Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (DNCWEA1)

We needed a basic laptop for some routine office use, and purchased one of the Dell Inspiron Mini Notebooks in order to save money and get something that would be from a reliable company.  We have used Dell for many different computers and peripherals in the office, and when the Dell Inspiron went down in price for their 10 inch computers, we jumped at the chance.  The Dell Inspiron was selling for just over $300, but keep in mind, that if you purchase it at the most basic of prices, you are getting a very basic system.  So, if you need a ton of processing speed, or a ton of memory, you aren't going to find what you are looking for with this machine.  If however, you are just looking for an easy to use machine that will fulfill some basic computing needs, then the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 PC Notebook could be exactly what you are looking to buy.

The Dell Inspiron Mini comes in black or white, with several other colors offered for a small upgrade fee.  The processor is a pretty quick one, with the Intel Atom Processor included with the price.  The specs for this processor are: 1.33 GHz, 533 MHz, FSB/512K Cache.  It comes with Windows XP Home Edition, which can be suitable for most users, but also keep in mind that you are not getting an Office Suite with the purchase price (that costs extra).  The display is 10.1" in diameter (remember that is bottom left corner to top right corner of the screen).  The display is also widescreen with pixel counts of 1024x576.  The hard drive is a 160GB 5400 RPM SATA, but unfortunately there are no upgrade options to get a better drive in your system.  It also comes with a Wireless 802.11g Mini Card and the bonus for this computer is that it comes with a little integrated webcam that measures in at 1.3 Megapixels.  The computer also comes with Microsoft Works, but again, no office suite, so don't expect Microsoft Word or Excel unless you pay a little extra.  I believe it was just over $100 extra to add the 2007 Basic Suite and a little bit more to add the full Microsoft Office Home & Student edition.

For the price of just over $300 plus tax and shipping, you can get the nice little Dell Inspiron Mini 10 inch laptop.  It isn't one of those computers that are going to help you change the world, but it is going to offer you some of the basic needs you might have when it comes to computing.  If you don't need Microsoft Office, the Works package might work just fine for you, and you still get things like Microsoft Notepad, Microsoft Paint, and the Calculator to carry out some basic functionality.  You also will be able to hook up to the internet using this laptop, but you won't have the best speed possible in order to do your surfing.  The speed isn't terrible at all, but when you start uploading or downloading files and programs to the computer, it is inevitably going to slow down the processing speed of applications.  If you are looking for just a basic small computer though, this may not even be a care for you, and if you can keep the cache from being cluttered, you could walk away with a bit of a steal with this small system.

There are a few additional items that you get with the Dell Inspiron Mini that include a one year warranty, but it is really basic, and works through mail-in service rather than phone or home assistance.  The battery that you get with the computer is also only a 24WHr Lithium-ion Battery (3-cell), so it has barely an hour of use, and they off a 6 cell battery upgrade for something like $30 extra.  As with most things on this laptop, if you keep the amount of applications down, the processor has to work less, and thus you will get more battery life out of the device, but don't expect the world from this little battery.  Another small downside to this computer is that it doesn't come with real virus protection software, but rather just a 30-day trial of Norton.  You must buy one either with the system or on your own if you want to make sure that your computer stays protected, and it is highly recommended that you have one.

I think that if you are looking for a small laptop that is very portable, and is not going to cost you an arm and a leg, this Dell Inspiron Mini could be the perfect fit for your home or office.  It seems to go relatively fast when it comes to processing speed, and as long as you are not using too many applications at the same time, your computer isn't going to die on you.  With the smaller screen it also means that the computer is using less energy to run the screen, but the trade-off is that the screen is much smaller than the average computer user is used to having.  Owning one of the Dell Inspiron Mini's is a give and take relationship, and as long as you are aware that you are purchasing a small system you won't be disappointed with any of the out-put.  I think that we knew exactly what we were getting into with this purchase, and have been quite happy with the results.  The small screen took a few times to get used to, but in the end, saving so much money on a workable laptop ended up winning out over the amenities we could have paid extra to have.  I would highly recommend the Dell Inspiron Mini to anyone looking for a small laptop that just needs to fulfill the basic use of a portable computer.  It has been worth the purchase price, it has not given us any problems, and it is definitely a computer that we would purchase again if we had it all to do over again.