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

For me, the speed really isn't that big of a deal. However, it was worth mentioning to others who may be considering a Mini.

I've been looking into larger drives, myself. At the price I paid for this mini, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to slap in a larger drive. Honestly, though, I'm not sure I need it with this machine. I really don't see myself doing much on this machine outside of the cloud.

Overall, I really can't say enough good things about this computer. Though, I do think Dell needs to get the lowest end model down to the two hundred dollar range. Having done it before, I don't think I'd be very happy with this machine if I paid full price for it. I'd gladly drop two bills one one, though, maybe even two fifty.

 

Do you mean the "Speed is not that big of a deal to you?"...

I was going to order base Mini's as well - going with 4GB and Linux but then found out the 16SSD was not avail for purchase. Apparently Dell has a one way with the company that produces. Check out mydellmini - foks have purchased 16 and 32's other mfg's and for the most part got some nice "Stutters" and "Slowness"...

 

Yup. I meant that it's not a big deal to me.

I saw that JKK (if JKK Mobile) put a 32 gig drive in his, without complaint, and the one he used was extremely inexpensive.

At this point, I'm really not even considering the upgrade, though. I'm happy with my Mini as it is. If I want more space, I have loads SDHC cards. The only thing I can even think of adding to this machine may be some music. So, I really don't need anymore on board storage.

I really don't want to turn something that was an amazing deal into an expensive machine. So, I don't see myself doing a lot of tweaking to this netbook.

 

I'm sick of the fingerprints on the black lid. I'm real picky and find myself cleaning it constantly.

I wish they made these with the rubbery finish. I'm thinking of buying some Red Wrinkle Finish paint and doing my lid in this. Here's a picture I found on the internet that shows what this finish is like.

There is also black wrinkle finish.... but I'm leaning towards red.

What do you think?

 

That looks like the intake manifold from an STi (i have an 04 :laugh

I want to get a mini 9, it looks absolutely amazing, but im wondering if i hold out, will i have more colour options? If not im looking at dropping 200 bucks for one on thanksgiving!

 

How are you gonna get it at $200? I thought it was going to be $299 on Thanksgiving.

 

That was a typo on my part, it was meant to say 300 ^^;

 

That's exactly why I didn't want the black. It annoys me to no end with my dark blue Inspiron 13.

The white does get the finger prints, but it's not nearly as noticeable as the black.

Keep us posted on your possible paint job.

 

Thanks, Mick.....this was great information you provided
On a OT note: How are you feeling, today??

Hey CM...I think the red would look pretty cool! That's the color I've kind been holding out for LOL! Yes, please keep us posted as to what you decided to do with the paint job!


Cin

 

A lot better, thanks. I've been keeping up on my rinsing and pain killers, so all is well. I'm surprised at how little pain I have at this point. It's looking like I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Thanks for your concern.

I plan on snapping some pics, with some comparison shots later on. I know how much you like pics, Cin'. Stay tuned.

 

Oh! I can't wait to see the pic's ~ yours is in white! Yes, I lurve's the pics LOL...The comparison shots will be great, I'm sure!

Cin

P.S.:
Glad your feeling better!! Sounds like your taking good care of yourself! Back to work! Wowsa! That's quick... I don't tolerate pain to well..so it would've been all week for me, probably.

 

The more finger prints the better here... I got over the
"pretty laptop" around my 5th or so laptop. I use my laptop's for business and have no worries about a scratch, finger print etc... Granted my Thinkpad's show less wear due to the flat finish (slightly textured). White will solve mini finger print issue but then you have the "Crapbook lookiloo" issue

Red Wrinkle does look good - Do it!

 

OK here are some pics:


This one is on top of my Inspiron 13:

Another I13/I9 shot:

Now a couple of side shots with the I13:


This one is on top of a G3 iBook:

Blackberry Pearl:

DVD case:

Original GameBoy shots. Notice that the original GameBoy is actually thicker than the I9:



Well, there you have it. I tried to take some shots with familiar items, to get a good idea of the size.

I'm really loving this computer. If you have any questions, or would like a specific picture, let me know. I've got nothing but time on my hands, today.

 

Surprisingly, I've been in very little pain. It's very uncomfortable, but I expected a lot worse. Overall, I've been in a lot worse pain in my life than getting these teeth pulled. Really, the worst part is drinking all of my food.

 

of the 4gb's how much of it is used by ubuntu?

 

Mick..thank you for posting the pics ...You took some great shots, and showing it with different *gadgets* for size comparison = nice!

The white is really nice looking! hmmmmmm

I'm glad your getting better..and not very much pain! No pain = a good thing, indeed


Cin

 

80%. I only have 646MB of 3.4GB free.

 

Great pics Mick. The DVD case and Gameboy pictures really bring the size home. Glad you're feeling better.

Paint: Seems like a good idea, if a little nervewracking to do.

 

Thanks. I was hoping the pics would provide a good size illustration, and I appreciate the well wishes.

Agreed on the paint. I wouldn't have the stones to do it myself, but I admire the people who do.

 

Now that I've been using the machine for a full day, I've only come up with one big time annoyance with this machine.

This thing could really use one of those buttons to disable the trackpad. The machine is so small, and the trackpad is so large, that I seem to frequently brush up against the pad while typing. Does anyone know of a software solution, for Ubuntu, that will disable the trackpad while you're typing?

Obviously, this isn't a deal breaker. Like I said, just an annoyance.

 

Have had a bit of this with the Aspire One but not any with Mini9. Could it be a OS thing or are you actually hitting the touchpad. The Aspire one at times seems to have a mind of its own... One of the best items on the Mini IMO is the touchpad.

 

I don't have a problem with the touchpad, itself. The size and sensitivity are great.

However, being as large as it is, the pad takes up a lot of space on the palm rest. Because of this, I do have a tendency to brush up against it while I'm typing. So, it's really a "me" problem, that I was hoping there may be a software solution to fix.

Have you noticed this happening to you?

Are you using XP or Ubuntu? If you're running XP, the solution may already be built in to your trackpad driver.

 

mick - have XP on all 3 of my Mini's... weird as I was just thinking to myself while using the Aspire one - how much I missed the mini's pad - not just the size but the button position as well. When I'm using the "Netbooks" I almost never use a secondary mouse so I get used to using the trackpad to scroll and the Aspire does not track very well -I find that many times I need to use the up arrow/down arrow. I know exactaly what you are describing as i have had laptops in the past where it was a pain (17"MacBookPro) comes to mind and I found that turning it off was a big help.

 

Of the three netbooks I've owned, the Dell's trackpad is definitely the best. It's large, very responsive, and the buttons huge and in the right place.

My annoyances boil down to not being used to how a pointer tracks in Linux, and the size and positioning of the trackpad. With most of the notebooks I've owned, there's a border all the way around the trackpad. With the Mini 9, the trackpad runs right into the keyboard.

I have no doubt that I'll get used to the trackpad, and I think it's great that this small annoyance is all I can come up with to complain about with this machine. Usually I'd have a list as long as my arm by now.

 

I just discovered something else I love about this computer. It charges super fast. I put this thing on to charge, roughly, an hour ago and it's already fully charged.

My Eee Pc took hours to get a full charge.

This I9 is full of surprises.

 

To disable the trackpad while typing just run this command in the terminal
syndaemon -i 1 -d

You can add it so Sessions under System > Preferences to get it to run every time on startup if you like it

 

Nice bit of info -- will file this.

 

Awesome. It worked like a charm.

Thanks a million.

 

For anyone interested, the refurb store was replenished this morning with a bunch of new machines.

They start at 279.00. If you want one, I'd move fast. They seem to run out of these things quick.

 

Thanks for the info, Mick...$279.00 is a nice starting price
The Outlet store is pretty reliable when it comes to the notebooks, also

And, fast shipping!


Cin

 

Yup. It took me three weeks to get my new Mini. If I had ordered from the outlet, I would have had it within days.

 

Is it only my impression or does the battery on the Mini drain really fast? I still have to actually time it, but it seems that it is draining by 5-8% within 10 minutes. The charging is superfast, no complaints there. But the draining.....

 

Yeah, yours did take a bit of time Alas, you have it now..and seem to really enjoy it!

My bro' ordered his from the outlet..and the shipping didn't take long at all!


Cin

 

I've been getting between three and a half and four hours out of mine.

Of the three netbooks I've owned, this one has the best battery life, by far.

Honestly, I don't have a lot to complain about when it comes to shipping time.

I've read the horror stories in the Mini 9 order status thread. My wait was nothing compared to the hell some of these people have been through. Mine actually shipped ahead of my original ship date.

 

has anyone taken one apart? im kind of wondering if i should configure it with bluetooth or buy it off ebay after? its 2.1 so im going ot guess its a 360 model

 

Take a look at mydellmini.com's forums. They have dissected the Dell Mini 9 with pictures. Also, the Dell's documentation provides additional insight.

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/internal-bluetooth-module-now-available-from-dell-t601.html

http://www.mydellmini.com/images/dell_mini_9_dissected/

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins910/en/sm/index.htm

 

thank you so much, that helps me a great deal

 

Yes, that's true! 3 weeks, not so bad. Are you going to be taking your I9 to work with you??


Cin

 

Wow. I am impressed with customer service again.

I went through seven weeks of garbage trying to buy two of these mini's. Dell made mistakes and had to cancel my order twice, each time prolonging my shipping date further and further. They had discounted the prices each time, and even gave more back after invoicing but I was still really upset that it took so long to get my order. I had spoken to so many customer service people during those seven weeks and yelled at many of them. When it was all said and done, the discounts I received were pretty hefty so I kept my two mini's and was going to leave it at that, happy that I saved quite a bit on them. I was still upset but once I received them I was content.

Well, a customer service manager called to follow up afterwards and it was like pouring salt on a wound. I reminded them how angry I was during those seven weeks and how I felt they weren't doing anything to help me during that time since it took so long to get my order.

That was last night. Today, I find that I have an extra a/c adapter and battery on the way for free. They'll be here tomorrow.


I actually wrote them back and thanked them. I still hate that it was a ridiculous long seven week wait, but the discounts and the extra a/c adapter and battery make me a happy camper.

 

Probably not. My I9 will, mainly, be my couch surfer.

 

LOL *couch surfer*....I like being a *comfy chair surfer*. When I get my netbook..I will take it with me when out and about, if I know I'm gonna want to do basic things...e-mail, net, etc


Cin

 

Think it really depends on what you do with your MINI. All of my minis run RCP/https for exchange and the constant pull of email tends to draw the battery down. I average 2.5 hours ----

 

I get a solid 2hours + with the Vodafone 3G connection active which I thought was impressive. Not too much heat either.

 

Yep - Oveall I'm pleased with the battery life... its a bit better than the Acer Aspire One from my testing so far. I would buy a 6 Cell if they offered but not sure how they can do it since the way the mini screen slides down behind. I plan to order a 6 cell for the Aspire in short order.

 

thoughts on the mini 9 vs the samsung NC10?

 

Hi,

Any 8.10 Ubuntu users out there that have been able to clone your drive? I have tried Acronis (wont work with 8.10), & Clonezilla (wont boot on the mini). Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,
Rich

 

One other question:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

My webcam looks terrible. is there a way to tel if its the .3 mp webcam or the 1.3mp webcam?

Thanks,
Rich

 

To me, the nc10 looks like a best in class machine. The battery life sounds incredible and the keyboard looks about as good as it gets.

However, it's also in a different league, price wise. Personally, I can't justify spending that kind of money on a computer that I would consider a third option. I've overspent on a netbook before, and I won't do it again.

So, I'm more than happy with my I9.

 

In the UK at least, the NC10 and the standard ie top of the range Mini cost about the same; if anything the Samsung works out cheaper.

IMO: I reckon the Mini is the best 'pure' netbook; small and light for use anywhere. The Samsung is bigger, heavier and more flexible. It also has the best performance of any netbook due to some clever stuff Samsung has done under the bonnet. The two best netbooks at the moment, but I'd favour the Samsung though I'd be tempted by a more basic version of the Mini as available in the US.

I've tried a Samsung and they are very well made, really nice.

 

i agree with both views

Im having a hardtime justifying 500+ on a netbook, but the specs on it are so nice.

I know logically the mini is smaller, less weight, and if i really just use it as a real netbook, i shouldnt need more then the 16gb SSD.

I was completely set on the mini until i took a peek at the specs of the NC10.

Now if i could get more colour options + a car charger for the mini without paying an arm and leg, im sold. (i also expect the ssd costs to go down so i can upgrade in the future.

On seperate train of thought,

i saw that the mini has a SIM slot, what exactly would i get from plugging in a SIM card? Just data transfer from my phone or can i actually use the mini as a phone with a microphone?