Why Dell's Mini 9 seems cooler than Mini 12

I've been looking a getting a Dell Mini 9 or 12 and reading as much as I can. One thing that comes through over and over again is that the Mini 9 is just about built to be hacked and upgraded while the Mini 12 is not.

RAM upgrade
Mini 9 is easy bring to 2GB with inexpensive RAM
Mini 12 has1 GB RAM soldered to the motherboard and is not upgradeable.

Drives
Mini 9 uses SSD. SSD drive replaceable with even larger faster SSD drives.
Mini 12 has 4200 rpm hard drive.

I see a lot of enthusiasm on forums for upgrading the Mini 9 (GPS, WWAN, lcd) and it looks like fun. I don't see much at all about upgrading the Mini 12.

Did Dell intentionally decide to make the Mini 12 hard to upgrade, or is it so new that compared to the Mini 9, the user community hasn't gotten started on hacks and upgrades?

-John

 

I think it's largely the price difference.
I'm far more likely to whip out a soldering iron and risk bricking a $300 laptop then a $500 laptop, or even a $400 laptop.

Plus the 9 is smaller and more portable, and dell is giving them away for free with some phone packages and such.


You can always put a SSD in place of the hard drive (assuming it's sata), the soldered in ram sucks though, weird that they did that.

 

I actually prefer the Mini 12. While the Mini 9 is more hackable, I find the Mini 12's screen to be perfect. It is not too big and not too small. I think of my Mini 12 as more of a notebook to carry around(in the sense of a school notebook). While it does have its problems, I find it much more usable. I don't have to squint at the screen and can watch movies and stuff from my server which is all I really wanted to do anyway.

 

I9 or I12....It really boils down to personal preference.

Some prefer the smaller size of the I9, some the larger of the I12.

I like the size of the I9, it works for me.
It can fit into my tote, handbag or what not very easily.
And, the keyboard is pretty accommodating for my small hands.

Now, wait a little while, and the I10 is going to be released..and that will be a nice *go between* both the I9 and I12.

And, after that a I11.... kidding.

Prices have dropped a fairly good amount on both Netbooks.

Cin

 

I'm not knocking the 12. For the last year or so I've been using a Sony TZ130 with 4200 rpm drives, and most of the time it was fine. I also like the 12's larger screen and higher resolution. What I really want is a 12 with easy upgrade to 2Gb and installation of a RunCore 64Gb SSD.
Of course, the great thing about technology and the market is that all of that and much more will come sooner or later.
-John

 

Ya, I agree. I think it was a big mistake for them to keep 1GB of Ram only that was soldered on. Had they upgraded to 2GB it would have been a no brainer.

 

Same feelings, and I hope there are some really remarkable changes with the I10, when it's finally released. Its gonna be neat to see the differentials between all 3


Cin