The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is available to order on the Dell site. You will be able to configure it according to your desires and budget.

After the too small Mini 9 and the too large Mini 12, Dell has decided that the only logical choice is the Dell Inspiron Mini 10. Introduced as a do-it-all netbook with an intelligent design and entertaining features, the Mini 10 wants to become your new friend.

Handling, design and build

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 has nothing to envy your standard notebook in terms of manufacturing quality. Assembly is good and the finish gives an impression of solidity. It looks quite sober. A black plastic chassis and keyboard are combined with shiny grey touchpad. Unfortunately, the whole of the screen is shiny which gives a mirror effect and shows up finger marks too easily.

You can choose the casing colour when you are configuring your options on the Dell site. The model we received was apple coloured, a rather original and nice-looking green. Dell currently has a jade green option on its site which doesn’t seem to correspond to the colour we received.

The keyboard takes up the whole width of the machine. The keys are wide, firm and responsive. They are however very close one to another, which can make typing a little disconcerting at first.

The touchpad is not very high but is particularly wide. It is perfectly adapted to the 16:9 screen and is nice to use thanks to a matte surface. Right and left clicks are cleverly worked in the same surface. They can be distinguished by two symbols printed on either side of the touchpad. Of course this bit of the pad is not sensitive.

The webcam is passable but no more. It has a fluid display but resolution is slightly lacking. It could be sharper and more detailed. The microphone is well placed just beside the webcam, which gives satisfactory results.

It remains perfectly quiet in all circumstances. This is because there is no fan. Cooling is fanless, which is great. Only the hard drive can sometimes be heard. To really take things on, an SSD would have been a good choice of storage device as SSDs make no sound.

Connectivity is placed on three sides of the laptop: 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 HDMI, 1 RJ45, 2 mini Jacks and 1 memory card reader. Standard but sufficient.

The 6 cell battery unfortunately takes up a lot of space and sticks out under the back of the machine. This is a shame as the overall size would be much more acceptable without this bulge.

6 cell battery, lock, power supply, USB	Memory card reader
Headphones, microphone, HDMI	HDMI, 2 USB, RJ45

Processor Power

We have already noted this on other machines and here again the Atom Z530 limits overall results. The Mini 10 scores an index of just 14 where other netbooks with an Atom N280 score 20 on average.
Remember, the index of 100 is represented by our stock machine: the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Xi3650.

On the other hand the use of the Poulsbo platform in combination with the Z530 gives longer battery life at lower energy consumption.

Gaming

The GMA 500 integrated into the Poulsbo platform gives even lower performance than the already modest GMA 950 that is often used. Generally speaking, gaming on netbooks is only for real enthusiasts.

Audio

The sound tends to saturate with high notes and lower notes do not come through at all. Overall there is a lack of precision, including when you listen with headphones. With headphones however the sound is ok with little interference.

Battery life and portability

With a battery life of 5 hours 15 minutes when playing films, the Mini 10 is among the best. It’s a shame that this is achieved with a battery that sticks out underneath the back of the machine. Fortunately, at 1.35 Kg, it isn’t too heavy. For information, the Toshiba NB200 does a little better with 6 hours 10 minutes at 1.3 Kg.

Personalisation

This is a Dell selling point: all Dell computers can be customized. You can modify the basic configuration according to your wishes and budget. With the Mini 10, you can go from a Z520 to a Z530 for an extra 20 pounds and the HD screen for an extra 20 pounds. The Wi-Fi N module will cost you another 10 pounds while the 6 cell battery comes in at 45 pounds. Another original feature is the TV tuner that is available for 30 pounds, as well as a 3G module for 100 pounds, or even a GPS module for 90 pounds.

The Mini 10 that we tested came in at over 400 pounds, which is starting to be serious money for a netbook. In total, if you decide you want to max out the options, you’ll get up over the 600 mark!