THE OFFICIAL: Dell Inspiron 9 (Mini I) Thread...

Cool, then hopefully ours will ship soon! I'll be leaving town about the time mine is supposed to arrive, so I'm hoping to get it a day early or on the day it ships or something....

 

Thanks cmarcho. I just called and my order is in the Build Stage.

 

Stryker412, what configuration did you order? Also, are you in the US? I'm just curious as to how long the actual orders are taking, based on configuration and location.

Maybe we should start a new thread with just this information and edit each post accordingly to reflect change in the order status. I suppose each post would look something like my signature. I just followed cmarcho's lead and listed this information to be helpful to others. However, I think a thread with just this information would be much easier to navigate and gather the appropriate info. Anyone else agree? Any moderators agree?

 

Hey, The reason why this thread was created was to be dedicated to the I9 (and everything contained)....

A New thread has been created here: This is for Order Status, updates, what is related to the order ~ only

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3952305#post3952305


Cin

 

Thanks Cin'. I have posted in the new thread.

 

Yes, if and when I order my I9 (waiting on the red, yeah..I'm fussy)
I may take a gander at ordering one..but I really like the one you ordered..It's cute and girly..wish it came in other prints/colors..which would be really cool!

Hey no probs, it's good that way fellow peep's can post order information there only and ~ keep this thread to talk about the I9 etc..


Cin

 

I got mine !!!!

I am pretty disappointed with the keyboard, and how much crap dell loads on there.

Currently reformatting it. I would take pictures and whatnot of it, but I'm at work right now.

 

My orders (white and black) from 9/8 are out for delivery as I type this.
Top everything except RAM since I have a bunch laying around.

 

Congrat's on the arrival! WoOT! :yes:
I think the keyboard will surely take some getting used too!

I was going to ask if you were going to reformat..cuz of that..but alas you already are!

Would love to see some pic's later! (If you can)

Cin

Oooh that's awesome news...That means today!
At least you have the RAM! I can't wait til my bro gets his so I can steal it..mmm I mean test it out!


Cin

 

Just letting everyone know it takes FOREVER to reformat this guy. Don't know if its because its coming from a USB cd / dvd, but its been almost an hour and a half already and still waiting

 

Oish..that is a long time... Maybe some of the peep's that have the I9, and have done this, can chime in!!

My 1530, when I reformatted ~ did not even take near that long!


Cin

 

Can the I9 boot from USB? If so I'll just install XP from my USB external HDD.

 

Yes, this would be the easiest way to reinstall.

 

My Mini arrived about an hour ago!

The pictures don't do this thing justice! it's really small!

Ordered mine on 9/4.

Just popped 2GB of ram into it and so far so good. No 3G slot in mine.

Typing is taking some getting used to, but not that bad.

 

Congrat's on the arrival!

9/4 to 9/22 arrival..a little over 2 weeks, not bad!

Will you be sharing any pics??

Cin

 

Mine came in!

First boot was awfully slow. I only had 512MB RAM but I didn't want to change anything until I was sure it was working properly. Even doing cleanup tasks initially was dog slow. After uninstalling some bloat and rebooting, I installed 2GB RAM and things are much smoother now. I'm sure 1GB would be a huge improvement over 512MB as well.

So far so good. Nothing bad to report except for the getting used to the keyboard of course. XP SP3 and still no IE7 installed. That's weak. I'll be putting professional on mine anyways and maybe try OSX on the white one.

Oh and no wwan PCI-E slot. Too bad since I was hoping to use that slot to add another SSD if need be.

 

i'm already getting a bit used to the keyboard. just being a Computer Science major i think its going to be extremely difficult to use the []{} keys

 

Awesome, congrat's and enjoy making it your own!

Sweet! Congrat's to you also~!

Today is a great day for all the fellow I9 peep's receiving theirs!


Cin

 

Are there any forums specifically for the Mini like there is for the Aspire One (aspireoneuser.com) and the EEE (eeeuser.com)?

 

Here's one: http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/ Looks like it's just starting out, so not a whole lot of information or discussions.

 

Yes, there is this *thread* right here, on NBR LOL
and on the other thread added via linky by ytsejam1138, below

Thanks for the add of the linky, ytsejam1138!

Cin

 

So I ordered an acer aspire one this morning with a 120gb hd and 6 cell battery fro $400. Also comes with 1gb ram, led screen, and the atom. It caem out to $450 with shipping from canada to me in the US as well as for tax. Anyways, I just couldn't wait any longer for dell to release soem variety. Anyways, I'll tell you all how it turns out in case youre interested in an alternative netbook.

 

Where did you find a 6 cell model? Was it on backorder?

 

I have had the acer aspire one for 1 day and it is awesome feature wise and price wise. However, the amount of fan noise this little computer makes is incredible! The fan just never goes off!! the second you turn on your computer you will instantly be bombarded with a low frequency whirrr. It might not be a problem to people who have very loud rooms and enjoy listening to music 24 hrs a day, but my room is quiet and the fan noise is just unbearable to me.

I also checked out the MSI WInd in Staples; I tried putting my hand right next to the vent and it felt like a furnace..... hot air is being pushed out by the fan constantly!

The reason why I picked the dell one is because its fanless! I am hoping the computer would be completely quiet (no fan noise or high frequency noise...).

 

I would be VERY leary of ordering this laptop from Canada. Technically, because there are french parts, you might get a keyboard layout that is not that same as the US layout, it's usually not a positive change.

Also, I returned my Acer Aspire One. I LOVED it, but had screen flicker that drove me crazy. Acer never really delt with the issue. More information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_Aspire_One#LCD

Yes, I know wikipedia is not the best source, but I can vouch first hand for the information in this article, it's pretty accurate. Also, I posted a more detailed review earlier in the thread. The AAO has some issues.

 

Ive been on the fence between the Mini and the AAO netbooks. My biggest concern with the Dell is the HD space.

What are people doing to add space? I would really like a 32 SSD, but Dell does not offer it yet. Any future dates??? How much space does XP take up?

I have also heard some people mention putting in a SD or some type of card to expand the storage. Is that feasible as far as speed / access times and then of course price.

I'm a loyal Dell consumer (which many may laugh at) but I would like to order the Mini despite the slightly higher price, it is just the storage concerns me. I have several external HD's but I'm afraid this thing will actually become "my new best friend" and I will want to load it up for on the go

Any answers / suggestions?

 

HD space is a bummer. I'm going to buy a 32GB thumb drive and solder it inside the case, hopefully around the WWAN slot (I'm going to use the mini PCI-e slot's USB connections...) 32GB should be plenty for some movies and such.

 

OH no Chesie, couldn't hold out any longer eh? ...Ah, just kidding, congrat's on your order of the AA1! I'm sure, you will enjoy it!

I'm still going to hold out for a bit!


Cin

 

My Mini is scheduled to be delivered today.

Windows XP Home with SP2 with Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) took 5GB on my laptop.

SDHC - High Capacity SD cards. They come in 16GB and 32GB. Class 4 has a write rate of 4MB/sec and Sandisk has one with a read rate of 15MB/sec. I plan on getting a 16GB SDHC for now and upgrade to 32GB when the price on it drops. You can always get 2 x 16GB SDHCs and swap it out as you need the files. Its not like you are carrying around a hard drive, these things are light as a feather (not really, but you get the point!)

 

If any 1 wants to sell their mini 9 then pm me!! (include next day shipping in the price (-_-")!.

 

PM Sent...

 

Can anyone confirm that the card reader supports SDHC and not just SD?

 

Yes, it does support SDHC.

 

I found a light weight program that gives you the remaining time on the battery.

http://www.mioplanet.com/products/batterymeter/

 

Sweet! I've downloaded this and saved it on my home server in a special folder I created just for the I9! I'm already collecting stuff for when it arrives.

 

Cool! I've saved this one also.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the info and linky's guys!

Cin

 

Thought I'd add my two cents as I received my new Dell Mini today like many others posting here.

First, I think it's extremely well made. I love the glossy lid and screen. Everything is well finished. It looks more expensive than the Asus eee I used to have. I can't wait to see them in color.

I was a little worried at first as it took forever to boot with the initial start-up of Windows. It hung up at the screen asking for a computer name and I thought the laptop might be defective but it finally booted up just fine. I have the 8 GB model with 1 GB of Ram. Color is black.

The computer generally works great. I thought it was a little sluggish until I removed McAffee and some other things that were running. I am going to upgrade to 2gb memory and I think that will speed it up even more.

I love that it's completely quiet. It does get warm, including on the palm rests but not uncomfortable. It connected to my internet quickly and surfs well.

Dislikes: I find typing on the keyboard easier than on the ASUS eee however some things are driving me crazy like the location of the apostrophe key. It's in a very odd spot and it find I have to stop to find it when typing. Maybe that will get better with practice. Overall I find I can type fairly quickly on the keyboard but someone with large hands might find it challenging.

Overall, I'd rate the laptop an A for design and construction but a C+ on the keyboard design.

It's still a great netbook though! Perfect for travel...

 

Thanks for the feedback... when did you place your order?

 

I got it on ncixus.com http://www.ncixus.com/products/31428/LU.S050B.002/Acer/

I'm really not worried at sll. The keyboard is a bilingual keyboard meaning it has a few extra symbols on a few keys which is hardly a problem. The keyboard is picture on their website, and the french keys are barely noticable.

As for the fan noise and flickering issues, I'm not worried at all. If they bother me, I'll return the computer.

 

Nice little review! It seems the keyboard is taking a bit to get used to with most peep's...but that would be a given, being as small as it is...and with the difference in some of the key functions!


Cin

 

ncix is really strict about computer returns, in fact unless you can prove to them that the product they sold you is defective they will charge you 15% restocking fee. Also you will have to pay for return shipping.

 

well, if the screen flickers, or the fan is outlandishly noisy, the problem won't be made up so I don't see the issue. I'll only return it if it actually has an issue

 

hi Folks,

as someone looking forward to this dell mini i got quite pissed off when reading that german notebookjournal review. Poor Display, Very Slow SSD drive and to few ports they say.

I completely agree But what the heck does the shiny glare type TFT when sunshine comes trough? fecking reflections ... I won't like that

the review guys say: poor speed due to 0.3 MByte/s sequential Write! To copy things from here to there tooks ages.

I love that too

agreed, they say some keys are very tiny, but overall nothing to complain

here's the test i found on the web

Review: Dell Netbook with Outdoor Weakness
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/646

 

Thanks for the information & linky you provided!

Cin

 

I understand what you are trying to say here, but actually the I9 doesn't have any internal fans...

 

That is VERY hard to believe. I have had my Wind about a month now and out of ALL of the use it has been though I haven't had that side vent (or any vent for that matter) push out even MILDLY warm air!!!

Also, the actual amount of air movement is very minimal and it is very quiet as well...

 

Lastly I would advise all talk about OSX on non-Apple computers to stop...

It is not only against the Forum rules but since Apple has updated it's OSX rules they have made it illegal to install OSX on a non-apple hardware machine...

 

For anyone contemplating running Vista on their Mini. I installed Vista Ultimate yesterday (upgraded the RAM to 2GB upon delivery) and it runs very well indeed. Grabbed the latest graphics/chipset drivers from Intel so it can run Aero in all it's glory.

I'm actually amazed how fast this baby is. Having played around with Vista on my previous EEE PC 900 there is no comparison. The Mini rocks...

 

I just finished wiping the hard drive and installing XP Pro.

I went into Device Manager and installed drivers from the drivers folder that were on the hard drive from the factory.

I've got one remaining device that is showing up as an Unknown device. It's location is Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System, so it's probably power management related but I didn't see a power management driver in the drivers folder. Can anyone point me to this driver? Thanks.

BTW, the clean install did wonders for the responsiveness of the Mini.