NetBook Expert

Dell - Inspiron Mini Netbook

The Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 netbook is a 10inch portable solution for those who are looking to carry a sleek yet small netbook around. This is a black finish netbook powered by an Intel Atom N450 processor. It coupled with 1GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM (1 SODIMM slot). It has a 160GB SATA 5400RPM HDD for storage, which allows you to carry a decent amount of music, documents, photos and perhaps a few standard definition movies on it.

It has a 10.1inch widescreen display, which makes it perfect watching and streaming movies. It has a native resolution of 1024×768, which is the perfect resolution for a screen of this size. It comes with an integrated 1.3m webcam, which gives you the freedom to have video chats whilst you are on the move.

Features & Specifications: -

• Intel Atom Processor N450 (1.66GHz, 512K L2 Cache), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMM)
• 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM), Genuine Windows 7 Starter 32bit
• Video: Intel NM10 Express, Dell 1397 802.11B/G Wireless Mini Card
• 10.1 inch Widescreen Display (1024×600), Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
• 30W AC Adapter, 6 Cell Primary Battery

It has Intel’s NM10 Express for handling video and graphics. This much power is enough for all your standard definition videos along with streaming video services like YouTube and Vimeo. Coupled with the widescreen display, compressed movies would look really nice on it. If you are in the habit of compressing movies for making them more portable, you will like the display.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 has the standard Dell Laptop design that tapers from the screen side to the palm rest side. The screen sits slightly away from the thickest side of the body, leaving some space behind it when it opens. It has a glossy back and a thick bezel that also has a black but matte finish. The palm rest has a black textured finish with the touchpad set in to its own groove. The bottom cover of the body has a light off-white color. The entire body is plastic but is quite hardy.

It has traditional keys with no space between them, which makes for a slightly cramped typing. Definitely not recommended for those who want to type out tens of thousands of words per day. But it is perfect for chatting, emailing and general surfing requirements. The touchpad does not have separate buttons and they are hidden beneath the surface of the touchpad instead. Their presence is marked by two white marks at the lower two corners of the touchpad.

It comes with 3 USB ports (2+1), 1 VGA port, 1 VGA port, 1RJ45 port and the usual headphone and microphone ports. It comes with a 30W ac adapter for its 6-cell battery that is good for 6-7 hours of battery life under moderate usage and possibly 8 or more hours under low strain.

Buyer reviews for the Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 are overall quite positive. Users are quite happy with the size and portability. Given the price point, this netbook gives you a very good price to performance ratio. The only problem that you might face is the limited features of the Windows 7 Starter Edition. However, there are ways around the limitations with third-party solutions that you can find online with a little searching.