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Seemingly not satisfied with breaking virgin ground in the ever-expanding Netbook market via its sleek and ultra-portable Inspiron Mini 9, computer manufacturing heavyweight Dell is blurring the line between Netbook and traditional notebook with its new Inspiron Mini 12.
Dell Mini 12 pushes the Netbook closer to mainstream notebooks. Image: Dell.
As the numeric jump suggests, the Inspiron Mini 12 increases upon the 8.9-inch screen capacity of its Mini 9 stablemate, which leaves Dell’s newest unveiling sitting considerably closer to conventional portable computers such as Apple’s 13-inch MacBook than ASUSTeK’s diminutive seven and nine-inch Eee PC line.
Specifically, Dell’s latest slab of hardware improves sizeably upon most Netbook displays thanks to the inclusion of a high-resolution 12.1-inch CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) screen.
However, when it comes to internal specifications and performance ambitions, the Mini 12 looks to retain its position in the Netbook camp by offering either Intel’s modest 1.33GHz Atom Z520 processor, or the more oomph-worthy 1.6GHz Menlo Silverthorne processor.
Other features on the 2.72-pound portable (approx. 1.23 kilos) include Windows Vista Home Basic (seriously), integrated Intel GMA 500 graphics technology, 1GB of RAM, and a 1.8-inch (4200rpm) hard disk drive (HDD) sporting storage capacities of 40GBs, 60GBs or 80GBs.
The latter spec also marks a considerable jump from the lowly 8GBs of solid state storage (SSD) offered in the recently unveiled Inspiron Mini 9.
And, in terms of operational longevity when separated from a wall socket, Dell claims the Mini 12’s three-cell battery will provide upwards of three hours of performance, while an extra $30 USD on the price will secure an improved six-cell variant.
Other included specs will see prospective users kitted with VGA Out, three USB 2.0 ports, an SD/MMC flash card slot, an RJ-45 Ethernet 10/100 port, a simple 1.3 mega pixel Web camera, and also connectivity support for Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 2.1.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is pencilled in for a U.S. launch some time during November attached to a price tag between $500 USD and $600 USD.
However, the not-quite-so-ultra-portable Netbook is currently receiving its initial pre-configured retail introduction in the Japanese market through tech leading outlets Bic Camera, Kujima and Sofmap.
For those currently scratching their heads in doubt as to the Mini 12 shouldering the burden of Vista by default, it remains to be seen exactly how the little system copes. That aside, Dell has said Linux-based Ubuntu and Windows XP models will be available before the close of 2008.
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