REVIEW: Dell Inspiron Mini 9

[rsplenum]

its useless......

[Naoufalitos24]

The hp mini 210-2000 Kills em all

[GamingGeek97]

Hey Jason, your favorite netbook price lowered. The Nokia Booklet 3G, I checked on Amazon. Used to be $600...

[GamingGeek97]

@GamingGeek97 im the U.S

[KillAllRats08]

they havent stopped selling it in the uk... it comes in white also :D

[guitar0096]

Hey jason one question what do you recomend me to buy the mini 10 or mini 9

[thatoneguy158]

I love my Dell Mini 9... after installing windows xp on a clean slate and manual installing the drivers. No bloat for me! It's good! :D

[RTYB]

@thatoneguy158

you should better install Ubuntu Netbook Remix

windows sucks ¬¬

[iloveseattle123]

informative, do you have a favorite netbook overall?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Actually, I'm quite fond of the Nokia Booklet 3G, but I don't own one and it's quite expensive. ;-) I'd say the HP 110 or HP 311 are at the top of my list.

- Jason

[eclampsium]

Yes... Bad Job with software, one of the most common mistakes with notebook manufacturers.... Anything that is not usefull for me is called "BLOATWARE" !!!

[TheFatMenProductions]

I have the same netbook as you and i love it. you justhate it :(

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm glad you love yours - I didn't hate this machine, but compared to some of the other units on the market I felt like it had too many compromises. There are so many netbooks on the market today, there's lots of competition...

- Jason

[Katafotik]

i `m just wandering what mini laptop would you suggest to buy ???

[dramamajor1220]

Thanks so much for this vid. It's helped me decide what to get. I had been going back and forth between Dell and Acer for a while now. I've decided on the Acer Aspire One 11.6". I haven't opened it up yet so we will see.

[flamedude360]

DOES IT HAVE SPEAKERS

[Zerorebels]

no it has new alien technology that transmits sound to your mind....facepalm.jpg.

[azcardinal11]

i was wondering if i bought one of these would i have enough gb to download a game

[DYMFilms]

I LOVE CANADIANS!

[ThoughtsMedia]

We love you too. ;-)

- Jason

[GeorgiaLuong]

LOL, I meant $100-$200 usd

[GeorgiaLuong]

Do you recommend any really cheap laptops that have a webcam?

around $100-$100 usd

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, there's nothing out there that's so cheap - unless you pick one up used.

- Jason

[BCSskater]

Does it have window's movie maker

[ThoughtsMedia]

You can download Movie Maker for free.

- Jason

[ThoughtsMedia]

This model that I reviewed does not, but you can order it with one.

- Jason

[arturothestar61697]

wow i can't believe you spent $454 for this netbook. I spent 440 on my notebook including shipping and handling. It's a dell inspiron 1545 with intel Pentium dual core processor and 3gb ram and a 15.6 inch widescree. It's a very good laptop.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm glad you like your laptop, but your laptop is probably 3x bigger, and 3x heavier - so it's not like you can compare them. :-)

- Jason

[ThoughtsMedia]

Got a question about this netbook even though Dell has discontinued it and you can't buy it anymore? Before posting it, please watch my "Top 10 Netbook Questions Answered" and it just might answer your question. Thanks!

- Jason

[OldMrGrace]

Jason, do you know if the latest Mini 9s still have this display resolution problem - when booting up etc? I think I would find that very annoying. Great review, as always.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm not sure - you'd have to find a more modern review and check I think...

- Jason

[benman431]

if you would of got it with the linix you would of been able to get 2gb of BOX, a online storage for free

[ThelncredibleAtheist]

In your opinion, which is a better netbook: Dell Mini 9 or Hp Mini 1000?

[ThoughtsMedia]

In my opinion, the HP Mini 1000 is a superior machine. More storage, better keyboard.

- Jason

[adonian]

I just ordered a mini 9 from the dell outlet, it was only 239 (269 tax and shipped) its only 8gb ssd and 512mb ram, but I have ram to upgrade, and an ssd will be like a hundred.

I have an aspire one 160gb, and really like it, but just wanted to get this to play around with mods.

[raff0123456789]

do you think i could put the alienware/skins factory theme manager with themes on it without it slowing down/freezing to much/at all

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm not sure what that software is, so I can't offer an opinion on that. But it's a Windows XP system, so it will run all Windows software.

- Jason

[raff0123456789]

I was thinking of getting one for school work on the school bus do you think it would be good for that purpose?

[yankeesfan0517]

cool me 2 i might get one of these laptops too lmao

[ThoughtsMedia]

Sure, it would be perfect for those purposes.

- Jason

[ginny2020]

Hey, I'm think of getting this laptop and I was wondering if iTunes runs good on this laptop? and (if you've heard of this program) I was wondering if Sony Vegas would work without freazing? Thanks!

[ThoughtsMedia]

iTunes is pretty slow and bloated even on a fast desktop PC, but yes, it works just fine on netbooks. Sony Vegas...yikes. It would run, but I don't think you want to know how long it would take to render video on an Atom CPU. It would be slooooow. But it would technically work.

- Jason

[ginny2020]

Ok thank you. you helped a lot!

[StankyCh33z]

Also is there a cd rom drive to play music on my computer or watch movies?

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, there's no optical drive. If you need one, you buy a USB-based external drive for $60 or so. Watch the video response for the one that I bought.

- Jason

[99ThatKid99]

For the fact the it does not come with a webcam is just silly when there software, ill just use skpe it works well

[ThoughtsMedia]

Thank you for being one of the few people that understood the point I was trying to make. :-)

- Jason

[StankyCh33z]

I'm new to laptops because I have only owned a desktop and I don't know what any of the parts in the computer are. What is the best netbook I could get for under $300 because I am only 14 and I don't want to have to spend $600 on a computer.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Prices vary from country to country, but I'd suggest you look at the Acer Aspire One, or maybe the Dell Mini 9 if it's on sale.

- Jason

[StankyCh33z]

Does this computer have an ethernet port?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, it has an Ethernet port. Check out my unboxing video for details on the ports.

- Jason

[lolbarneysux]

would you recomend getting this or the acer aspire one for a 14 year old

[xev1n777]

That depends on the purpose of use. If you are looking for a netbook with XP that you are not going to mod or do anything to I would go with the MSI Wind.

If you want to use linux or upgrade later I would go with dell mini 9

P.S. Linux is definitely the best bet for all netbooks however I understand it does take some getting used to.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I think the Acer Aspire One, with it having a bigger hard drive, would be a better choice.

- Jason

[xev1n777]

I respect your opinion but personally not a fan of RPM based hard drives in netbooks they are very noisy and in my experience run very hot.

I think there are allot of other reasons that make ssd drives better than standard HD's but too much for discussion in a youtube post.

Great review by the way I have seen some of your other reviews and you do a really good job.

[ThoughtsMedia]

All things being equal, I agree that SSD drives are great - but unfortunately all things are not equal...you give up storage space to gain the advantages of an SSD. Hopefully by the end of this year 32 GB SSD drives will be more or less standard, and 64 GB won't be too pricey. 16 GB on a Windows XP system just doesn't cut it.

- Jason

[xev1n777]

I own both the acer aspire one and the dell mini 9 and the dell mini 9 is 10 times better of course part of the difference is my dell is running ubuntu and my aspire1 is running xp_home

But other advantage of dell is you can easily upgrade ram and HD with the aspire1 you have to take the whole thing apart

[ZamesProductions]

Hey Jason do you recommend getting the Dell mini 9 or the Acer Aspire One?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Tough to say...the Acer Aspire One offers more value for the dollar, though the build quality isn't quite as high as the Dell Mini 9. The Dell Mini 9 has some software glitches that you'd need to iron out. I think the Acer is probably a better overall deal if you can get it for a good price.

- Jason

[haigh152]

Are all the reveiws true? All the reviews I saw were saying its bad I'm thinking about getting one and I haven't heard of any good reviews. So is it good?

[ThoughtsMedia]

It's not "bad", it's just not as good as some other netbooks out there for some people.

- Jason

[SkyDaddyRox]

hey jason!

do you think that the mini 9 could support vista or not?

thanks! ^_^

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, I wouldn't try Vista on the Mini 9. It would be quite slow I think.

- Jason

[sv3000]

I think the Dell Mini 9 is a steal. Get one at the outlet before the discontinue them.

[mfatman00198]

I tought i liked it but when i saw the dell mini 10 i think is way better

[Annelle7]

hey i might get one of these for college....

do you guys think is a good idea?

please anybody...thank you

[cocoto123]

i get one two months ago . and i think , it 's great !

[ThoughtsMedia]

Sure, it's a good secondary PC - though keep in mind the battery life isn't great, so it might not last though more than one or two classes...

- Jason

[zippzom]

Make sure you get an external hard drive

[samf727]

is the dell user-upgradable at all? i am looking in to getting one...i am a previous dell owner (many times) and i love dell, so i think i am going for the dell...although, i looked a bit at the msi wind...if i want one for some programs and internet and stuff i can do in the car or travelling, which would you prefer??

[ThoughtsMedia]

The RAM should be user-upgradeable pretty easily, but that's about it. Possibly the hard drive, but I don't have the Mini 9 any longer so I can't crack it open to see. :-)

- Jason

[imDead11]

Yeah. I watched your unboxing of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, It looks alot better!

[daasguy99]

talk about criticism... lol dell deserves it!!!

[TehNoobinShow]

Also i wish the usb were on the right, lol.

[soccerfan995]

hey david if thats your name could you make a video that tells me where to buy the inspiron ini 9 because bestbuy dosent have anymore and the only place where i can buy won is online and when you buy the laptop online dose it already come with internet or do you have to call the people and tell them to install it and one more thing could you buy the little mouse online or can you buy it in stores

[ThoughtsMedia]

My name is Jason, and I have no idea where you live, so it's pretty hard for me to tell you where/how to buy one. Why not buy it online? It has built-in WiFi (802.11b/g), so that's how you get online. You need a WiFi router in your house to get online. I don't know what little mouse you're referring to...

- Jason

[stimpy100]

Dell's pc's/laptops/notebooks always come with a ton of bloatware. Respectfully, how is this new? It is almost always mandatory to reinstall the OS. Is it a pain? yes, but its just Dell. The video concern was valid and stupid. I don't get why Dell thinks matte is a bad thing. Is it a cost issue? The linux version sounds like a much better option for this overall. MSI . Though I will probably reinstall that too.

[avadyn]

well you have to remember that there is no dvd drive, so you'll need to have an external drive to reinstall the os.

[skatingrocks90196]

i just got mine and it dosnt have A CD PLAYER!!!!!!!

y?

[MulanF]

You have to buy an external drive which cost about $50 to $60.

[ThoughtsMedia]

No netbook has an optical drive. It's part of what makes it a netbook. Check out my latest video that shows an accessory that solves that problem. I might also suggest doing more research on a product before you buy it. :-)

- Jason

[TricktheTrickster]

The rest? AWESOME!! I got the bluetooth and webcam and I'm glad I did. 65GB Hard drive with XP for the win!!!!! But actually this mini 9 review helped me alot with the choicing, considering this is the same only bigger w/ the space and screen resolution, and probably a larger battery. I got a 6 cell battery, and it is huge bulging out of the back of it and the speaker placement is bad, but I'm dealing with it. I get like 5 hours with a full charged battery, maybe about 4:50, all the same.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Glad you like the Mini 12. For my needs though, a netbook with a 12 inch screen is a big too big. My Dell laptop is a 13.3 inch screen, so I prefer to have netbooks that are significantly smaller and lighter, and a 10 inch screen is the perfect solution.

- Jason

[TricktheTrickster]

I got a dell mini 12 and it is almost everything. The graphics card is totally suckish, and the keyboard has flaws. Many.

The spacebar goes off to the left of the trackpad it your hand is resting there, if you rest your thumb on the space bar without pressing at all, it will space very very much. The keys are *starting* to fall off, but luckily I'm okay there.

(continued in next comment)

[nickynoodles81]

Thanks for a good, thorough review. I think I'll still get one of these despite it's flaws, mainly for travel. I'll be getting a 32gb SSD and a 32gb SD card.

Haven't found many other netbooks that let you spec a 32gb SSD, but Dell now does.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Dell is offering 32 GB on the SSD, but I think only in the USA - I just checked Dell's Canadian site, and 16 GB is the biggest. 32 GB is definitely a more workable size than 16 GB.

- Jason

[TehNoobinShow]

Could it handle internet browser games?

[ThoughtsMedia]

It should be able to handle them, but it's not like I've played/tested every browser game ever created. :-)

- Jason

[dotaboy3892]

get the dell inspiron 1525 laptop

[ThoughtsMedia]

Why would I do that? It's a full-sized laptop, not a highly portable, light netbook. :-)

- Jason

[niyaz59]

if your not in to the dell mini 9 u sould try out the dell mini 10 its brand new and its got a HDMI

[ThoughtsMedia]

I just ordered the Dell Mini 10 actually, and will do a couple of videos about it when it arrives. It doesn't have HDMI though. The Mini 10 that Dell showed off at CES with GPS, a TV tuner, etc. is coming later on. The Mini 10 that Dell just started selling is a lot like the Mini 9.

- Jason

[mgrantom]

Very Good! Sam's has the Dell Mini for $245 including 1 Gig of RAM and the web-cam, but I doubt I'll get it after seeing the review. The screen brightness is a BIG issue to me in my old age.

[FistedByTrisha]

Fantastic reviews buddy, everything I needed to know. Many thanks!

[Plumpy899]

thanks so much for answering my questions! I still want to get a dell mini 9 though :-)

My friend has one and I've played around on it and since my hands aren't that big I don't think the keyboard size will really affect me. Also, a ton of people complain about the function keys being in the middle row but I never really use(d) them anyways so that won't really matter either.. thanks so much for putting this review out there and I hope to see more coming!

[moto815]

lol you didn't get a web cam/blue tooth..

for a price $545 just get a big notebook instead..

[ThoughtsMedia]

Why is it funny that I didn't get a Web cam or Bluetooth? I was trying to keep the cost down. And if you think a $545 "big notebook" is the same as a $545 small 2 pound netbook, you don't really understand mobility.

- Jason

[Plumpy899]

So you are basically saying you can't really put that many photos on it?

Oh, and I have a couple more questions.. heh... heh... well, i was wondering:

a) does it run itunes?

b) can it run Microsoft word and/or Open Office?

c) I looked online and it said for the windows xp it is $300, not $450. Is that true?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Well "many photo" is highly subjective. For instance, I have about 40 GB of photos. I can carry them all with me using the MSI Wind because it has a 160 GB hard drive. I can't with this. So it depends if that's important to you or not. Yes, it will run iTunes, just not very fast. It can run Word or OpenOffice - it's a Windows XP computer and can run anything that any other computer can run. There are various configurations for it ranging in price. Prices also change over time.

- Jason

[Linkinfank]

the processor is good but its very limited in space, but you can put in an SD card for more space.

[fergiliciousfreak]

Just go to the Control Panel and uninstall the Bluetooth and Video Chat. I thought you would have common sense because you do seem knowledgable about ccomputers.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I don't review things from my own perspective, I review them from the perspective of a regular user. You know, the kind of person who still has that "AOL Free Trial" shortcut on their desktop after two years. ;-) Just because I can mess around with a system to get it working the way I like doesn't mean that everyone can. And Dell should have known better - they were just sloppy with this system.

- Jason

[Lisa13245]

cute

[niyaz59]

i hope if there is going to be a another dell mini laptop and jason if u dont like the mini 9 then try out the dell mini 12 i heard its a good laptop and its better then the mini 9

[ThoughtsMedia]

I don't see much point in a 12 inch netbook - that's getting very close to the size of my 13.3" Dell XPS M1330. It think the 10 inch screen size is the sweet spot for netbooks...

- Jason

[MyDamnChannel94]

Hey i'm sorry but I personally think Dell computers are the best computers and im getting the Dell Mini so mymom can have mybig fat labtop. so I know i like it and its way more cute than that wind thing. the Dell Mini is to cute<33

[mipmipmipmipmip]

I got the ubuntu version, they made a very nice interface for it. Things like bluetooth and the webcam work from the start. They do make it VERY hard to get umts working, though, I had an easier time with the Xandros on the EEE.

What is nice about the linux version in the US is that all upgrade options are available (except umts). My german one came with 8 GB SSD with no options for upgrades on the site. In the US you can choose up to 64 GB. I'd have to look for aftermarket upgrade cards :/

[random21000]

you seem pretty well informed, but saying that 'dell did a bad job on the software' is slightly inaccurate. all dells come with a ton of bloatware, i.e. unncessary software. these can all be uninstalled easily (takes abt 30 mins, i imagine). it's irritating, but dell earns revenue by putting third party software on these PCs. If they provided systems with just a barebones XP install, you can be sure that their systems would cost a lot more.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I wish you'd actually listened to what I was saying in the video. I wasn't complaining about bloatware, I was complaining about Dell installing software that has no use on the laptop due to the hardware: Bluetooth software, which they probably pay for, and the video chat software. They do NOT make money from that software being installed. Please re-watch my video again.

- Jason

[craeli]

first off i work with Toshiba, in there relations dept. Dell how the biggest market share in computers period. If your talking about nb's im pretty sure its still Dell, then HP, and followed closly by Toshiba.

yes HP Mini is a great unit, however you giong to spend twice the money? :)

[ThoughtsMedia]

Q4 market share numbers for 2008 are in now and Dell has 28.6% of the market and HP has 27.5% - but that's for *all* computers, and HP ships more notebooks. So yes, Dell has a slight (very slight) market share lead, but certainly not in netbooks. They've only been shipping theirs for, what, two months? I guarantee there are more Asus EEE PC's out there, so they're the market leader. Toshiba doesn't even sell a netbook in North America! The HP Mini 1000 starts at $349, so it's not double.

- Jason

[makakrazi]

i got mine yesterday 4 ma bday n its alot bigger but i luv it.....n it aint windows i hate windows

[craeli]

ok your complaning about the storage space, but a usb stick,or an SD card... i mean for the size of the unit, and the price i think its a good price. WTF is MSI wind, never heard of it. what happens if you have an issue with the MSI do you get a long distance support # in afganistan? Dell has the biggest market share, so they must doing something right.

[ThoughtsMedia]

You're entitled to your opinion, but you're dead wrong about Dell having the "biggest market share" - they certainly do NOT have the biggest market share in netbooks. The Dell Mini 9 is a nice unit, but I like the HP Mini 1000 even more.

- Jason

[sukooru]

With what you touch on, your information is informative. Thanks. =)

I've been thinking about buying a netbook forever, but none of them really fit what I want, so I'm still on the hunt. The closest to my tastes so far has been the Dell Mini 12, but I want beefier processor and more ram. 12.1" screen on a netbook is perfect, I think. I hope to see more.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Check out the brand new HP dv2. It's got a 12.1 inch screen, starts at $699 USD, and has a 1.6 Ghz AMD Neo CPU, with an ATI GPU. It's a very nice little machine!

- Jason

[AandCinc]

I'm getting the ubuntu version for christmas, and I'm just going to look past any problems there may be because it's REALLY cheap and good enough for me, considering it's my first laptop.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Enjoy it - the Mini 9 isn't perfect, but it's a very solid little machine, and if it's your first laptop I think you'll enjoy it!

- Jason

[mizt3rman]

p.s if you got the ubuntu for it, you most likely would not have had to "waste" precious memory on anti virus software[although i have read that it "is useless" to you]. i must admit that dell probably did send you a defective unit... because i could not thing of any [good] reason to send you the bluetooth and camera software already downloaded. i can understand how you are mad at some of these things[such as the screen brightness], as i would also be very mad if i was sent a defective product.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Dell didn't have the Ubuntu version ready until quite a while after the XP version, so that wasn't an option.

- Jason

[essonet]

We're all able to install Ubuntu ourselves anyways.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Unbuntu is only as good as the driver support - I think most people would prefer to get the whole thing bundled together from Dell. But you're right, for advanced users, nothing is stopping them from using Ubuntu on this, or any other netbook.

- Jason

[mohammadmurtaza]

I am debating of whether I should buy the Dell mini9 or the HP mini 1000. In your professional opinion which would be a better bang for my buck? FYI I am a college student, used mainly for video, music, word, and internet.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Between the two, I think the HP Mini 1000 with the 60 GB hard drive would be a better choice for you since it sounds like you want to store music and videos on it.

- Jason

[george6900]

So I just got my mini9. It has bluetooth and I would like to use my 50 inch lcd tv in my livingroom as a monitor as I sit on my couch surfing the web. Can I do this wirelessly without a patchcord??? If so, what do I need to do???

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, there's no way to do what you want - the best you can do is get a VGA cable (hopefully your TV has VGA input).

- Jason

[kelvinella]

only stupid people will use winxp. the ubuntu version is better

[ThoughtsMedia]

Only stupid people leave one-line comments about one OS being better than another. Linux might be perfect for you, but it's useless to me, so don't insult those of us who make different buying decisions than you. You don't see me insulting your Seafood Corn Soup, do you? No, because that would be rude and pointless.

- Jason

[butterflylani]

did you build it because you have to click on the blue tooth and webbcam

[ThoughtsMedia]

On the Dell Canada Web site from which I ordered this, the Webcam and Bluetooth are both optional. I just think it's strange and sloppy for Dell to install software for hardware that the customer doesn't have. When I review things I don't review them only for myself, I review them for the general consumer - you know, the ones who have the link to the free AOL trial on their desktop for three years because they don't know they can delete it. ;-)

- Jason

[evilbillcosby]

Nice bitching an moaning. You are whining about the initial resolution and a system tray that YOU control?

If you dont how to manage a machine you have no business posting a review.

One Star'd

[ThoughtsMedia]

Here's a three-letter word: bug. Perhaps you've heard of that before? The laptop is set to 1024 x 600, its native resolution, but at every single boot it starts at 1024 x 800, then after a few seconds it changes to the proper resolution of 1024 x 600. This is a known bug.

As for the system tray, I said that I could un-install the software, but why should Dell put junk on there I can't use? I've never seen a laptop come with Bluetooth software when it lacks BT. Dell is just being sloppy.

- Jason

[evilbillcosby]

"but why should Dell put junk on there I can't use?"

Because those 3rd party apps make your machine cheap enough to purchase. I really hope you already knew that.

As to the dell mini9 being "sloppy", pick up a MSI wind or an eee901 and get back to me. Clearly you dont understand what netbooks are about yet. (i.e. THEY ARE CHEAP P.O.S.)

[ThoughtsMedia]

Your ignorance is astounding - you think that Dell makes money off Bluetooth drivers? They have to PAY for that software. And the Dell Video Chat software? It's their OWN SOFTWARE. You really need to grab a clue - you have a very big mouth for someone that knows so little.

And I happen to have an MSI Wind and I think it's great. It doesn't have the same build quality as the Dell, I agree, but it has a bigger, better screen, a real hard drive, more battery life, and better fits my needs.

- Json

[Howdy9044]

so do you have any idea why you didnt have the webcam included because there is two versions of the mini netbook

[ThoughtsMedia]

Oh, that's a simple answer: I didn't want a Web cam, so I didn't add it as an option. I hardly ever use the Webcam on my full-sized notebook, so I didn't want to pay for something I wouldn't use on a netbook.

- Jason

[Courtney33334444]

thanks for the tip im probally gonna get the white one for christmas :D

[jamesggg1]

lol

[Courtney33334444]

i got a question does the white one get dirty? cause i want a white one do u think the black would be cleaner?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I haven't had any hands-on time with the white one, but I suspect it would look cleaner in general than the black one because fingerprints and smudges wouldn't show up as easily as they do on the black surface. EVERYTHING shows up on shiny black surfaces. Some new colours have been released in Japan, so if you want to wait a bit, you'll probably see them offered elsewhere.

- Jason

[TheAgent06]

GREAT REVIEW!!!! You touched in areas that alot of other review companies are not even aware of about the DELL. DELL built wise are durable but everything else is crap. They don't bundle everything together for a nice cheap package. They would rather charge you for every little specs which adds up the cost. This is how they make money and reason why I don't buy DELL products. I would look into the New Samsung NC10. Great 10" netbook for what you get out of it.

[ShaltNot07]

wow... I never knew McAfee would slow down my comp... no wonder!!! can't figure out how to turn it off though...

[traxxasnitropede]

just go to add remove hardware and remove it. or if you are using the trial it will ask you to agree with the end user licence if you dont agree it will uninstall

[bmurphy48]

Nice review- I got one for my granddaughter- same configuration and I also did the software deletions that you talked about. I did get her the webcam, but had none of webcam software problem that you showed. I'm also interested in the extra Ram and SSD upgrades that tmacr6 mentioned- ( third-party?)as I'd like to have that option ready if she needs it- From where? the big thing that I like (other than the small form factor- I like small)is that it ships with XP - I'd like to avoid Vista!

[tmacr6]

Good review Jason. I have a dell mini 9, but I on the other hand love it. I did do quite a few things to it in order to get it to run faster including removing alot of the software from dell. The SSD is upgradable for pretty cheep. 32GB for $99. also you can get 2GB of ram for $27. so all in all it does fit my needs very well. Oh yeah, the msi wind was my second choice!!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Are we talking about the same product? I just checked out the Dell Web site and there is no option for a 32 GB SSD, nor for a 2 GB RAM upgrade. 16 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM is where it tops out. Or are you talking about after-market upgrades? That's kind of a different story then...

- Jason

[tmacr6]

yup. all the parts are avaliable from other sources (not dell)

[ThoughtsMedia]

It was a trailer for a movie called "The Rules of Attraction" that came out in 2002. I've never seen the movie, but Microsoft has all these nice HD trailers for testing...

- Jason

[lilrayray19]

good review jason, i was waiting for this one cause im looking for getting a netbook soon. but what you think about acer aspire one? is it comparable to msi wind and dell mini 9? thanks

[ThoughtsMedia]

I think the Acer Aspire One has a great price/performance ratio, but I returned mine because the fan was too loud. A friend bought one and he said that Acer has released a BIOS update to make the fan quieter, so that would help things out quite a bit. I actually have a video of the Acer coming up, so watch for it. :-)

- Jason

[silverstonewebcam]

Nice review Jason as usual. Im also thinking about a netbook, ( but iwth windows), any suggestions?

[ThoughtsMedia]

The MSI Wind is my personal favourite Netbook right now if that helps. :-)

- Jason

[gijqnes]

damn and i was thinking of getting this one for portability for making Youtube videos. is there another mini laptop thats better.

[ThoughtsMedia]

In my opinion, the MSI Wind is a better overall netbook - I shot an unboxing video on here previously, and I'll be shooting a full review video of the MSI Wind in the coming weeks (hopefully!).

- Jason

[intenseaty]

Great review. Thank you. I'm really looking forward to your MSI Wind review. Would love to get your view on typing issues as theese 2 compare. I touch type and would be doing a bit of it if I bought a netbook, but portability is why I would buy one in the first place. there are so many out there, and each come, oh...so close (to perfection), but no ciggar.

[ThoughtsMedia]

The MSI Wind has the best keyboard out of all the netbooks that I've tried, but they did do the stupid thing that some netbook makers do: they put the function key on the left of the control key. Doesn't bother me too much, but it really bothers some people. I don't know why these companies do that - people probably copy/paste/cut more often than they use the function keys to adjust something...

- Jason