NetbookTech

Who says netbooks are making a different in the PC industry? According to iSuppli, netbook sales have helped propel Acer to within less than 2 percentage points of Dell for total PC market share. On a sequential basis, Acer grew its unit shipment market share by 45 percent while on a year over year basis, it grew by 79 percent. The company shipped nearly 3 million more notebooks during Q3 than in the previous quarter – the majority of which were netbook systems.

“Clearly, the company’s netbook strategy is paying dividends”

Overall, iSuppli reached the same conclusions as IDC – that notebook sales have surpassed desktop PCs for the first time ever on a quarterly basis.

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A new review of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is out – this time from the folks at Stuff.co.nz. While there’s a lot going for the Mini 12, there’s also a couple of annoying features. The system supports a max of 1GB of RAM, has a slow, pokey hard drive, and comes with Windows Vista (not Windows XP or Linux like other models out there). Here’s a snippet from the review:

“For all that, the Inspiron Mini 12 isn’t as good as it could be.”

NotebookReview takes a look at the new HP Mini 1000 netbook here on their website. The Mini 1000 is HP’s second generation netbook featuring a larger 10.2 inch display, and the Intel Atom processor. I recently played with the Mini 1000’s keyboard and I must say, it’s quite good. Here’s what NotebookReview thinks of the Mini 1000:

“The HP Mini 1000 is a clear winner on the netbook front, offering a great design and being very user-upgrade friendly. It offers the best keyboard out of the entire netbook crowd, only matched by the earlier Mini-Note 2133 which uses the same design. “

Finally, DailyTech reviews the MSI Wind U100-483JP netbook here on their website. Here’s a snippet:

“Although the Eee PC 1000H is a solid choice for portable computing I think the MSI Wind U100 is the better pick.”

Enjoy!

While we’re on the topic of netbook deals, Dell is still offering the base configuration of the Inspiron Mini 9 for a mere $299. The specs for this configuration include:

• Choice of either Obsidian Black, or Alpine White colors
• Ubuntu Linux version 8.04.1
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB SSD
• Intel Atom processor
• 8.9 inch LED display
• Intel GMA950
• 802.11g mini card
• 4 cell battery

Of course, you can also customize the colors of the Inspiron Mini 9 for additional costs.

If you’re interested in this deal, you better hurry. The deal is over today (December 10th) at 6am CT.

Dell added a couple of new options to their Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. First off, if you’re planning to get a Mini 9 with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, you can now opt for a 32GB Solid State Drive for an additional $100 dollars from the base 4GB SSD configuration. Interestingly enough, the 32GB option is missing from Windows XP models of the Mini 9.

However, Windows XP users of the Mini 9 do have a different new option. They can now select to have AT&T’s mobile broadband HSDPA embedded mini-card built right into the Mini 9 for an additional price of $125 dollars. There’s also a $120 dollar rebate available with details at www.dell.com/att (you will need to activate a new two year AT&T DataConnect Unlimited service plan).

Go to www.dell.com/mini for additional details on the new options.

Dell added two new colors and three new designs to their Inspiron Mini lineup last Friday including the highly anticipated Cherry Red color which was initially seen back in May of this year. The new designs are from urban artist and “designer toy” creator Tristan Eaton and consist of “The Muse”, “Stickers 1” and “Stickers 2”. Joining Cherry Red is Pretty Pink (ugh.. I hate the naming convention…).  Oh.. unfortunately these colors do add to the cost of the netbook. Cherry Red and Pretty Pink will add $25 dollars to the price. The Tristan Eaton designs will cost $50 dollars more than the standard Obsidian Black or Alpine White design.

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Just in case you missed it, Dell will be offering a Thanksgiving deal for their low end Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. For $299, you’ll get a system with the Atom processor, the Ubuntu Linux OS, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD, an 8.9 inch widescreen LCD, and Wi-Fi. Oh yeah – there’s free shipping and you can choose from black or white. The offer runs on Thanksgiving Day and ends on Friday

[Check out the ad at bfgear.com for more info]

Didn’t get a chance to post this on Thursday but Dell is now offering their new 12 inch netbook – the Inspiron Mini 12 – here in the U.S. The Mini 12 is a mixed bag for netbook lovers out there. On one hand you’ve got yourself a larger display, a thin form factor, and a sub 3 pound weight. Sounds great right? Well it’s countered by a max of 1GB of memory, a pokey 4800 RPM hard drive, and of course Windows Vista. Now granted, Vista isn’t exactly horrible on a netbook but if you’ve got a max of 1GB of memory and a slow 4800 RPM hard drive – things are just gonna hurt if you plan on running multiple apps.

Now in case you forgot the specs, here’s the summary:

• Choice of either the Intel Atom Z520 (1.33 GHz processor) or the Z530 (1.6GHz processor)
• Windows Vista Home Basic OS
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• Intel US15W chipset
• Intel GMA 500
• Glossy 12.1 inch WXGA display (1280 x 800)
• One external speaker
• Up to 80 GB 4200 RPM HDD
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• Ethernet port
• 15 pin VGA video connector
• 1 audio line out and 1 microphone in
• 3 in 1 media card reader
• 3 cell or 6 cell Lithium Ion battery
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• 802.11 g Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Measures 11.77 x 0.92 x 9.02 inches and weighs 2.72 lbs

Dell currently has three featured systems. Here’s the breakdown:

On the low end, there’s the $549 model which comes with:

• Intel Atom Z520 processor
• 12.1 inch display
• 1GB RAM
• 40GB PATA HDD
• Intel GMA 500
• 802.11 Wi-Fi
• 3 cell battery

The mid-range $599 model comes with

• Intel Atom Z530 processor
• 12.1 inch display
• 1GB RAM
• 60GB PATA HDD
• Intel GMA 500
• 802.11 Wi-Fi
• 6 cell battery

Finally, on the high end, you’ve got the $649 model with:

• Intel Atom Z530 processor
• 12.1 inch display
• 1GB RAM
• 80GB PATA HDD
• Intel GMA 500
• 802.11 Wi-Fi
• 6 cell battery

I want to  like the 12.. it looks sexy enough.. but the pokey configurations are just driving me up the wall.

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Register Hardware UK has two new netbook reviews up on their website. The first one, published last week, is of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook which they got via Vodafone. This also means the netbook was “free” assuming of course you signed up for a two year Vodafone 3G plan.  Here’s what Register thought of the netbook:

“Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 is the nicest netbook out there, and you can’t argue with the free price tag, provided you’re happy with a two-year 3G contract.”

The second review is of the ASUS N10 – a system with an identity crisis.

It’s got netbook like specs including an Atom processor, a 10.2 inch 1024 x 600 display, and 1GB of memory. However, it also has ultra-portable notebook specs such as an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU, HDMI output, and of course, high(er) prices. Here’s what they thought of the N10:

“Somewhere in between a netbook and a notebook, the N10 doesn’t deliver the best of both worlds.”

If you’re thinking about getting a Dell Inspiron Mini 9, you might want to hold off until Black Friday. According to BlackFriday.info, Dell will be offering up a sale of the Inspiron Mini 9 on that day – selling the system for a mere $299. One would expect this to be the low end model of the Inspiron Mini 9 (which currently sells for $349) which features 512MB of RAM, 4GB SSD, and Ubuntu Linux.. but who knows? Maybe Dell will surprise us and add a few upgrades here and there. Start saving that hard earned cash!

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LaptopMag has followed up their first look of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 netbook with a full blown review now up on their website. The Mini 12, in case you already forgot, is the 12 inch big brother to the Inspiron Mini 9 – featuring an Atom Z530 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 92 percent keyboard, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 60GB 4200 RPM HDD, Intel GMA 950 graphics, Wi-Fi, media card reader, and Windows Vista Basic SP1.

Here were some of the pluses identified by LaptopMag:

• Six cell battery provides 5+ hours of battery life
• 92 percent keyboard with full dedicated row of function keys
• 12 inch 1280 x 800 resolution display gives room for two windows side by side

Here were the negatives:

• Built-in speakers were weak
• Max of 1GB of RAM
• PATA/ZIF hard drive interface
• Weak performance under Windows Vista
• Sluggish 4200 RPM HDD

Here’s the verdict:

But while we applaud Dell’s efforts to make Vista easier to use with its flashy dock, the Mini 12 doesn’t have the right hardware to handle this OS. Plus, the 12-inch screen costs a premium; its price of $654 is about $150 more than the 10-inch Samsung NC10 ($499), which offers better performance, a bigger hard drive, and longer battery life. We suggest that buyers hold off until next month when Dell offers the Mini 12 with Windows XP or its customized Ubuntu Linux operating system.

Bummer. I had high hopes for the Inspiron Mini 12 – if only because of the 12 inch display. However the combination of a max of 1GB of RAM, a slow 4200 RPM HDD, and the use of Windows Vista, tells me the Mini 12 might only be appealing when the price drops way below $500 dollars.  Of course, if you like the other of a netbook but want the 12 inch display, then the Inspiron Mini 12 is really your own choice at this time.

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