Dell intros Della website to market netbooks to women

Dell has today introduced a new website called Della, which it will use to help market its Dell Inspiron range of laptops & netbooks to women. The site has lots of photos of women using notebooks in various situations whether it’s on the couch, for business or out and about.

As have to vanquish any doubts the site is targeted to women, it has part of the site dedicated to ‘tech tips’ which talks about seven unexpected ways a netbook can change your life. These include getting healthier by tracking your exercise and food intake as well as eating better by finding recipes online! I’m not sure if it is just me, but the site seems mildly condescending, telling women what they can do with their netbook.

One of the featured products on the site is the Dell Mini 10, which can be customized with exclusive artist designs. There will be different artists featured on that site regularly, so you can check back from time to time to see if your favourite is there.

Dell Mini 10 6-cell battery in pictures

The option to purchase a 6-cell battery for the Dell Mini 10 netbook appeared just a couple of weeks ago and the first impressions are now coming through. We’ve included a few photos of the 6-cell battery after the break from the MyDellMini forums and from what we’ve seen it’s not the prettiest solution. This is as much to do with how slim-line the Mini 10 is more than anything else.

As with the HP 6-cell battery options, at least it should provide a nice tilt when typing. Users are reporting that the Mini 10 gets roughly 5.5 to 6 hours of usage with the new 6-cell battery. For now, the 6-cell option has still not appeared in Europe, although it can’t be too long now. Read more

Dell Mini 10v on the horizon; Ubuntu & SSD options appear for Mini 10

A number of upgrades to Dells Mini 10 netbook have been on the agenda since an internal roadmap was leaked last month. We have already seen Dell add options for a higher resolution display and 6-cell battery and it now looks like it will be releasing a refresh, dubbed the Mini 10v.

The Dell Mini 10v will sport the 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU as opposed to the power-efficient Z series Atom CPUs found in current Mini 10 netbooks. This should result in similar performance but at a cheaper price. In fact it looks like Dell will be marketing the Mini 10v at $299, which is $100 cheaper than the current base configuration. Dell anticipates this model will start shipping in mid-May in the US.

Engadget is also reporting that Dell has added SSD options for the Mini 10. It seems that this option is only appearing for the new Dell Mini 10 Linux version, which now comes with Ubuntu 8.0.4, and not the Windows version for now. The 32GB SSD upgrade will set you back $75 whilst a 64GB SSD will cost $125. The Ubuntu version will start shipping from 28 May with the base package costing $369. The screen grabs are attached after the break. Read more

Dell finalising an Android netbook?

There has been much talk about Google Android’s operating software being ported over to netbooks. During this time there has been numerous speculation tying Android to most of the major netbook vendors including Asus, Acer, MSI and HP. Up until now Dell has been tight-lipped on its Android plans, but unsurprisingly it looks like a Dell Android netbook may be on the cards.

Bsquare, a software company that provides software for embedded devices, has put out a press release saying that it will be porting Adobe’s Flash Lite 3.17 technology onto Dell Netbooks running Google’s Android platform.

“Integrating Adobe Flash technology with the functionality of Google’s Android platform on the full range of Netbook devices will allow our OEM customers to meet the high expectations their customers have of this new industry segment,” said Bsquare’s CEO Brian Crowley.

There was little other information in the press release. The fact that Dell may be working on an Android netbook can’t be a surprise to anyone. Acer’s product manager, Jim Wong, recently confirmed that pretty much every major netbook manufacturer is testing Android on netbooks right now. All we await now are some official announcements.

Via Engadget.

Dell Mini 10 finally gets 6-cell battery option

Dell has now made the 6-cell battery option available for the Inspiron Mini 10 netbook. On checking various Dell country sites, it seems that the option is only available in the US right now where it will cost an additional $30 over the 3-cell version. Dell hasn’t given any information as to how much longer this will make your Mini 10 last, however we would expect some real world tests from owners over the coming weeks.

A number of updates were due on April 17 according to a leaked internal roadmap, however this is the first to appear so far. Options that were meant to appear, apart from the 6-cell battery, were a 250GB hard-drive, a TV Tuner, Ubuntu Linux and, potentially, even a 1.86GHz Atom CPU. The roadmap says that a 2GB RAM option will be available on 20th May.

Via Portable Monkey.

Dell Mini 10 netbook with integrated Mobile DTV Receiver demonstrated

Roundbox, a major player in mobile broadcast software, has shown off the first netbook with integrated Mobile DTV reception. The demonstration at the 2009 National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB) in Las Vegas, involved a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook, the Roundbox client and an integrated prototype tuner from LG.

“This prototype clearly demonstrates the ability to seamlessly integrate Mobile DTV into a netbook giving consumers a compelling new TV entertainment capability in conjunction with the device’s strong networking functions,” said Vinod Valloppillil, vice president, product marketing at Roundbox.

Dell plans to offer optional built-in support for the Mini 10 across several broadcast standards in the coming months. This includes DVB-T (Europe), ATSC (U.S.), CMMB (China) and ISDB-T (Japan). The potential for such technology could be huge for netbooks, especially given their portability and increased battery lives.

Video: Installing OSX Leopard On A Dell Mini 9 Netbook

If you have a Dell Mini 9 netbook and Mac OS X DVD to hand then this video tutorial may be just for you. The video by Zollatech takes a step-by-step approach to installing OS X onto the Mini 9 and is well worth a watch if this is something you are considering. Also check out this post from the My Dell Mini Forums which have all the files you need. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

High-res Dell Mini 10 option appears across Europe

Good news for Europeans interested in buying the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook, the option to select a 1366 x 768 display is now available across the continent. This follows the option being available to US consumers since the end of last month. Pricing seems to be quite reasonable too. Checking the UK site suggests an upgrade price of £15, whilst on mainland Europe the upgrade will cost you €20.

Today was the day that some other Dell Mini 10 options were supposed to appear according to a leaked internal roadmap. On checking the Dell US site though, there still remains no option for a 6-cell battery, TV Tuner, higher spec 1.86GHz CPU or Linux options. On 20 May, the option for 2GB RAM is meant to appear.

Dell Vostro A90 netbook – rebadged Mini 9 for business

Dell has launched the 8.9-inch Vostro A90 netbook in the US. From what we can tell the Vostro A90 is nearly identical to the Mini 9 but comes in all black. The only other difference we could make out is that the A90 seems to have its speakers located just below the screen, something the Inspiron Mini 9 doesn’t have.

The Vostro A90 was first launched in Japan and is targeted to business users, hence no bright colours here! The base-model comes with an 8GB SSD (a 16GB SSD option also exists) and 512MB of RAM (1GB max). The netbook uses the same 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor as the Mini 9, along with the Intel 945GSE chipset. Connectivity is provided through integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Ethernet. It also comes with a 0.3MP webcam and 4-cell battery. Read more

Dell Mini 11 shipping in August?

According to a leaked roadmap that appeared earlier this month, Dell is planning to launch the Inspiron Mini 11 during Q2/Q3 this year. Little is known in terms of specifications, however it is believed to have an 11.6-inch display with the option of a high-resolution screen.

There are now reports suggesting that Taiwanese ODM, Compal Communications, has landed an order from Dell to manufacture an ultra-thin notebook using Intel’s CULV platform. The report suggests that this notebook will start to ship in August.

We already know that Dell is planning to release models based on the CULV platform with screen sizes from 11-inches to 13-inches. Putting two and two together, this model could very well be the rumoured Dell Mini 11. Compal is also in the frame to manufacture ultra-thin notebooks from both Toshiba and Lenovo according to the report.

Dell Mini 9 Netbook 3G Mod

One enterprising Dell Mini 9 owner decided to take matters into his own hands, when deciding he actually wanted to use 3G. jingo5 from the Dell Mini Forums opened up the Mini 9 and installed a mini PCI-E bracket alongside a sim connector. The mod is certainly for the more experienced hacker involving soldering all the above in place. It seemed to work although the reception wasn’t found to be too great. He is now looking to add an antenna in a move that is very similar to the Acer Aspire One 3G hack.

Via Engadget.

Battery life of 13 netbooks compared, MSI U115 emerges victorious

Netbook vendors and consumers are placing increasing importance on battery lives. We have seen a number of netbooks announced recently from all of the major players (MSI, Samsung, Asus and Acer) who are trying to push longer and longer lasting battery times. To take the headache out of finding out which ones last the longest, Netbook Review has undertaken the arduous task of comparing the battery life of thirteen different netbooks.

Each of the netbooks were tested with the UserBench Battery 2008 benchmark, which involves stress-testing the battery to an absolute maximum. The author claims that the results present a worse-case scenario and should be the bare minimum life expected. The app plays back a WMV video clip with the display and hard drive set to never switch off. Power management was set to “always on”. Read more

Dell Mini 9 mod – installing a 128GB SDD

For those owners of the Dell Mini 9 who find their solid-state drive (SDD) storage capacity is just not enough, JKKMobile has a mod that you might be interested in. The video tutorial explains how you go about installing a 128GB SSD into the Dell Mini 9. Why is this so special you may ask? Can you not just swap one out for the other?

The reality is not so simple. If you want to upgrade to a larger capacity SDD in the Dell Mini 9 you are limited to 64GB. This is as these SDDs come in Mini PCI-e sizes of 50mm. The larger capacity SSDs (>64GB) come in a Mini PCI-e size of 70mm, the only way of fitting in the extra 20mm requires you to actually cut into the Dell Mini 9 case with a dremel.

For those that feel confident enough to do this mod, the result will be a SDD that offers 20 percent more speed and double the capacity. Just remember, you need to source a PATA SDD as the Mini 9 does not accept SATA SDDs. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Dell Mini 10 upgrades dated, Dell Mini 11 on the horizon?

Dell’s netbook roadmap appears to have been leaked by a tipster to NetbookNews.de. A full range of presentation slides have been leaked for Dell’s 2009-2010 mini-notebook/netbook roadmap. The roadmap highlights when we can expect to see some of potential upgrades for the Mini 10 as well as hints for a new model dubbed the Dell Mini 11 with an 11.6-inch display.

When the Dell Mini 10 was first announced a number of options were promised for the 10-inch netbook. We have already seen a higher-resolution (1366 x 766) display appear for it and judging from the roadmap a number of other options will appear on April 17th. This includes a 250GB hard-drive, a TV Tuner, a 6-cell battery, Ubuntu Linux and, potentially, even a 1.86GHz Atom CPU. On May 20th a model with 2GB RAM is also planned. It is difficult to know how set in stone this is as one of the slides says: “Do we need the 1.86GHz processor option? Performance increase is minimal but cost increase is high – approx $75”. This clearly highlights that maybe this is still work in progress.

The slides also point to a new Mini 10 with 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, Ubuntu and XP options and 120/160GB HDD or 8/16GB SSD options. The Dell Mini 11 with an 11.6-inch high resolution display is muted for a Q2/Q3 release. An updated Mini 10 with Intel’s new Pine Trail processor is also expected in Q3/Q4. The slides are not the easiest to follow and we also do not know when they are from and if anything has changed in the meantime. Check out the slides after the jump. Read more

Photo comparison: Dell Mini 9 vs. Dell Mini 10

For those of you trying to decide between the 8.9-inch Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook against the 10.1-inch Dell Mini 10, NetbookNews.de have an extensive photo gallery comparison comparing the two netbooks.

Judging by the photos it appears that the lids of both netbooks are prone to fingerprints. Both also use identical power supplies. For those of you siding with the Mini 10, it is worth noting that a high resolution (1366 x 768) display option is now available for an extra $35.

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