Mini12
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Dell Mini 12 quietly discontinued
There was no official announcement of this one, but a look over Dell's website will reveal the truth -- it looks like the Mini 12 has been shuttered. It's not hugely surprising news considering its companion, the Mini 9, was recently given the axe as well. We'll miss them both. Sniffle.[Thanks, Drew]
Laura June Dziuban08.07.2009
AT&T kicks off $50 netbook-with-a-catch trial
We'd already had some indication that Dell's Mini 9 and Mini 12 netbooks were headed to AT&T stores, and it now looks like those and a few more are now finally available from the carrier -- in Atlanta and Philadelphia, at least. From the looks of it, Atlanta is the real test bed for the trial, with customers there now able to snag netbooks with built-in 3G at prices "starting at $49.99," assuming they also sign up for AT&T's "Internet at Home and On the Go" broadband bundle, of course, which itself starts at $60 a month for a 200 MB per month mobile data plan and basic DSL service. AT&T only goes so far as to say that it's offering "similar mini laptop promotional rates" at eight AT&T stores in the Philadelphia area. In addition to the Dell netbooks, you can also choose from an Acer Aspire One or the little known LG Xenia (apparently an MSI Wind rebadge), or even a full-fledged Lenovo X200 ultraportable, although the latter will set you back between $750 and $850 depending on your choice of plan.[Via GigaOM]Update: According to AT&T, that "similar" pricing for Philly actually starts at $99, with the premium apparently resulting from its lack of residential DSL in the area.
Donald Melanson04.01.2009
Dell Mini 9 and 12 headed to AT&T stores?
You can already get an HP Mini netbook or a Sony VAIO P not-a-netbook up and running on AT&T's network with relative ease, but it looks like your options could be about to get more convenient still, at least if this seemingly authentic screen courtesy of The Boy Genius Report is any indication. Apparently, both Dell's Mini 9 and Mini 12 netbooks will be finding their way into AT&T stores at some point in the not too distant future, although there's unfortunately no indication of an exact date or price. As the Boy Genius speculates, however, it seems likely that they'll be at least somewhat competitive with the $99 that Verizon will be asking for the HP Mini 1000 on a two-year data card plan, which will apparently be available sometime in May.[Via Electronista]
Donald Melanson02.20.2009
Hark! Dell Mini 12 kitted with an SSD
Like a proclamation from On High come the words: "Rejoice! No longer do you have to put up with a slow Dell Mini 12!" The kids over at Portable Monkey have taken a good look at Mtron's 1.8-inch SSD (the inelegantly named MSD-PATA3018032-ZIF2 is going for ¥26,800 -- about $294) and not surprisingly, the thing has far out-classed the Mini 12's default 4200rpm HDD in benchmarks. On the other hand, the drive does draw a considerable bit of power, so battery life may be an issue -- and at a height of 8 millimeters (as opposed to 5 millimeters for the standard drive) some folks have had a hard time installing the thing. Are you the type of person who gets giddy at the prospect of souping up your hardware? We thought so. Hit the read link for all the juicy deets.
Joseph L. Flatley02.09.2009
Dell's Mini 12 dissected for your viewing pleasure
It's taken quite awhile for someone to gather up the courage to do it, but at long last, Dell's cutesy Mini 12 has been stripped of its dignity and dissected for the world to see. Honestly, there isn't much in this netbook that you haven't already seen in similar alternatives, but those unable to resist the allure of undressed gadgets will still want to give the read link a visit. Or two, depending on your level of self-restraint.
Darren Murph02.01.2009
Intel Atom coming to larger notebooks?
Why does Intel have to be so darn stubborn? First it insists on only bundling the Atom processor with their own graphics (simultaneously breaking poor NVIDIA's heart), and then there's whole thing where it restricts the CPU to netbooks under 10.2-inches. But like all good things, this too might someday come to an end. According to Gadget Mix, HP is currently negotiating with the chipmaker with the intent of using the processor in notebooks 13-inches and larger. This isn't without precedent -- the Dell Mini 12 is Atom powered, after all, and there is certainly a market for folks who only need a notebook for web browsing and productivity apps -- but we'll see if people are willing to sacrifice performance without gaining portability.
Joseph L. Flatley01.02.2009
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 gets more netbook-y with Ubuntu, XP options
Dell's Inspiron Mini 12 was already blurring the lines between netbooks and traditional laptop when it was shipping with Vista and Vista only, but it looks like Dell is intent on breaking down the walls between the two categories, with it now offering both Ubuntu and Windows XP on the, er... system. Expectedly, there's no changes to be found on the hardware side of things, and you can get either of the new operating systems installed on both the 1.33GHz and 1.6GHz models, the former of which now starts at $499 with Ubuntu pre-installed. And, yes, you can still get Vista if you like -- at no extra cost, no less.[Thanks, TxdoHawk]
Donald Melanson12.16.2008
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 get artist makeovers
In recent months we've seen Dell's design department running wild with new colors and art for a lot of their models, such as the Studio 15 and 17 laptops, and the announcement that customizable jobs were on the table for 2009. It probably should come as no surprise, then, to see the Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 get some love, too -- this time in five patterns by artist Tristan Eaton. Otherwise the same under the hood, the paint-jobbed Minis will run you an extra $50 over the base price of each respective model -- $349 for the Mini 9 and $549 for the Mini 12. Check out two more shots of the upgrades after the break. [Via Electronista]
Laura June Dziuban11.20.2008Dell's Mini 12 netbook is ready for US orders, ships in December
It was bound to happen sooner or later. We received the birth announcement, we read the reviews, and it looks like Dell is finally set to unleash the Mini 12 upon us lowly North Americans. The 12-inch netbook is pretty much what we expected specs-wise, starting at $549 for a 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 40GB hard drive and standard 3 cell battery. Perhaps $758 is a little steep for a netbook, but if you're game the top-end machine sports a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 80GB hard drive and a 6 cell battery. All configurations should be shipping with Windows Vista Home Basic starting sometime in early December.[Via Electronista]
Joseph L. Flatley11.13.2008
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 reviewed: bigger, not necessarily better
After toying with our heartstrings for like, ever, Dell finally gathered up the courage to formally introduce its 12-inch netbook late last month. After arriving at the testing facilities of Laptop Mag, critics quickly found a lot to love about the relatively expansive display, "excellent" battery life and spacious keyboard. In all fairness, there really wasn't anything to complain about on the surface; the first kvetching we heard was soon after bootup -- er, a fair while after bootup, we should say. The biggest knock on Dell's Mini 12 was its sluggish performance under Vista, not to mention the lethargic hard drive shoved in there. In sum, critics frankly pointed out that the "Mini 12 doesn't have the right hardware to handle this OS," and recommended holding off for one with WinXP / Ubuntu if you were dead set on the design.
Darren Murph11.08.2008
Dell launches the Inspiron Mini 12
We knew more Inspiron Minis were in the works, and Dell's just officially announced the next member of the family, the Inspiron Mini 12. Yep, the same machine we first spotted all the way back in June, and nothing much has changed in the meantime -- you're looking at either a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor (a step up from the usual 1.6GHz Atom N270), up to an 80GB drive, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth / WiFi, and that 12-inch, 1280 x 800 display, all in a 2.72-pound package less than one inch thick. The bad news? It's Japan-only for now, but it'll hit the States late next month with a starting price under $600. That's a pretty hot price / performance ratio on paper -- if this thing performs like it should, it could potentially take away sales from more full-featured ultraportables like the Envy 133 and the MacBook Air. We'll see how it goes -- the netbook market suddenly got interesting again, eh?Update: It's worth pointing out that this netbook runs Vista Home Edition, albeit sluggishly according to APC (XP and Ubuntu variants by end of year). It also ships standard with a 3-hour 3 cell battery or optional $79 6-cell battery for up to 6-hours of power. Read - Dell announcement Read - Laptop hands-onRead - APC hands-on Read - Dell Q+A
Nilay Patel10.26.2008
Inspiron Mini 12 pops up on Dell's website: it's a done deal (almost)
We can't call it official with a straight face, but seriously, what else could you call it? A not-at-all mysterious Inspiron Mini 12 (1210) has emerged on Dell's website in the Product Support pages, hinting (and we're using that as loosely as possible) that a 12-inch netbook could be fast approaching to complement the current Mini 9. We're talking about a User Manual, Setup Guide, Troubleshooting documents -- the whole nine. Packed within the Setup Guide is a nice list of basic specifications, including your choice of an Intel Atom Z520 or Z530 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 10 / 100 Ethernet, Bluetooth / WiFi, optional WWAN, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, audio in / out, and a 12.1-inch display with a 1,280 x 800 resolution. It'll also feature a 1.3-megapixel camera, 3- or 6-cell battery and weigh around 2.73-pounds. Oh, and we get the impression there will at least be an option for Ubuntu. Feel free to dig around in the read link for as long as Round Rock keeps it active, and in case everything collapses prior to the formal launch, we've screened capped a few looks below.[Via CMSReport]%Gallery-34624%
Darren Murph10.15.2008
12.1-inch Dell E Slim laptop spotted in the wild?
It's hard to say what we've come across here, but if our retinas aren't deceiving us too badly, this looks to be an in the wild shot (sans blur, amazingly) of Dell's forthcoming E Slim. If you'll recall, we caught a glimpse of said device way back in June, and the two look at least marginally similar using the oh-so-scientific eyeball test. But look, even if this thing isn't the E Slim (though we're guessing it is until proven otherwise), we've been told on numerous occasions that Dell is mulling the idea of pumping out a netbook with a 10- to 12-inch display. An accompanying screenshot of the unit's internals was also provided, and while the model may say Optiplex1210, we're guessing that's just there for prototyping purposes; besides, the listed CPU matches up quite nicely with the aforementioned E Slim specs that slipped out this summer. So Round Rock -- when are you going to come out and get official with your 12.1-incher? Before or after this coming Tuesday?[Thanks, Anonymous]%Gallery-34219%
Darren Murph10.10.2008
Tesco leaks 12-inch Dell E Slim specs running "Ubunto" -- October 6th launch?
Hard to say what's going on exactly what this clusterfrack of a listing over at Tesco. While the Dell laptop shown is the £299 Inspiron Mini 9, it's labeled with an Inspiron Z530 title bellowing a 12-inch display. Moving down to the specs, we've got a spec-for-spec match to the unreleased 12.1-inch E Slim exclusive we brought you back in June: same 1.6GHz Atom processor; heavier 1.2kg (2.6-pounds) weight; bigger 12-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768 pixel) display; wider 29.9-cm (11.8-inch) dimension; and 40GB hard drive spinning Ubunto Ubuntu Linux. So Tesco, October 6th you say? Full Tesco specs listed after the break because that read link won't be up for long. P.S. Dell doesn't sell a Atom-based 12-inch laptop under any model number presently, nor does it have a Z530 in its product roster.[Thanks, GeorgeJ, Craig and Yau]
Thomas Ricker09.12.2008