Jennifer with boy friend

Dell Outlet sells Dell Mini 12 at reduced price

Dell's anticipated Inspiron Mini 12: the little netbook with the big 12 inch screen goes on sale mid-November for $999

Is it going to be Macbook vs. Mini?
The 12 inch screen officially makes this the world’s biggest netbook, but the word ‘big’ just doesn’t seem to suit the Inspiron Mini 12. Even when you know the stats – that the profile tapers from 24mm to 21mm, and when fitted with the three cell battery the netbook weighs in at 1.24kg – you can’t appreciate its sylph-like proportions until you hold this this featherweight flybook in your hand.
The Mini 12 shares the same design DNA as the Mini 9. The rounded lid sports an identical glossy black coating (a white version will also be available) which is prone to fingerprints. Underneath the hood, the black keyboard is offset with a smooth silver palm rest and screen bezel.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Specs:

* Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 inches
* Weight: 3.2 pounds
* Processor: Intel Atom Z530 clocked at 1.6 GHz
* RAM: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
* Hard Drive: 60 GB HDD, 4200 RPM
* Display: 12 inch LCD, 1280 x 800 pixels
* Integrated Graphics: Intel GMA 500, 64 MB VRAM
* Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g
* Operating System: MS Windows Vista Basic SP 1
* Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA out, Headphone, Microphone, 3 in 1 card reader


Features
The Dell Mini's 12-inch screen runs at a native resolution of 1,280x800, and is driven by Intel's integrated GMA 500 graphics chipset. The guts of the machine consist of an Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz processor — which is actually slower than the one on the Mini 9 — a gigabyte of RAM and an 80GB PATA drive (not solid state). It's also quite light at 1.24 kilograms.

We were impressed by the amount of connectivity options made available on the Dell, which outdo a lot of full-size notebooks at this price. On the left-hand side of the device you'll find a VGA out, two USB ports and a Kensington lock port. Switching to the other side you'll find a third USB — an excellent provision for a budget portable — Ethernet, a mic and headphone jack, and finally an SD/MMC reader.

Being a budget component, it's not designed to be user accessible — which means you can't upgrade the HDD or RAM. At least not easily.

Conclusion
If it weren't for its tendency to tip over, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 would be a decent netbook. The device is further shackled by the inclusion of a slower Atom processor than its predecessor, and Vista Basic. Its retail price of AU$999 also puts it into the realm of full-sized laptops, which while a lot heavier will also have more features and faster processors. Unless you really need the screen real estate and the bigger hard drive we'd plump for the Mini 9 instead.