"Mini" laptop report........

MotorSeven · Nov 25, 2009

For the last couple of years I have been using my daughters "old" Toshiba laptop...missing keys, the hinge is broken on one side, pointer jumpes around at times, etc. Finally the power cord has a short, so I have to kink it just right to get it to work. So I broke down and went shopping for a new laptop.
Since I don't do "work" with it, I bought a Dell Inspirion Mini. 160gh, 1GB of ram & 160GB of memory, loaded w/XP....more than enough for me. The good is that it works fine and is fast. The keyboard is layed out good and the touch pad ok.
It's small size however is the hardest thing for me. If I had little T-Rex hands I guess it would be better, but unless it is sitting on a desk, it is hard to use. I sit on the sofa or a easy chair & I am going to have to slip a cutting board or something under it to give my meaty paws something to rest on. The small screen can be annoying when you have to page around to see everything, but it's do-able.
All in all, not bad for $328....I think i'll keep it. I know, I should have waited to the Black Friday sale(s)....but I hate shopping frenzy's...

RD

zzvyb6 · Nov 25, 2009

Go get yourself a USB wireless keyboad and mouse. These are full sized. Plug the display into your 52" HDTV and park the keyboard on your lap. The mouse works great on the couch cushion. Problem solved.

Luremaker · Nov 25, 2009

zzvyb6 said:
Go get yourself a USB wireless keyboad and mouse. These are full sized. Plug the display into your 52" HDTV and park the keyboard on your lap. The mouse works great on the couch cushion. Problem solved.

That's what I did with a laptop with a broken monitor. Plugs right into the HDMI plug and I can surf right from the couch.

EddieWalker · Nov 25, 2009

Thanks for the report, we're more then likely going to buy one of those Dell Mini laptops for our daughter for Christmas. We saw them on QVC with a nice bundle included with them, and looked at them in person at Best Buy.

I'm hesitant about Black Friday, and question how much shopping will be done this year. The closer we get to Christmas, the more they might knock down the price of these things.

Both my wife and I have wireless keyboards and mice from Logitech. It's called the Wave, and it's very nice and easy to type on. I first bought the Microsoft ergonomical keyboard, but for whatever reason, it caused conflicts with my Dell computer. My wife had the same conflicts on her Dell laptop. I then bought the Logitech, that has worked flawlessly, so then my wife bought it also.

Eddie

Steve C · Nov 25, 2009

MotorSeven said:
For the last couple of years I have been using my daughters "old" Toshiba laptop...missing keys, the hinge is broken on one side, pointer jumpes around at times, etc. Finally the power cord has a short, so I have to kink it just right to get it to work. So I broke down and went shopping for a new laptop.
Since I don't do "work" with it, I bought a Dell Inspirion Mini. 160gh, 1GB of ram & 160GB of memory, loaded w/XP....more than enough for me. The good is that it works fine and is fast. The keyboard is layed out good and the touch pad ok.
It's small size however is the hardest thing for me. If I had little T-Rex hands I guess it would be better, but unless it is sitting on a desk, it is hard to use. I sit on the sofa or a easy chair & I am going to have to slip a cutting board or something under it to give my meaty paws something to rest on. The small screen can be annoying when you have to page around to see everything, but it's do-able.
All in all, not bad for $328....I think i'll keep it. I know, I should have waited to the Black Friday sale(s)....but I hate shopping frenzy's...

RD

I have a similar Dell, I love it for traveling. I bought my PHD using my Dell while on the road, I found it on Craigs List while eating lunch in a Burger King in Reed City Michigan. Most of the Burger Kings around here have free wireless internet. The best thing about it is the operation system....Windows XP. I hate Vista. hate..hate..hate......it takes over your computer...mine just updated itself again right in the middle of my typing this message, shut itself down and restarted......poof...all gone, start over. It does that very often.

The best value I have found in portable computing was the deal that Wal-Mart had at the beginining of the school year. I am typing this message on it. It is a Toshoba Satellite L355-S7915 It is just the opposite of my little Dell, It is so large I had a hard time finding a case to put it in. It has a great 17" Widescreen display. It also has 3 GB SDRAM, 250GB HDD, Internal DVD multi drive. It was $348. If it wasn't for the operating system it would be the perfect computer. I happened on it by accident 2 or 3 days after the sale started. I wasn't looking for a new computer but I saw that giant screen, full sized keyboard and numeric key pad and it was love at first sight.

Then I saw the price tag,

and knew it was just meant to be....

Usually these deals are all gone the first day, but the economy here in Michigan is so bad it was still sitting there waiting for me.

2manyrocks · Nov 25, 2009

From the specs, it sounds like the same Dell I bought for my wife. The one we got is actually a netbook. We got the refurb unit from Dell for something like $225.

Neither of us can stand the touchpad so we just use a standard usb mouse. Otherwise, it's just amazing at how much they packed in this little computer.

Another person we know got the wireless usb mouse, but then lost the wireless connector that plugs in her netbook.

Soundguy · Nov 25, 2009

that's probably the only machine you can stil lbuy with an OS other than vista or win7.

My wife uses a laptop for audio work.. and so far.. most o fhte audio software is alergic to vista and win7. I may have to grab one of these xp minis just to have around in case her's fails..

soundguy

BruceWard · Nov 25, 2009

Here is a deal on the Dell for $229 dell mini 10 Dell Mini 10v Intel Atom N270 10.1in Netbook (1GB/160GB/XP/3-Cell) $229 Free Shipping Deal - Best Price Cheap Sale Items Review Wholesale Sale Discount

MikePA · Nov 25, 2009

I have a Dell Mini 9 with 2 gigs of memory (upgraded from 1 gig), a 64 gig SSD (upgraded from 8 gig) running OSX 10.6.2. I also have a Dell Mini 10v, with 2 gigs of memory (I upgraded from 1 gig) and a 500 gig hard drive (I upgraded from the 120 gig HD) set up with dual boot OSX 10.6.1 and Windows 7 Professional.

I prefer the 10v (using it now) since all the keys are in the traditional locations which is not true of the Mini 9. Dell keeps saying they're going to retire the Mini 9, but have not. The business version of the Mini 9 is the Vostro A90. But again, I prefer the Mini 10v. However, I built an A90 with 2 gigs of memory and a 32 gig SSD running Windows 7 Home Premium, Office2007, Firefox and iTunes for one of my daughters and she loves it ("it's sweet").

If you are thinking about ordering a Mini 10 (not the 'v') the memory can not be upgraded easily since it's soldered on the motherboard (it's actually on a daughterboard with the CPU).

The memory on the Mini 10v can be upgraded but it requires taking much of the laptop apart.

My 10v runs everything my desktop runs, e.g., Office2007, Firefox, Quicken, etc. and runs it well. Plus it is much nicer to travel with, weighing only about 2 pounds. Anyone who travels or has to carry a laptop around for any length of time knows a couple of pounds makes a difference.

I got the Mini 9 on eBay and the 10v from the Dell refurb store. I initially ordered the Mini 9 as new from Dell and after waiting for 7 weeks I finally canceled when it was going to be delayed a second time. The refurb store ships within a day or two.