Dell Inspiron Mini Series

"Dell Mini" redirects here. For the smart phone, see Dell Mini 5.

Dell Inspiron Mini Series

Operating system	Dell Ubuntu Netbook Remix Microsoft Windows XP

The Dell Inspiron Mini Series was a line of subnotebook/netbook computers designed by Dell. The series was introduced in September 2008 amidst the growing popularity of low-cost netbook computers introduced by competitors, and now consists of the Inspiron Mini 10; with the numbers representing the approximate diagonal screen size in inches. The Inspiron Mini 9, Mini 10v, and the Mini 12 are now discontinued.

9 Series

Dell Inspiron Mini Series

A Dell Inspiron Mini 9 running Windows XP
Developer	Dell
Discontinued	May 29, 2009[1]
Media	4/8/16/32/64 GB SSD
Operating system	Windows XP Home ULCPC SP3, Dell Ubuntu Netbook Remix with and without Moblin
CPU	Diamondville Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
Memory	512 MB, 1GB or 2GB
Display	Glossy 8.9" (22.6 cm) 1024x600 LCD (133 dpi)
Input	Keyboard Touchpad Microphone 0.3 or 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
Connectivity	10/100 Mbit Ethernet 802.11b/g wireless LAN Bluetooth Optional/Standard (depends on region) VGA 15-pin output Audio; headphone/mic jacks 3 USB 2.0 ports 4-in-1 Flash Memory card reader, WWAN (Mobile Internet)

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (also called the Inspiron 910), was announced on 4 September 2008, as a netbook set to contend with other low cost ultra-portables such as the ASUS Eee PC and Acer Aspire One.

The Mini 9 began shipping on September 16, 2008, starting at US$349.^[2] It is built by Compal Electronics, which also makes the MSI Wind Netbook and the HP Mini-Note 2133.^[3]

Features

Criticisms

Keyboard

Some users report difficulty becoming accustomed to the unusual keyboard layout. The layout varies by country: non-US keyboards provide a semicolon and apostrophe on the home row.

The Mini 9 does not have dedicated buttons for the function keys. For the functions of F1 to F10, the user must press the Fn key and the home row key that has the function keys as secondary function (the A through semicolon row). There is no F11 or F12 on the keyboard but a BIOS upgrade provides mapping of F11 to Fn+Z and F12 to Fn+X.^[4] The Mini 10 and 10v do not suffer from this.

3G/PCI Express Mini Card slot

The Dell service manual include images showing an unused PCI Express Mini Card slot, although this slot is not physically connected to the mainboard in initial units.

Subsequently, this slot was used to provide integrated 3G mobile broadband facilities in some countries. In the UK, Mini 9 computers are offered with 3G by default from Vodafone (September 2008; free with a two-year contract) ^[5] and from the Dell Outlet (UK). In Australia, Vodafone offer the device for $20 per month on top of a $39.95 5GB Mobile broadband plan. In the US, Dell began offering built-in 3G mobile broadband for an additional $125 for use on the AT&T network; with a $120 credit with a 2-year service contract.^[6]

SSD/Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Dell initially shipped versions of the Mini 9 with only partially usable storage, after models were built using a software image that fit just the basic 4GB SSD. Standard operating system upgrades later fixed the issue.^[7]

Battery capacity

In January, it was suspected that some units were shipping with 24 watt-hour capacity batteries, labeled as 32 watt-hour. The low-capacity batteries appear to be those manufactured in Tokyo.^[8] It was later determined that the software used to examine the batteries was incorrectly reporting the capacity and has since been reported to be fixed with an upgrade of the BIOS.^[9][10]

10 Series

Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Dell has sold (and as of September 2010, currently still sells) two models under the "Mini 10" branding, distinguished by model number.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1010)

The Mini 10 (1010) is a netbook with a 10.1" screen that was designed to fill the gap between the Mini 9 and Mini 12. It began shipping on February 26, 2009 with a base price of US$399.^[11]

It has the Intel Atom Z520 and Z530 processor configurations. The default Mini 10 model has a 16:9 widescreen display with a 1024x600 (originally 1024x576) or 1366x768 (described as 720p) HD resolution and an HDMI port. It uses the Poulsbo chipset. It can be customized with GPS or integrated TV tuner. The service manual displays two full-height MiniPCI-E internal slots, and one half-height. It is unclear whether the connectors are all in place, but the manual shows one full-height TV tuner in place.

The device also features a multi-touch touchpad. Provided with a driver from Elantech, it can be used for scrolling, 3 button operation, dragging, resizing, rotating pictures and system shortcuts as Start Menu and Explorer (on Windows), browser back and forward, minimizing and maximizing windows, window switching, desktop showing and hiding, and running custom commands.

This popular model was loaded with a BootEFI version of Mac OS X and run successfully by many HAX0R, and fans maintain a website concerning Hackintoshes.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012)

The Mini 10 (1012) has a similar form factor to the older Mini 10 (1010) and 10v (1011); it is distinguished by the use of the newer Atom n450 processor, and its supporting chipset. The HDMI port is also replaced with a standard VGA connector.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10v (1011)

To fill the gap left when the Mini 9 was discontinued, Dell introduced a 'value' version, the Inspiron Mini 10v, which ships with a standard VGA connector, 1024x600 resolution display (1024x576 on early models) and the same Atom N270 processor that the Mini 9 used (an optional upgrade to the N280 was briefly later available.) In fact, the 10v has nearly exactly the same hardware as the Mini 9 and, as such, is also able to run Linux. The Mini 10v has since been discontinued.

(The Dell Mini 10v is one of, if not the most, popular or 'compatible' netbook and/or laptop to be "Hackintosh"ed.)

Dell Inspiron Mini 10n

Dell released the Mini 10n based on the Mini 10. The only difference between the 10n and the 10 (1012) is the installed OS has been changed to Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition, bridging Canonical's Ubuntu and Intel's Moblin graphical environment and Atom optimizations.^[12]

Dell no longer preinstalls full Ubuntu releases on the Mini 10n. Because this model uses a standard Intel platform, Ubuntu (or almost any other up-to-date Linux distribution) can be installed by an end user.

The Mini 10n hardware is the same as the newer version of the Mini 10 with the Atom N450 CPU, 160G disk and NM10 video. It does not have an available option to add the "media processor" upgrade as on the Windows version of the 1012 which can allow better performance for full-motion video, particularly from HD sources.

Dell Inspiron Mini 1018

On August 19, 2010, Dell Europe announced the introduction of the Dell Mini 1018. This new Dell Mini features the Atom N455 CPU which supports DDR3 memory. Design has also been tweaked and stated specs include 7+ hours of battery life on the 6-cell battery (unconfirmed). As of January 2011, the model has been made available in Asia. The Asian release of the 1018 features 1GB of DDR3 RAM and is shipped with Windows 7 Starter as well as Office 2010 starter.

However the N455 is actually 64-bit and Hyper Threading capable, and thus is actually capable of running 64-bit variants of Windows 7.

12 Series

Dell Inspiron Mini Series

Front view of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12.
Developer	Dell
CPU	Intel Atom Z520 or Z530.
Memory	1 GB of shared dual channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533 MHz
Graphics	integrated Intel GMA 500 graphics
Connectivity	3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Fast Ethernet port, 1 VGA output, 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack, 1 3-in-1 memory card reader and 1 power adapter connecter

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 was announced on 26 October 2008 as a larger counterpart to the Mini 9. It was mainly created for the netbook market, with a secondary goal of competing with subnotebooks such as the MacBook Air from Apple Inc. It began shipping on December 8, 2008, with a starting price of $549.

Features

It features a 12.1 inch (1280x800) WXGA Truelife widescreen display running on a 1.33 GHz or 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Silverthorne CPU, and comes bundled with Windows XP Home or Ubuntu 8.04. It comes with 1GB of RAM (the maximum for the device), a 40/60/80GB hard drive, and a small speaker located above the keyboard.

For connectivity, the device carries WiFi and 3 USB ports. A 1.3 MP webcam and internal bluetooth are available as options. The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is 1.1 inches thick and weighs 3.2 pounds (with six-cell battery), or 2.8 pounds (with three-cell battery).

In dell black and silver colour. The outside is shiny black.

On site one year warranty by Dell.

Replacement

While not labelled an "Inspiron Mini" or marketed as a netbook, the Inspiron 11z has replaced the Mini 12 in most markets and occupies a similar position in the model line.

See also

• Comparison of netbooks
• Dell Mini 5
• Quiet PC

References

1. ^ [1], "Bidding Adieu to the Dell Inspiron Mini 9"
2. ^ Engadget, “Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 pops official – starts at $349”.
3. ^ Apcmag, “Up close with Dell’s Eee PC killer”.
4. ^ https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DellMini9#Special%20keys
5. ^ [2] "Dell Inspiron Mini 9 coming to Vodafone next month"
6. ^ [3] "Dell Adds 3G Option For Mini 9 Netbook"
7. ^ http://gizmodo.com/5065657/dell-inspiron-mini-9-ships-with-annoying-disk-partition-error
8. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/18/some-dell-mini-9s-said-to-be-shipping-with-smaller-batteries/
9. ^ Mark Wilson, 2008-12-19. Dell Denies Mini 9 Undersized Battery Claims, Testing Concurs with Dell
10. ^ 2009-05-01 My Dell Mini: A04 BIOS is here...
11. ^ http://www.osnews.com/story/21022/Dell_Launches_10_Inspiron_Mini
12. ^ http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/09/moblin-2-arriving-via-dell-with-moblin-ubuntu-remix-netbook.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

External links

• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Homepage^{[dead link]}
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 support homepage
• Dell Inspiron 910 Service Manual
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Review
• Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Homepage^{[dead link]}
• Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Service Manual
• Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v comparison^{[dead link]}
• Dell Inspiron Mini 10v - 1010