Dell ‘officially’ confirms launch of the Inspiron Mini 9

by Stevie Smith - Sep 5 2008, 13:00

“Meet your new best friend,” exclaimed Dell Inc. as it finally yanked the covers off one of the tech world’s worst kept secrets today. And so, while The Tech Herald can not yet testify as to whether Dell’s virgin entrant to the Netbook arena will indeed replace your closest school buddy or your ever-faithful canine companion, we can at least bid an official welcome to the Inspiron Mini 9.

Dell finally, finally, finally launches its Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook. Image: Dell.

Long since referred to as the Inspiron Mini and/or Inspiron 910 by diligent journos throughout its development, Dell has transmogrified the two naming possibilities in offering up its sleek ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), which it describes as being perfect for connecting “teens, tweens, travelers and 'Tweeters'” to their online world of choice.Initially rolled out in the United States, Japan and select regions across Europe, the Inspiron Mini 9 weighs in at a tad over 1kg (2.28lbs) and comes complete with a sealed keyboard, an 8.9-inch glossy LED display (1024x600) capable of presenting most Web pages without left or right screen scrolling, and also the added user reliability of solid state drive (SSD) storage.Performance wise, Dell’s newest hardware addition is powered by Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom processor, and is supported by up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM (533MHz), SSD choices of 4GBs, 8GBs and 16GBs, Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 950, and either Windows XP Home or “Mini OS” Ubuntu 8.04 operating systems (the Linux option will be made available in the coming weeks and is presently open for pre-orders).In unveiling its Inspiron Mini 9, Dell is also offering its new Netbook customers the opportunity to access, use and share secure Web-based file storage via an exclusive deal with Box.net. A free Basic usage plan including 2GBs of storage will be made available to Mini owners, with that base allowance expandable to 25GBs.Other features include Wi-Fi (802.11g) capabilities, an optional 0.3 or 1.3 mega pixel Web camera (bundled with Dell Video Chat), Bluetooth connectivity, three USB 2.0 ports, a 3-in-1 card reader, integrated 10/100 LAN, VGA output, and a four-cell 32WHr Lithium-Ion Battery.Available now in Obsidian Black or Alpine White, the Windows XP model of Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 is available right this very minute for an attractive starting price of $399 USD. The upcoming Linux model is expected to retail for around $349 USD.

Comment on this Story

Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group
Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter

Comment on this Story

Note our older Talkback system is still running below. We hope to import existing comments into the new system shortly. Guest posting is still allowed, however, you can now login with any number of social network accounts.

Talkback

Add your comment (no registration required)

page: 1

TechieSep 6th, 2008 - 04:52:17

Darn! The Ispiron was supposed to be $299! With the price being $399 with the xp, it is not nearly as appealing anymore. Other UMPC's such as the Acer Aspire One is probably better with similar or even cheaper prices with better specs. Shame on Dell for raising the price so much!

Report this comment

page: 1

Add your comment (no registration required)

Hardware

Dell ‘officially’ confirms launch of the Inspiron Mini 9

Comment on this Story

Talkback

Latest

Latest Articles on Monsters&Critics

In The Tech Herald

Site

The Fine Print