Review of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) Netbook

Are you looking for an affordable netbook that provides long lasting battery life and a variety of high-end features? The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) netbook provides some of the best features for a price starting at $319 (dell.com). This article will focus on the pros and cons of the Inspiron Mini 10 (1012), and if the netbook is worth the price of $319.

Pros of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012)

• Intel^® Atom^TM N450 Single Core, 1.66GH- The Intel Atom processor is relatively quick for a netbook, but the single core processor means that you will not get the same speeds as with a laptop.

• Windows 7 32-Bit- Windows 7 is the current operating system I use, and can say that from personal experience it is much faster than both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Users will notice faster web surfing and an overall cleaner experience.

• Integrated Intel^® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150- The integrated Intel graphics media accelerators is not the best graphics card available, but for the price, and for this machine it does its job for watching videos and using the multimedia capabilities of the Inspiron.

• HD media accelerator card- The included Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator card works with Windows 7, and offers users a better multimedia experience than with the previously mentioned graphics card.

• Display- The upgraded display features a 10.1" HD TrueLife (1366 x 768) display offers a great viewing experience, without the need for a larger screen. The small 10.1" screen makes this unit perfect for portability.

• Hard drive- The base hard drive comes with 160GB SATA HDD 2.5" 5400RPM, and the upgraded version comes with a 250GB SATA HDD 2.5" 5400RPM hard drive. The storage is perfect for holding music, video, and office documents when on the go, but is not enough if this netbook is meant to replace a laptop.

• WI-Fi- The Inspiron Mini 10 comes with a Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Wi-Fi card, and has the option to add Bluetooth connectivity via an internal mini-card.

• Battery life- The battery life is rated at 9.5 hours, and on average, gets at least 9 hours with normal use.

Cons of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10(1012)

• Speaker quality- A major problem with netbooks is that the speaker quality is typically much lower than laptops, which is the case with the Inspiron Mini. The speakers are decent for a netbook, but do not compare to laptop speakers on the Dell Inspiron notebook.

Overall

Overall, the Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) netbook offers some excellent features for a base price of $319. However, I would have liked to see the device include a CD or DVD drive built in instead of being purchased separately as an external drive. If you are looking for an affordable netbook that is small and has some great features, then the Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) is the perfect choice.

Sources:

Personal experience

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/inspiron-1012/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-1012&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~fasttrack_anav_1~~