (almost 90 days!!!) Dell has been building inventory so that come the big day (this Friday?) they can say, “Available today; online and at Best Buy, Staples, WalMart and other fine stores.”
john
August 20th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
It should be easy to upgrade the ram on the Lenovo as there is an opening on the bottom for easy access. So it should not matter too much.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Intel announces Dual-Core Atom processor,
http://www.internetnews.com/hardware/article.php/3766786
August 20th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Vote for the Intel Dual Core Atom processor in an upcoming Dell mini (2nd Gen) notebook.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10091725/2nd_Generation_Mini_To_Have_2_Cores
August 21st, 2008 at 12:18 am
Liver , Please list up your PC specification before asking people a question.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:19 am
One more day!………to be disappointed.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
Come on DELL!! I am ready to place my order!!
August 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
long awaited ee-PC from Dell
http://shop.it.ee/
August 21st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Tomorrow we will all wake up, and be able to purchase our inspiron 910
August 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Oh, how young and innocent you are Joshua
I hope they release it tomorrow. I really really do.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’ve been hearing/reading that Wal*Mart may have ordered 150,000 of them for sale in store tomrrow.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Adam - Hearing/reading where?errmsg= Security code did not match
August 21st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Aspire One really isn’t a good solution. Yeah, it has a nice keyboard, but you have to spend an extra $120 to get a decent battery, and another $50 on RAM (it only comes with 512MB). The dual SD card thing is neat… until you realize that it’s not really necessary since the XP version only comes with a HDD. You can’t get flash and XP together.
With all that extra money to shell out, why not just get an EEE PC 901? They’re in the same price range when you upgrade the Acer battery and ram, and the EEE has a strong following, lots of easy modifications available, and a smaller form factor.
Or wait for the Dell.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
You’re all wrong about the Aspire One. I purchased one the other day for $400, far below the $550-600 for an eee PC 901. My blue Aspire One has Windows XP, 1 GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, and two SD card slots. Yeah, it has the 3 cell battery, but that’s what I wanted - a small, light netbook for my daughter for school. It runs much better than my 4 yr old desktop running XP. She says it’s totally awesome.
I still plan on purchasing the Dell mini for myself
August 21st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I’ll be buying one as soon as a link is up on the Dell website. I’m sold.
I’ll be hitting up the site at midnight! ha!
I love Dell products and support.
As far as the minimal storage goes, if need be, there’s always the card slot and or a USB stick or external drive.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Is it a glossy screen ou not ?
I would love to see a non-glare option for the screen !
August 21st, 2008 at 10:51 pm
In Boston, MA it is now Friday, August 22nd…
and no Dell netbook on http://www.dell.com.
Another Friday, another disapointment?
August 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Same here in Florida.. Im getting tired of waiting for this… and no comment from dell.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:11 pm
It says it’s 11-something on this blog
August 21st, 2008 at 11:15 pm
yea, I just saw that.. Going to be really upset if I wait up till 1am and they dont have this out for us.. I think I will move on and go with another laptop. I have been waiting for 2 months now.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I need one for school on Monday.
If it’s not released this weekend, I’m buying the Eee PC I originally planned on.
Apple handles this build up hype a lot better than Dell. At least they give you a firm date.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:49 pm
ehh time to move on for me..
August 21st, 2008 at 11:53 pm
a few more minutes (i hope)
August 21st, 2008 at 11:55 pm
their clock is all messed up.. right now when i hit submit its 1:10AM EST and look at the time stamp..
August 21st, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Please just let it be their messed up clock!
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 am
Maybe the whole thing is just a big joke.
on us
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 am
most products seemed to be released around 5am/6am, at least this is when i’ve been notified by dell in the past
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
Yes, Desmond, I got to type on an Aspire One today and was impressed. In Canada, it is possible to get a 6 cell, 120gb, 1gb, xp model for 430$ The eee 901 is about 550 even with a rebate going on right now. Nobody else is even close to Acer in terms of value.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
i’ll hopefully wake up by 7am today…if it’s not out by then…then to reiterate what Tick Tock said: “Maybe the whole thing is just a big joke. on us”
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 am
I want to cry now, and also die…
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 am
On http://www.eeepcnews.de an item was published this morning stating that the Inspiron 910 is meant to be available online in the first week of September. The larger 12.1″ version in October. It does not say who the source is, so once again it is a question of wait and see.
Also mentioned is an “EASYMODE” where the user can switch with one click directly into Full Desktop mode - similar to the Ubuntu netbook remix. The blog also talks about the programme navigation saying that it will not be like Xandros on the eeepc with a tab system, nor will it have a sidebar as in the Ubuntu netbook remix, but will be using a horizonztal “docking bar”. So it looks like DELL is developing it owns Linux variation for its netbook range. The link is as follows for anyone who can speak a bit of German : http://www.eeepcnews.de/2008/08/22/inspiron-910-kommt-ab-september-mit-einem-easy-mode/
Andy
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:02 am
this is BS…now it’s the first week of september?
this is totally bogus. and probably more rumor BS
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 am
Give it about 10 more hours. Posting from Australia here but I hardly think anyone is up at dell HQ at 3am US time :\
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:00 am
If the netbook isn’t released today Dell has to at least give us a release date of some sort or I’m off to buy an Aspire One. Dell has never officially announced or denied this product but I think its safe to say that they are aware of these rumors regarding an August 22nd release date and the least they could do is give us some info regarding the product.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:11 am
The fact that we hear nothing from Dell can have 2 reasons:
1. They think this kind of marketing is more effektive.
2. They are not sure about the exact specs, prices and date(s) themselves.
Regarding 1, I think to a certain extend this might be discussable. But with so many other netbooks already available, the effect (if there is any) changes more into a disadvantage each day that people have to wait.
For 2: If they are really developing their own kind of linux-based OS, then this is probably the problem.
When there is still nothing on 13./14. of September, I will probably order an EEE 901…
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 am
I think first week of september it’s release date for Europe.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:36 am
You may check the followings:
http://www-07.ibm.com/lenovoinfo/hk/ideaPad/sSeries/#
The config is quite well. 160G Harddisk, 10inch LCD, Bluetooth, etc. though the price is not fixed yet.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:14 am
New pics:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/22/dell-mini-inspiron-caught-running-ubuntu-in-the-wild/
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 am
@Tonsilgon
Something I learned in marketing, people forget if a product took longer to release. They do not forget if you release a flawed product. Anyone remember Windows 4.0? aka Windows 95… months and months late? Now, compare to Vista, which still has a stigma of a flawed product, despite being debugged and now being really a solid product.
Then again, I don’t need it till my wifes birthday in October…
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
Acer price cuts
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/22/acer-remembers-netbooks-were-supposed-to-be-cheap-drops-price-o/
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:17 am
A Dell sales rep just told me the mini insprion is “a beginner notebook, like a first computer for little kids, a kid’s computer”. Some sales approach.
He said release probably 2 pm Friday
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Wow. I hope it comes out by 2pm.
BUt if what jay says is true, i’m ordering the ACER today!
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:54 am
I smell vaporware…..
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Just got off the phone, twice, with a Dell sales rep.
First response: “We just saw the product for the first time today to get familiar with it for when customers start calling. I can’t see it being released today.”
Second response: “I haven’t been notified about anything. Sorry.”
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 am
No more Dell. Went with Asus eee pc 1000. Will prob not use Dell anymore down the road for other replacements
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
This is REALLY frustrating! I would just get a different netbook, but I noticed that the Asus hiccups when typing, and the keys require rather firm touch. The MSI Wind doesn\’t have the SSD flash drive, and Acer basically has NO customer service if something goes wrong! So I\’m waiting to play with the Inspiron 910 before I decide. Guess I\’ll be waiting for a while.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:57 am
This is just like MSI WIND, alot of hype, but no delivery. completely fustrating.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:03 am
Here in the UK, they haven’t even heard of it to give any more details about it…
The Acer one looks stunning i have to admit, the Eee’s are a little too dull for my liking. The lenovo ones look kak as well as the MSI ones.
my main concerns about the Dell E are:
1) it looks like it will be shipped with a glossy screen which doesn’t sound appealing.
2) battery life (which is why i am not going with the Acer netbook)
3) unsure about what operating system will be shipped with it
and finally i hope that eventually with the 2nd generation of Dell E netbooks they will have the same patterns that are being offered on the Studio line.
But let’s not be hasty because it looks like we will be in for a long wait while Dell trains its staff about upcoming products. In the UK we are pretty much the last of the lot to get anything!
It’s no wonder HP have overtaken them. And soon it will be Asus too.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
Oh and the time of this posting is pretty messed up as it is currently 16:20 here in the UK but look at the time my posting is recorded.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am
I was just on Dell Live Chat and the sales rep. wrote the same thing to me -” haven’t been notified about anything. Sorry.” This is it . I know that for me that this nothing but a vanity buy, but the rumors, the leaks, the hype has just gotten too much. I am very upset with Dell right now. I have had nothing but dell for the last 10 years and all of it good, knock on wood. But the Acer Aspire One is starting to look good, esspecially with the $50 price drop.I have an gift card to walmart for $100 and if they drop price down too , I could bring home my new mini baby for about $243.00 with tax and free s/h. I know I could wait for Dell but seeing how they are treating us, I just can’t do it. It is one thing to build interest but to string along faithful customers is another. And since I going to be using my mini for nothing but light weight fun use, I think the acer will do me very well. So folks, in the famous words of the almost unrecognizable Kenny Rogers-
” You have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them”
I fold, game over
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 am
note, the “time of posting” is the time at dell’s HQ in Texas.
I figured that one out awhile ago.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 am
This site has a picture of a blue one! Oh, I hope so . . .
http://techlime.com/laptops-desktop-tablet-pc/dell-inspiron-910-with-ubuntu-linux-coming-soon#comment-1061
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 am
wow… they’re sure are a lot of IMPATIENT people here… I’m okay waiting.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
Here’s something to consider before anyone continues with the Dell bashing.
Dell has NOT released a single press annoucement actually saying that the mini will be released Aug 22nd. It’s all leaked info and a rumor. Yes the device does exsist as is evident from the pics on Gizmodo and confirmation from a Dell rep. It’s not vaporware.
I’d like it if it came out today but if I have to wait I think it will be worth it.
My opinion is that they should get it on the “back-to-school” market as soon as possible.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
This is my chat with a Dell sales agent, moments ago:
Question: When will I be able to order a Inspiron Mini?
Remain calm folks
6:47:44 AM Dino “Rumor” has it they would be released today.
6:48:52 AM Dell Rep They weren’t (I don’t know where that rumor came from, but I’ve also heard it). Officially, I can’t comment on future products, but I’ll grab you a link to the Dell blog posting about it.
6:49:11 AM Dino Been there, posted twice.
6:49:50 AM Dell Rep lol
6:49:53 AM Dino Everyone on that posting is wondering where it is
6:50:08 AM Dino Like I said, “rumor” ha
6:50:27 AM Dell Rep Not much longer. I played with one yesterday (probably shouldn’t say that), but the wait will be worth it.
6:50:47 AM Dino That’s what I keep posting
6:50:57 AM Dell Rep lol
6:51:14 AM Dino Well, you people have to know the product before you can sell it right?
6:51:27 AM Dell Rep exactly.
….soon people, soon.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
soon is arbitrary
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I can’t trust someone named after an imaginary dinosaur
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Dell doesn’t release, then Acer goes and lowers prices?
That’s bad mojo for Dell, man.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
almost 2:00!
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
well its 2.26pm here in east coast, and nothing yet. only thing the rep i chatted with told me about an email when it is released….so any luck for anyone else?
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
again, to repeat what I said earlier, Dell is in texas. 2pm est is 1pm for them, for examples.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
waiting, waiting, patiently…..very patiently…..
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
As excited as I am to get my paws on one of these, I bet we have another week or two to go…
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
i think so, too. just talk to a dell rep on chat, and they said they had no idea when it’s coming out and their is no news on it. i think all these rumors have been made to keep people wanting the mini inspiron which probably won’t come out till mid september.
acer aspire one is looking nice especially with the price cut. $400 for 160 gb hard drive, 1 gb ram, 1.6 gh z processor and the 6 cell battery.
Can Dell really top that?
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Just talked to a Dell rep. It’s being released on September 4. I’m disappointed. Just going to buy a sweet Acer Aspire One for $329! Can’t beat that anyway!!
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I think Dell can top the Acer only because Acer’s tech support is virtually non-existent. Don’t expect anyone to answer the phone or even call you back at Acer.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
just talked to dell again…they said no idea. i’m not sure where you got sept 4 from
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Man, this is a wierd place, not used to such fanatical fanboy types ie. I dont’ care what Dell releases, what the specs or what the price is….I’m just gonna hit refresh until they ALLOW me to buy it!!!! lol
Dino: You are correct, as I’ve said in my many posts here. Dell is not obligated to release the info, however, I believe 3 mitigating factors exist which should have warranted some comment:
1.back-to-school deadline
2.info HAS been leaked by somebody, regardless of the source, it appeared to be and was taken as, official Dell documents. This has set an expectation of August
3.there is a lot of genuine interest in this particular product, for which there is nothing in your line-up currently available.
I’ll add that the source of these “leaks” is rather curious. The obvious suspect IS Dell. In any case, being aware of all 3 of these things, if the product really is ready to go in the next month, let alone the next couple weeks, an announcement would have been basic courtesy, not to mention, good business sense. I think people are justified in being very angry and frustrated.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I take back my previous comments on the Aspire One. With the price drop and the 6-cell battery, it beats the EEE PC hands down, and I no longer see any reason to wait for Dell to play catch-up. As soon as I can find someone selling the new 6-cell battery version I’m ordering it.
Charles.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Charles:
I just called acer and they had no clue about a 160gb/6 cell version….?
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I’d like to point out that the Gizmodo website said that the dell netbook would be released on August 22. I guess this shows that Gizmodo is not legit.
http://gizmodo.com/5038298/leaked-dell-inspiron-910-mini-note-specs-and-release-date
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Charles: I also am going to pick one up next week. I’m getting the 120gb hard drive which bypasses the slow ssd problem the Aspire One uses. (I’m not sure why everyone wants SSD at this point, speed is about the same, power usage is close and it’s expensive! Yes, it is a bit more drop proof, but in all my years using laptops, I’m used to NOT dropping it lol). The price just can’t be beat here in Canada.
Joshua: they probably dont’ know because the 6 cell was just ANNOUNCED today for the US. In Canada, we’ve had limited quantities of the 6 cell for a while. Unfortunately for me, only in blue, but they are out there and the battery life is reportedly quite good!
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Gizmodo pointed out a RUMOR. Look up what that word means..
Stop whining….
Good things come to those who wait.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Dell has no clue what they will lose. The Acer and the Lenovo will take over the market. Pull your heads out of Dino’s rear end and compete already.
I am on my third netbook. Just bought a aspire one xp, got screwed on price, but at least it actually exists.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Oh BTW I would never buy a Dell, just for the record.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
With all your smarts regarding what they should do, I think you should go work for Dell!
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
No need! Good luck Dell! The only reason I am on here is my wife is determined to get this. It’s funny every Dell she has had has been sent back for warranty problems, yet she still wants to continue.
I am not against you Dino, more laughing with you about this situation.
The longer they wait the easier it will be to talk her into something else. So take your time!
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I’ve had some bad experiences with lemons from Dell, but in every case they do support their customers, unlike other companies I will not name. But I also have my share of rock solid machines as well. I find Dell’s have no worse a track record than anyone else, but they do back up the products.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Impatience, petulance, immaturity, finger pointing at unconfirmed/unidentified miscreants, decision making without the facts/without seeing the choices… sigh!
QUOTE:The Netbook market is getting pretty crowded. Asus itself is swamping us with tons of different netbooks already and many others, well known and unknown brands, offer their little cheap notebook. It is tough to keep a clear head when looking for a new netbook.
Liliputing has one tool that helps to get started with A SORTABLE LIST OF 40 NETBOOKS. ENDQUOTE http://www.i4u.com/article19886.html
Sorry ’bout the shouting/caps…I didn’t have the patience to figure out how to type italics…
john
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
As someone that work in the hardware industry I know that there are always last minute problems that impact production, specially in products with high volume like this. I am sure that Dell will begin to sell this mini just when they can produce it in high volume, and specially they have removed (almost) bugs from the units.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Dell doesn’t have much of a good track record with me, but it’s the same with most American made stuff. Cars for example. Everyone wants to buy a Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, etc… No one wants to buy Ford or Chevy. Most people agree it has to do with a quality issue. The support may be good, but I think people would rather have better quality stuff than better support. I’m an introvert, and I really dislike talking to anyone on the phone for any reason. Don’t try to sell me the person on the other end of the phone. I really don’t want to start a long distance relationship right now.
Honestly though, I’m going to wait for the Dell. Why? The exact reason I said Dell is troublesome. Made in U.S.A. Acer is a Taiwan based company. Lenovo is in China. Asus is in China. Via (for the openbook) is in Taiwan. Intel has a nice Classmate coming out. http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/21/intels-convertible-classmate-pc-gets-the-hands-on-treatment/
Classmate might be something I might hold out for. If Dell takes long enough, I won’t be looking at Acer or Lenovo, but Intel. It’s a rugged convertible with a touchscreen that’s cheap!!!! Whoa! Beat that!
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
@Sebastian, I agree with you. Engadget and Gizmodo recently posted that Intel is struggling to meet demand for the Atom processors. They expect to meet the demand in September; meanwhile, Asus, MSI, etc… are pumping out Atom-based netbooks like there’s no tomorrow. Shuttle has come out with an atom-based cube. They’re having so much trouble meeting demand, there’s a “rumor” that they may end up dumping Celeron (remember 1st gen Eeepc?) processors to vendors in place of the Atom.
It’s purely speculation, but I have to wonder how Dell is effected by the Atom shortage?
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Dell’s aren’t built in the U.S.A. anymore. RUMOR has it the 910 is Taiwanese
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
You’re logic defeats me. At least I know the revenues are going to the US. Most of them.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:13 pm
does anyone know where to buy the The Aspire one AOA150-1447?
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Some of the profit probably stays in the U.S. but the product is an import and the customer service is outsourced to India. It’s still better than Asus though. They can’t even answer a simple question. I doubt their online customer service people even speak english; probably just use a translator; that’s why they couldn’t understand anything I said.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
@r351574nc3 - for someone who has no idea about volume production of electronics for the last decade you sure talk a lot
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20080812PD203.html
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Hello All,
I found this picture on an Indian website discussing new netbooks… Is this an actual picture of the 910?
http://jysplq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pTPRIWzsG5oB6nKwiSw30GRJmDj747iidQjPaPfyaNqNLP2s4e6yhuEpMj_s4c3M_uUGQOBVoKhs/MiniDell.jpg
Thanks!
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
that looks like one of the new studio laptops, the 13″ one. i could be wrong though. it looks like it has the FN keys on top.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I’d really like an SSD because I want to take this laptop with me on my motorcycle ride to Alaska next year, and that kind of vibration killed the drive in my Vaio PCG-C1VPK (the original netbook). But it did take a bunch of years
Then again, for daily use (which this laptop will definitely see) the hard drive is probably the better choice anyhow. I’m tired of lugging my 90lb 17″ widescreen Inspiron E1505 laptop everywhere. It weighs a ton.
Circuit City doesn’t know anything about the 6-cell battery version or the cheaper prices. But the (rather sparse) Acer Aspire One site does now list the 6-cell battery as an option in the specs!
Charles.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I have to say no, Mike Lambert. The Mini Inspiron isn’t supposed to have a DVD/CD media drive and that pi