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

Yes, it surely sounds like it! Well, on it's way to you!


Cin

 

For those of you who are interested.. there is a small deal going on for the Dell Mini Inspirons.. you get 9% off the price plus free 2-day shipping (and you can stack another 3% off if you pay by Dell Preferred Account = 11.73% off). I found the deal on www.techbargains.com.. you can just search for Dell Inspiron Mini and you will see the deal posted.

With this deal, I was thinking about pulling the trigger but now I'm reading things on the web about how ASUS Eee is going to release a dual-core netbook when Intel starts producing these chips. So, I'm conflicted about whether to snap up a netbook now or to wait for better deals or even to wait to see what the 2nd gen Dell netbooks might be like (dual core? bigger screen? bigger keyboard? integrated graphics like the ASUS N10?)

 

There will always be another (better?) netbook coming. I had the Eee 701 and the customer service was the worst I have ever experienced. When I would ask a question online, they would close the case with just the comment "Close!" in the explanation. Dell stands behind theirs and I have a 3 year warranty with them. Asus sucks.

 

I also think Dell has a great warranty & service tech's...

That, is one of the reasons why I am still holding out for the I9 in red, besides what it has to offer!

OHH...your I9 should hopefully be arriving today, right!


Cin

 

Just saw this posted on Dealnews

Dell Home offers its 2.28-lb. Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Atom 1.6GHz 8.9" Widescreen Notebook in Obsidian Black or Alpine White for $449. Add it to your cart and apply coupon code "G5WH5FFJ581XB3" to cut it to $408.59 and bag free shipping. That's $80 off and the lowest total price we've seen. Sales tax is added where applicable. This laptop features an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 8.9" 1024x600 glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, 1GB RAM, 16GB solid state hard drive (SSD), 802.11g wireless, and Windows XP Home.

Of note, we recently mentioned the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Atom 1.6GHz 8.9" Widescreen Notebook with 512MB of RAM and an 8GB hard drive for $363.09 with free shipping via the coupon code mentioned above. Both deals end October 14.

 

Can someone explain to me why Dell is offering "the lowest total price" on the Dell Mini when they are unable to ship the orders they currently have in house? Why encourage more orders? It appears Dell is more worried about getting orders than actually shipping product. But really, I'm not bitter.

Order #1: White/1GB RAM/16GB SSD/1.3 Camera/No BT/Adobe 9.0
Order Date: 09/14/2008
Original ESD: 09/29/2008
1st Revised ESD: 10/06/2008
2nd Revised ESD: 10/13/2008
3rd Revised ESD: 10/20/2008
4th Revised ESD: 11/10/2008
Current Stage: Build

Order #2: Black/1GB RAM/16GB SSD/1.3 Camera/No BT/Adobe 8.1
Order Date: 10/03/2008
ESD: 10/27/2008
Current Stage: Build

 

I'm still waiting on my Ubuntu model... a delay of 11 days to the EDD, which means it'll be ready to be delivered when I'm away for a week and there won't be anyone at home. Grr. But at least they're starting to be shipped to people, so that whatever it was that was holding them up is fixed now.

 

I really wish it would but it will probably be tomorrow. I called the DHL status line and they show it was accepted for shipment with an estimated delivery date of "tuesday" -- -- but at least mine is finally among the shipped!

 

Thread is getting awfully long.

According to the dell website, australia is finally getting white on the 16th October, hopefully UK + Europe will follow

 

hey everyone, new user. Well i received my dell mini today (it had an estimated SHIP date of Oct 13). Got it half off when i ordered my Xps desktop. Ordered the 25th of Sept, no webcam or bluetooth, with XP, 16gig and 1 gig ram. I was really excited when i arrived home to see it at my door, until i opened the package and there sat a WHITE mini!! I had ordered a black one!. Called dell and they said they had a 30 day backorder for a black one! Still i was surprised on how small this thing is. Just waiting to see what dell will do for me before i get into exploring it.

 

That's not a bad deal! Thanks for sharing the info!

Thats because its usually all business with Dell! And, I totally understand your being upset...It doesn't seem fair.. I truly think that Dell was unprepared for all the orders they would receive, and couldnt keep up with production.

Yet, other models have come out, and things seem to have been *handled*

So....Tuesday!!!!! I hope for Tuesday for you!

Well, its a great thread

The white is finally going to hit Australia and the UK....nice

Now for more colors....


Cin

 

I wonder if Dell uses the same vendor to produce their Mini as Lenovo because I am still waiting for my black Lenovo S10 but the white and red are available. Sucks!

 

Yup that totally *sucks*....I would've assumed that black would've been an easier color to produce, and keep in stock!

Well, you could always change your order to the *red* one!! hee hee

Cin

 

Yeah I could, but I would rather have the black.

 

Blacks a good color, very sleek and streamlined!

 

Well, the stork brought my little baby today.

I am uncompressing the drive while I type this on my other laptop.

It is really really small compared to my old 17" 9300. I touch type and do not have real big hands so I haven't found the keyboard to be a problem in my short time with it. My wife has already tried to "acquire" the mini from me, so I may need to get another. At first she thought it was a big calculator

Has anyone had their mini hooked up to a mobile carrier yet. We have US cellular and I think I may be able to get an external 2 USB connector to go wireless with it with their EVDO service in our area.

 

Congrat's on the arrival of your newborn! LOL...

Thats cool that the keyboard is working out for you!

I would give in and let your wife have the I9, if I were you! kidding.

When did you first order the I9? Did you have any shipment delays at all?

Congrat's again on the new arrival!

Cin

 

Well I got my battery and power adapter today. Fired up the laptop, and apparently dell did NOTHING to it. The paper had nothing marked but i figured they forgot. Nope. They didnt do a thing. I tried a number of things to format the SSD and install ubuntu as well as windows, and NOTHING. SO after 45 more minutes on the phone with them they are dispatching me a new mini. 3-5 days they say.

 

Bah! You just are not having any luck are you?? That stinks

I hope the replacement is better...and you have no further issues!


Cin

 

Hi everyone...

Dell Mini Inspiron deal coming on 10/16 (in just 2 days) during Dell's 10 days of Deals promotion:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&dgc=IR&cid=11973&lid=893963

Wonder what kind of deal we can get on the mini with this sale? Hopefully a better deal than that 9% off sale that is ending today.

 

I'll be happy if they just ship the one's they've already sold at this point!!!!

 

Hey, thanks for the linky & information!! I'm also curious to see the deal on this one...Maybe, by that time..they will have the shipping delays on the orders from September into gear! It would be nice!


Cin

 

Just a quick update for posterity's sake. My "replacement" Mini to replace the one DHL claims was stolen was originally scheduled to ship today, but it's still in the build stage, so I seriously don't see this happening. The customer service rep I spoke to says there are possible delays due to overwhelming demand. You'd think this was the first popular computer Dell has ever sold. I'm very disappointed that they can't seem to get their stuff together and keep their customers happy.

Jeff

 

Jeff.....
You shouldn't have to be going thru this...sorry...You didn't ask for your I9 to be stolen...That is between Dell and DHL..you order should've been expedited.

It's already bought and paid for! You should ask Dell for some type of compensation via gift card or something....

Try and hang in there a bit...maybe the status will change for you, yet today..

*fingers crossed*

Cin

 

The funny thing is that everyone was waiting for the Dell because of all the availability problems with the other netbooks. Dell and Lenovo let everyone down hard with their supply issues.

 

Exactly! And now they have that 10 Days of Dell deal coming out later this week! How are they going to keep up with that *supply and demand*?

Cin

 

Has anyone had more / less success with a particular brand of SDHC cards for their Mini. I'm going to order two of the 16 GB SDHC cards (hopefully today if I get some feedback) I don't mind spending a little extra if it means more speed / reliability.

I haven't even explored expanding to 2 gig of memory, is it just adding another 1 gig stick or is it replacing with a 2 gig stick.

Sorry for all of the questions, in general, I just order things maxed out so I don't usually have to worry about upgrading.

So far I am really enjoying my Mini. Hooked up to my network flawlessly (after I realized I stopped broadcasting my ssid because of my PS3) Did some surfing and email and now I am getting ready to load up some music.

Hopefully Dell will start getting these out to those that are waiting....

 

If anybody is growing really tired of waiting, check my listing in the NBR marketplace...

 

For the 2 gig upgrade you might want to take a look at this:
How to install 2GB RAM. Step by Step guide with photographs:
http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/2gb-ram-upgrade-guide-t78.html

EDIT: Sorry, I posted the wrong link about your SDHC question.
This link is the only place I've seen people recently discussing SDHC cards using with the Dell Mini:
http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/kingmax,-good-quality-for-sdhc-cards--t129.html

This link discusses the installation of the 32GB SSD but the discussion below the video discusses various SSD cards:
How to install 32GB SSD: Step by Step video guide:
http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/09/32bg-ssd-on-dell-mini-9.html

 

Any SD card should be fine. They are all flash memory so they'll all be quick.

Also, if I were you I would just add 1 1GB stick to your current 1 GB... it will be the cheapest route and you'll get the same (or possibly better) results compared to just having 1 2GB stick...

Hope this helps!

 

There are speed ratings on SD Cards.... I think Class 6 will all be about the same though so any brand if it's class 6.

Regarding the ram, there is only one slot for ram, so you'll need to buy a 2gb stick and pull the 1gb stick.

 

Don't have my Mini yet.

Speaking of SD Cards, can you use an SD card to clone the SSD for restoring Windows XP?

Can you boot from an SD card?

Thanks,

DPN

 

Just got my UBUNTU MINI!!

Here's the good and the bad:

Keyboard layout is really funky -- I keep hitting the wrong keys -- learning curve I guess. 'A' seems to be troublesome.

The browser is 'yahoo browser' with v.301 - probably need to install firefox 3.0.3

Screen is VERY nice!! Even in some direct light it's not bad at all!!

MEMORY: installed 2gig chip but Ubuntu only shows 800 and some K!?! Need to figure this one out -- have not looked at what bios sez.

YES, it comes with a ubuntu install CD!!!

More to come folks!!!

(yes, typing this on the mini

 

NICE! Thanks for the tiny-mini-review..! Be sure to post some pics, if you want, and more information! Info...is always a good thing!


Cin

 

First major issue:

the .deb package for skype wont install -- sez 'wrong package x386' !! This is a big problem for me....

Working on it now....

EDIT: same issue with the opera .deb -- this has me worried bigtime!!!!!

 

What??? There is only one RAM slot?
If so that is quite surprising...

 

How is that surprising? Did you even bother to read the technical specifications?

 

I got mine yesterday. I decompressed the drive (couldn't decompress some files) and uninstalled any junk I could find. I removed the i386 folder from the drive and that freed up more than 500MB. Right now it is at about 2.5GB of used space with all Windows updates applied. I also installed Firefox.

I'm going to make a Ghost image of this setup and then reformat and install an nLite version of Windows XP. If I can't get the nLite XP set up the way I want it, I'll just restore the Ghost image I created.

I have to get used to the keyboard but its not too bad. The track pad buttons are not very easy to press with my thumb when I have my palm resting on the desk due to the edge of the laptop. I have to lift up my hand a bit to press the buttons. They would have been easier to press if they stuck out a little bit more.

 

Hey guys, I noticed a problem with my mini

With any speakers / headphones plugged in, the sound seems about 2x as loud out of the right speaker / headphone as the left. Only 'fix' i have come across is adjusting the equalizer to be -60 to the left side.

Ideas?

 

Well seeing as I am not actually planning on buying one, no I have not.
And also seeing as every other netbook on the market has 2 slots it surprised me ok?
So please don't speak down on me for not knowing as if I am stupid ok? Thanks...

 

Please show me the netbooks having 2 RAM slots.

 

owned?!....

 

OK, here's the REAL BAD -- the G.D. thing will not charge -- anybody else have this issue? After six weeks, I'll wait six hours for Dell to fix this FAST or it's going back as defective refund. I'm patient, but not this patient...

 

I've had my Mini for two days and here's what I've experienced: First, I removed all of the junk software including Adobe Reader (replaced it with Foxit). I removed the 1 G RAM and replaced it with 2 G RAM. I also added an 8 G SDHC card since Dell hasn't shipped my 16 G card yet. I purchased this unit as a portable method of emailing and maintaining basic data files, and the unit does what I want. My main issue is the small keyboard - which I understood would be a trade-off. But being a fast typist, the weird layout of some critical keys is real confusing to me. (I'm typing this post on an external keyboard). I have Office 2003 on the mini and it works fine. I have the latest BIOS upgrade (A01) installed and the Icom moving problem still exists. My major issue is that I had problems with the Bluetooth and decided to reload the drivers and now I'm in deep do-do.
I erased the WIDCOMM driver that switches the Bluetooth unit and there does not appear to be any way of restoring that particular file unless I rebuild the system according to the Dell rep that I spent almost two hours on line with yesterday. If you go to the Dell site and look for the Bluetooth driver, it is not on line. If you go to the Broadcom site and try to download their drivers, it will not install because the 'device is not detected'. The remaining Bluetooth software on the machine all indicate the 'device is not detected' and we're assuming that since the WIDCOM switching software is not installed, then the device is powered off and other software won't detect it. Note that I've tried the FN F2 hard switch and that doesn't work. So beware of messing with the Bluetooth (power switching) software on this baby. I'm open to suggestions on recovering this before I rebuild the machine. Other than that, I got what I paid for. It doesn't perform any worse than any other 1.6 G machine I have and in fact boots XP in 28 seconds from turn on to desktop screen, plus a few more seconds to have it running with the drivers correctly. 802.11 works great. Screen is ok and you should load the new video driver. If I had the Bluetooth restored, I'd be a moderately happy camper. I do all my serious work on my Latitude 630 though. Mechanically, the machine has a great parts fit and the case lid has a strong 'spring'. It would have been nice if they put some kind of finger grip or latch on the lid though. A blue or red choice would have been nice.

 

Hey, congrat's and nice review ...(you may want to split it into Paragraphs so it's not so long ~ makes it easier on the *eyes* when reading)

With the keyboard..I think it just takes a bit to get used, to according to the fellow I9 owners!

I hope you get that Bluetooth situated! Oh, and yes more color choices would've been great ~ hopefully soon!! :yes:


Cin

 

Uninstall all the WIDCOMM drivers and other stuff and use this Bluetooth Driver: http://digiex.net/drivers/505-bluetooth-adaptor-bcm2046-driver-windows-xp-sp2-sp3.html

It's much smaller in size and so much easy to use than the WIDCOMM.

 

Just talked to a Dell rep. The original one told me I would have a replacement in 3-5 days. This one I just got off the chat with said for sure by the 27th!! I ordered on 9/6, used the freaking thing for 2 weeks, and have not had it since.. I am just so sick of Dell's CRAPY foreign tech support, the fact that whoever worked on the thing in the US did NOTHING and these rediculous wait times. I always had a good opinion of dell but honestly, I dont know if I will ever order from them again...

 

if you are not planning on buying one and obviously haven't done your homework on the mini, why are you in this thread making suggestions and recommendations? Did you perhaps stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

just wondering....

 

How about the MSI Wind, the Asus 1000h...

No, quite the opposite, the person who you thought was the n00b actually isn't and the person who thinks I am a n00b now realizes that they are...


Also, just to be clear, netbooks are defined by the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook

 

Boy I have had mine for over 4 weeks now with no problems at all.
Even with a ram update, and bluetooth changes.
Hmmmmm was I lucky?