Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Review

Dell was quite late when it it arrived to the netbook scene and the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 didn’t over any new features and hence weren’t able to make much of a splash. The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and 9 however did manage to turn a few heads with their sleek form factor and stylish looks. Dell has now come out with the new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 which is the 10 inch variant of the Dell Inspiron Mini series. It features some slight improvements over the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 but essentially is just the Inspiron ini 12 enclosed in a smaller casing with a 10.1 inch display. The design, look, build and all external features are almost the same as that of the Inspiron Mini 12. The hardware specs are also almost the same as the Mini 12, Dell should have added atleast some better hardware or atleast some substantial improvement.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Specs:

• Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Processor: Intel Atom Z530 clocked at 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Hard Drive: 160 GB HDD, 5400 RPM
• Display: 10.1 inch LCD Display, 1024 x 576 pixels
• Integrated Graphics: Intel GMA 500, 64 MB VRAM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA out, Headphone, Microphone, 3 in 1 card reader
• Price: $450 (Approx)
  

Design and Build Quality:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 sports a very stylish design which is just a more compact version of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12. In a short glance it looks exactly like its predecessors – the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and 12, and the size lies between the two. The design is flawless and the build quality superb. The body is mostly made of black and silver, metal and plastic. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is also available in other colors like white, green, pink and blue at extra cost. At dimensions of just 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches, it is one of the slimmest 10.1 inch laptops around and also more compact than most other netbooks. It is also very light, weighing just about 2.6 pounds. It can easily compete with the ranks of the Apple Macbook Air, the Voodoo Envy 133 in terms of style, design and girth. It obviously has lower performance than them but you can’t realistically expect more at this price.

The build quality is sturdy and the Mini 10 is very reliable just like all other Dell notebooks. You also get all the standard ports with the Mini 10 – 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI, Headphone, Microphone, 3 in 1 card reader – the same as in a Dell Inspiron Mini 12.

Display and Speakers:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 comes with a glossy 10.1 inch LCD display supporting resolutions of 1024 x 576 pixels natively. The resolution is the new standard for netbooks, but the older 1000 x 600 pixels is more preferable. Surprisingly, the older Dell Inspiron Mini 9 sports the 1000 x 600 pixel resolution. The decrease in the number of vertical pixels results in more scrolling during browsing or viewing documents. The picture quality is good with bright and vibrant colors and good contrast levels. The viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical are good. The sunlight legibility is nice despite the glossy screen. The brightness levels are good enough for indoor viewing.

It comes equipped with a 1.3 MP webcam which is a good option and provides clear pictures and videos with minimal blurring during video conferencing. The speakers are adequately loud and have decently sound quality. The volume is loud enough to be heard in a small room. The display coupled with the speakers provides for a good movie watching experience. But as always, we would recommend using good headphones if you have a keen ear. It also comes with a HDMI port to help connect it to other displays.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 sports a spacious, almost full sized keyboard. The keyboard is the same size as the Inspiron Mini 12. The key spacing and travel is excellent and the keys have a great feel. They provide nice feedback and are perfect for touch typists. The keys are arranged in a largely standard layout and look like a normal laptop keyboard. It is more comfortable than the Inspiron Mini 12 and certainly one of the best netbook keyboards, nearing the perfection of the HP Mini 2140. The keys feel great and there is zero flex on the keyboard.

The touchpad is located just below the keyboard. It is spacious and covers the whole display at native reolution in a single swipe. The touchpad is very responsive and has optimum sensitivity. It has a slightly textured which provides good traction when navigating. There are two mouse buttons which have been integrated with the touchpad. They may take some time getting used to, but are definitely usable, but it would have been better if they included separate buttons. The touchpad supports some multi touch gestures which are a nice addition.

Performance:

The Dell Mini 10 is powered by the newer Intel Atom 530 (Silverthorne) which is clocked at 1.6 GHz, the same as the N270 (Diamondville) but is more power efficient. It is coupled with the Intel GMA 500 integrated graphics instead of the usual GMA 950. This also helps in conserving power while delivering slightly lower performance. It comes with 1 GB DDR2 RAM and a 160 GB HDD at 5400 RPM. With this configuration, it is easily able to run Windows XP. It can manage very light gaming and normal office applications. The overall performance is slightly above the category average. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 runs quite cool.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is powered by a 3 cell battery which can power the netbook for just about 3 hrs. This is pretty low compared to other endurance ehavyweights like the Samsung NC10 but Dell is planning to include a 6 cell battery option soon. The Wi-Fi reception is pretty nice and offers good speeds.

Pros:

• Nice Design
• Good Display
• Spacious Keyboard

Cons:

• Low Battery Life

Final Words:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is a nice option in the 10.1 inch segment but is easily trumped by competitors like the Asus EEE PC 1000HE and the Samsung NC10. It doesn’t sport any major improvement over the Dell Inspiron Mini 12, it is just smaller. While it is a great netbook, you do have some other better options in the same price range.

Our Rating: 3.5 / 5.