The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook gets a makeover inside and out, with an HD screen and the new Intel Atom N450 processor.
Hot on the heels of Intel's recent chip announcements, Dell has already announced a new netbook to take advantage of the recently update Intel Atom chips. The new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 will take advantage of the new Intel Atom N450 processors, which doesn't seem to offer much in a performance boost over previous models but should offer better battery life. To that end, Dell is pushing the new Mini 10 hard as a long-life machine, claiming that the netbook will be able to work for up to 9.5 hours of operation with the Mobility Bundle, which includes a 6-cell battery. Of course, these battery numbers come down significantly as you start piling on features, and the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 has features piled on.
The new Dell Mini 10 will also have a configuration option for the new Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator, available some time in the first quarter of next year. The Broadcom Crystal HD technology is like a graphics card, minus most of the heavy rendering and 3D acceleration. It helps accelerate movies and video files, which could give the Dell Mini 10 a boost when it comes to playing HD content. The netbook will have plenty of HD power available to willing upgraders. There's an HD display option that gets you 1366 by 768 pixels, enough for real 720p HD on screen. The new 10.1-inch display will also be good for watching over the air HD content, as Dell will offer an HDTV tuner option to receive free OTA broadcasts from your local HD stations. Even the onboard sound system gets a boost from SRS-enable surround sound simulation.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 will have a GPS option for location based searches and navigation software on the go. Hardcore travelers might also want to spring for the Mobile Broadband kit, which will offer connectivity to cellular data networks for ubiquitous WWAN access. If you'll be covered by your home network umbrella, the Dell Mini 10 also uses 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, and features Bluetooth to connect accessories and other devices.
Otherwise, the specs are a bit on the low end, even for netbooks. The netbook comes with only 1GB of DDR2 RAM. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 can be packed with a 160GB or 250GB hard disk drive, but we've seen higher capacity drives available. The new netbook will ship with your choice of either Windows XP Home, Windows 7 Starter edition or Ubuntu. We're seeing more advanced netbook shipping with Windows 7 Home edition, instead of the more static, limited Starter edition. Rather than conquer with high-end specs, Dell wants to win over buyers with style. The new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 will come in a variety of colors and will feature custom artwork designs if you want a more personal touch.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 will be available in the first part of January, 2010. Prices will start at $299 for a base model, and we see plenty of extras here that will bump the price up considerably if you want a truly tricked-out netbook.
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