Follow us on TwitterDell’s Inspiron Mini 12 breaks new ground in the netbook marketplace. With atypical netbook features like a 12.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, an Intel Atom Z-series processor, a larger keyboard and the speaker mounted face-up on top of the keyboard, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 stands out.
| Dell Inspiron Mini 12 40GB 6-Cell Linux | |||
 | 12.1" Display (1280x800), 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 Processor, Intel GMA500, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1,6-cell battery, Ubuntu Linux | ||
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Summary
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The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a pleasant break from the stream of me-too netbooks we’ve see released recently.
The Mini 12 hits the mark with its big 12″ display. The combination of this big screen in an ultra-thin, lightweight chassis makes us smile broadly in appreciation.
The change to the Z-series Atom CPU provides neither advantage or disadvantage.
The smallish, sluggish hard drive, keyboard shortcomings and quiet sound system are all minor disappointments.
Overall, there is a lot to love in the Dell Inspiron Mini 12.
Currently the Inspiron Mini 12 pricing starts below $400. At this price, the Mini 12 represents a real value compared to other similarly-priced netbooks.
7 out of 10 
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:
We do not have a Specification Sheet attached to this product (yet).
Price of the unit as reviewed: $467.10
Note: The links in the above widget leads to Dell’s shopping site where you can select the specific options you prefer, including Microsoft Windows XP as your operating system.
