Design

When I viewed the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 I was struck by how thin it was.  At 0.92-inches thick, together with the larger-than-normal netbook length and width, the Mini 12 creates an image that instantly made me think of the MacBook Air.

The finish is glossy, which is visually appealing when you first take it out of the box.  But after a few minutes, like every other netbook with this type of cover, it is impossible to keep free of highly visible fingerprints.  Our review model is white, which is more forgiving with fingerprints than the darker colors.

Overall, the design is attractive, more business than sexy.  The build quality is excellent, with all trim pieces flush and a very solid feel.

Our unit is outfitted with a six-cell battery, which elevates the back of the unit slightly, providing a comfortable angle for typing.

Display

As the name suggests, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 has as 12.1″ display which  provides a 1280 x 800 resolution.  The display is a real treat for those accustomed to the standard 1024 x 600 resolution on 9″ or 10″ displays found in most other netbooks.

The display is glossy – but not to the point where glare interferes under normal lighting conditions.

Colors on the display are vivid and crisp and can be easily viewed from wide angles.

Keyboard

The Inspiron Mini 12′s keyboard is 92% of standard-size.  The keys are larger than most netbooks.  They have a nice feel and provide good tactile response when typing.  Unlike the Inspiron Mini 9, there is a full set of function keys on the top row.

I was disappointed in the keyboard.  With a chassis this large, Dell could had plenty of room to place a near full-size keyboard.  Instead, they chose to shrink the right shift key and place the up arrow to the right.  For me personally, I constantly found myself inserting text at random places because I inadvertently up-arrowed when I thought I was shifting.

In addition, Dell chose to use half-width keys for the comma, period and slash keys.  As a result, I found myself fat fingering these frequently.  These are commonly used in word processing and in programming.  I’m hardpressed to understand why Dell chose to make these sacrifices.

In contrast, the Samsung N120 fits a larger keyboard, that does not contain partial-width keys, into a smaller 10″ case.  Even the original Acer Aspire One has a more useful keyboard in a 9″ case.

Touchpad

The touchpad is spacious and provide good response.  The mouse buttons are placed below the touchpad (where I like them best).

Webcam

Above the display is a 1.3 megapixel webcam.  The webcam pictures were sharp without much lag when used for video conferencing.

Hardware and Performance

The Inspiron Mini 12 comes standard with an 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor.  Our unit was upgraded to  the  1.6 GHz Z530 processor.  In use, I could not perceive any difference in performance compared to other netbooks configured with the standard 1.6 GHz Item Atom N270 processor.

The balance of the hardware was rather typical for a netbook:

• 1 GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM
  
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
• Ports: 3 USB, VGA out, 3-in-1 card reader, audio in and out jacks and a 10/100 LAN port
  
• 802.11b/g wireless
• Bluetooth 2.0

The battery in our unit is a six-cell  (a three-cell battery is available) rated at 48 WHr.   The battery consistently provided over five hours of real world use (internet browsing, email, word processing, code development and testing).

Our Dell Inspiron Mini 12 was configured with Ubuntu Linux.  While I prefer Linux, I realize that it is not for everyone.  Dell offers the same configuration configured with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

For those new to Linux, Dell provides a large icon, extremely simple default user interface.  If you are contemplating a Linux-based netbook, be sure to see our article “Should I Buy a Linux-Based Netbook?”

I really appreciated that Dell provided a full Ubuntu distribution with a standard set of Linux apps (like Gimp).  I especially liked the feature that toggle the simple user interface on and off at will.

Unlike other Linux-based netbooks, it was simple for me to add other applications.  For example, one of the first things I did was to install Internet Explorer 6 running under Wine. This was *way* simpler on the Dell than it ever was with Acer’s Linpus Linux or Asus’ Xandros Linux.

Specifications

The specifications for the unit we evaluated:

Price of the unit as reviewed: $467.10

The Asus N10J series packs a whole lot of power into a traditional 10-inch netbook size (10.8 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches) weighing only 3.4 lbs.

Asus N10J A2 320GB 6-Cell VistaB+XP
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS/Inte; GMA950 (switchable), 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Vista Business+XP Downgrade		Today's Best Deal Silver $826.95 Go!
	Comes in: Silver (N10J-A2 ) - from $826.95

While the processor is still a 1.6GHz Atom N270, it has two graphics accelerators.  The NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS accelerator provides a big boost in graphics performance.  When conserving battery power is important, you can switch back to the traditional Intel GMA950 adapter.  (Switching adaptors does require a reboot.)

Asus has also packaged the N10J series with 10.2″ display that LaptopMag.com calls bright and glossy and a solid audio system.

The N10Js come with 6-cell batteries which get good life (about 4 1/2 hours in real-life environment).  The 802.11b/g/n support is better than b/g support offered in most netbooks.

One of the most unusual features of the N10J netbooks is the inclusion of an HDMI port – signifying the strength of the video system.

The N10J is available today in two versions.

The N10J A1 will appeal more to home users.  It is packaged with a 160 GB hard drive and Windows XP Home Edition.

Asus N10J A1 160GB 6-Cell XP
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		$701.99	$94.56	Not In Stock	Go!

The N10J A2 offers features that are, perhaps, more geared to corporate users.  The A2 comes with a 320 GB hard drive and Vista Business (downgradeable to XP).

Asus N10J A2 320GB 6-Cell VistaB+XP
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MSI also offers a top-end netbook call the Meron VR220.  While the Meron netbook does not get the fanfare that the Wind netbook line receives, it certainly is not due to the set of features.

MSI Meron VR220 250GB 8-Cell Vista P
	12.1" Display (1280x800), 2.16 GHz Intel T3200 Dual-Core Processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD-RW, 802.11n, Bluetooth, 8 Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows Vista Premium		Today's Best Deal Green $676.99 Go!
	Comes in: Black (VR220-004US) Blue (VR220-012US or VR220-033US) - from $754.95 Green (VR220-017US or VR220-005US) - from $676.99 Pink (VR220-030US)

The Meron VR220 offers a 12.1-inch display in an attractive case that is only 1.2″ thick.

The 2.0 GHz dual-core Intel Pentium processor is a big step up from the typical 1.6 GHz Atom procesor found in most netbooks.

The Meron comes with 2GB of RAM as standard.  A 320 GB hard drive provides double the storage space compared to a typical netbook.  802.11n Wifi + Bluetooth support is a nice step up.  In additon, the Meron VR220 comes with a built-in DVD drive.

The 8-cell battery adds the extra power required to drive these enhanced features.  In real world use, the battery lasts about four hours.

The weight of the Meron VR220 is quite a bit hefty for a netbook.  At 4.4 pounds, it is significantly heavier than the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 which weighs only 2.7pounds.

All this for about $700.  A lot more for a little more money…

MSI Meron VR220 250GB 8-Cell Vista P - Blue
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		$754.95	$17.00	Not In Stock	Go!

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a little less ostentatious than the other netbooks mentioned in this article.  It is more like a traditional netbook with a really big display.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 40GB 3-Cell XP
	12.1" Display (1280x800), 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 Processor, Intel GMA500, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, 3-cell battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
	Comes in: Obsidian Black (DNCWYA1)

The first you will notice when you look at a Mini 12 is the how thin it is.  At 0.92 inches, the thinness is striking.  It reminds one of the Apple MacBook Air (at a lot less money).

The 12.1-inch, 1280 x 1024 pixel display is a significantly larger than a typical netbook.   This makes showing two pages side-by-side practical.

The keyboard is much larger than its smaller sister, the Inspiron Mini 9, making touch-typing a cinch.

The larger case permitted Dell to locate the speakers across the top of the keyboard, which produces a much better sound.

The standard processor in a Mini 12 is a 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520, which is a bit slower than the typical netbook’s 1.6 GHz Atom N270.

On the downside, the 40MB hard drive is rather diminuative and somewhat  slow.

As always with Dell, you can upgrade almost all of these features.  With the price of the “basic” Inspiron Mini 12 only $434.00 (currently), you can add a few features without breaking the bank.

I like the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 so much, that I bought one ( a Linux version).  It arrived yesterday.  We shot an unboxing video last night, which we will post later today.  I’ll be writing more after I have a chance to use it for a while.  Stay tuned.

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