UNBOXING: Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook

[lbprules123]

its tiny

[PygmyPuffskein]

I personally love mine. I just got it from Ebay, and its got Windows 7 already installed and running great. Its a wonderful companion to my Macbook.

[Warlondo]

I still use this mini 9 and works great.

Upgraded to 2GB RAM, Runcore 64GB SSD (FAST!!!), 9 Cell Batt.

But now the thing usually gets hotter than it used to be...but awesome netbook.

[standingcam]

I have the Dell Inspiron Laptop, which is basically the Mini with a better processer and a CD drive.

[moistcontinental]

where can i buy one??

[DemoMonster7]

If u read the info of this video it says Dell no longer makes this product. But they make the mini 10 which im using right now.

[moistcontinental]

i know, they don't make them anymore i wanted to know where i could get a used one.

[Devon0921]

Whoa!!! Jason, you agree with me too right? That black is really disgusting!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Well, it's not disgusting when you first see it - it only gets gross after it's been touched a bunch of times. ;-)

- Jason

[Devon0921]

@ThoughtsMedia

Is that why it looked like that when you took it out? Bcuz that is just so weird if you first take it out and it already looks like that.

-Devon0921.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I did this video a year ago, so it's possible I took it out to charge it up before shooting a video. I don't remember.

- Jason

[Devon0921]

@ThoughtsMedia

Oh. I like your Unboxing Dell Mini 10 video. I was waiting for a blue one with stars called Natural Light by Alexia Stamatiou with Windows 7 Ultimate but I was displeased when I got the Dell Mini 10v in black with Windows XP Home Edition.

-Devon0921.

[jorex9]

how much did you pay for it.

[qwertproductions]

so its a mini laptop?

[BkLiveWire]

Yea

[14meejmom]

how many laptops do you have

[TheMatthewmalloy]

Whats a kingston lock?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I meant a "Kensington Lock" - it's a security lock you buy to secure your laptop to a table. Most people don't use it though, it's kind of useless.

- Jason

[dasherend]

they took out the mini 12 and put the mini 9 in its place

[Averlinden11]

Yay, brought the mini 9 back. Idk why they removed it.

[Thegamer5150]

acer aspire one is way better since its cheaper to get xp and get better specs + looks alot better but the trackpad sucks but I got use to it + just crank up the sensitivity and the speakers suck epicly I got mine off amazon with the 120gb HD but I actually got a 160 GB model with the 3 cell battery which sucks but I plan on getting a 9 cell when the 3 cell dies

[Ip0dKiD]

u can get a referb mini 9 for like 180 something

[TheSubscriptionGiver]

which out of the mini 9 and the mini 10 would you say is better?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Dell doesn't make the Mini 9 any more, so it's kind of a moot point. :-) The Mini 9 you could upgrade the RAM on at least...

- Jason

[TheSubscriptionGiver]

I have a mini 9,but im considering getting a 10 since this one is broken...can you help me figure out whats wrong with it?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Nope, sorry, I'm not Dell tech support. :-) There are some Dell Mini forums out there, you could try posting your questions in there...

- Jason

[TheSubscriptionGiver]

ok.well thanks

[whoneedsapple]

i think they do because i just looked it up on their site and it let me order one.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Right now, as of the 27th, the Dell Mini 9 is not listed on Dell USA or Dell Canada. So maybe they're selling them someplace else, or like dreamcore says, they brought them back for the weekend only (which is REALLY strange).

- Jason

[whoneedsapple]

ya they r gone now so your right it was for the weekend....thats weird...

[tipman2000]

actually, they still sell it. if you hover over the "laptops and minis" tab on the homepage, you'll still find mini 9 listed. i think they are permanently bringing it back. even so, im getting one asap.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Wow, you're right! They don't show it as a current model in the main section of the page, but it's on the menu...how odd!

- Jason

[dreamcore]

Dell brought back the 9 for the weekend, and is still taking orders for them for a few more hours. I bought a couple more ;)

[MattsSkateboard]

I just ordered one from Dell refurbished.

[sammymunir]

okay i got the dell for 800 dollars which is pretty cheap for a 8 gb of ram computer and 640 hardrive space. off walmart. hope this helps. windows vista

[sammymunir]

ahahh i jsut got a new dell computer with 8gb of ram! and 640 hard drive space

[bowmaster24]

wtf! What kind! I know its Dell but how much!

[karimmonster]

mr. thougths i ll ask u a stupid question srry :) r this mini 9 have hard drive 16 GB !!!!!!!!! AND HOW MUCH IT PLZ ANSWR AND this mini 9 or mini 10 ....? and SRRY 4 DIS STUPED QUESTION :)

[ThoughtsMedia]

Please note the fact that the Mini 9 is discontinued, and please watch my "Top 10 Netbook Questions" video before asking any questions. All your questions are answered in that video.

- 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

[phillipjfry6]

Can you get the Dell Mini9 with preinstalled ubuntu?

[ThoughtsMedia]

How could you miss the pop-up text in the first 10 seconds of the video? Dell no longer makes the Mini 9.

- Jason

[GameHuntersTV]

is it wifi couse i was thinking of geting one for the christmas coming up

[icylicious13]

heyy! so what do you think is the best netbook that has a big/large hard drive?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Probably the MSI Wind - you can get it with a 160 GB hard drive, and it doesn't have the fiddly touchpad of the Dell Mini 10.

- Jason

[icylicious13]

mr. thoughts can you install microsoft office like microsoft word and all that in a netbook?? any netbook??

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, you can. It's a Windows computer, so it can run Windows software. You'll need an external CD/DVD drive though of course...

- Jason

[judyjoey123]

may i ask if its a kensington lock u say?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, I meant to say Kensington lock...although at this point, it doesn't matter because the Mini 9 has been discontinued by Dell.

- Jason

[dillpickles34]

dang its suprising this thing is only 200 bucks!!

[bulletboy88]

I know net books come with pretty much everything, but i was wondering if they can record audio.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Every netbook I've seen has a microphone line-in, and if you get one with a Webcam, they'll have built-in microphones. I can't speak to the quality of said audio recordings, but it will work...

- Jason

[bulletboy88]

Thats ok.

Thanks!

[ruslango1]

what # from 1 to 10 would you rate Dell computers?

-Thanks

[ThoughtsMedia]

All Dell computers? That's kind of a hard question - it really depends on the computer itself. If you mean Dell as a whole, what it's like owning a Dell computer, I'd say a 7/10.

- Jason

[seandar]

The mini 9 as of this date is REALLY nice, one of the few netbooks with available 64 Gb SSD and 2 Gb ram. quite a bit more powerful than the old revisions of it.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yeah, Dell is continuing to evolve their netbooks - much faster than anyone else.

- Jason

[THEALBERT562]

I am going to get me one of thoes

[benman431]

well wat you said on the hard drive for the linix it actuly now has 32gb and thats the most you can get on it!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Videos are only accurate at the time I make them. When I made this video, six months ago, there was no 32 GB option.

- Jason

[scooterdoglover]

i just ordered my new dell mini 9!!!! I am sooo excited! Just one question i was just wondering how long it took for the shipping!!!!

[benman431]

well if you put the shipping methed of 1 day shipping after it sends it will take not long but if you custimized it it will take about 2-3 weeks with the 1 day after it ships!

[adonian]

I just ordered an 8gb version with xp for $239.00 from the delloutlet (dot) com.

I have an Acer Aspire One with a 160gb running xp, I like it.

My wife has the Dell Mini 10, with 160gb, I like it too so I got the mini 9, but I plan on putting a 64gb SSD and running windows 7.  I'll post a vid when I do.

[Hi1321231]

nice vid im getting one and lol  thts just groose

[peterinfamilyguy]

It basically sucks. I want atleast a optical drive!

[ThoughtsMedia]

If you want an topical drive, then you don't want a netbook. Netbook = Internet = no optical drive because it's a waste of space, weight, and cost.

- Jason

[peterinfamilyguy]

So netbooks sucks? It's very improtant with optical Drives! But a laptop! You get much more.

[ThoughtsMedia]

If you can find a notebook with an optical drive that's 2.5 pounds with a 10 inch screen for $400, by all means buy it...but you're probably not going to find such a thing. You can buy an external USB optical drive for $60 or so for the times when you need it - but most people don't need an optical drive all that often, hence the main reason why netbook OEMs don't include them.

- Jason

[peterinfamilyguy]

But you get more when you buy a laptop with a optical drive.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, you get more. More size, more weight, more cost. I don't want any of those things. Do you really use an optical drive so often that you need to have it in the laptop at all times? I don't. Most people don't. If you do, that's cool - a laptop with an optical drive is a good choice for you then. But if you look at the amazing sales numbers for netbooks, it shows that most people don't need an optical drive.

- Jason

[peterinfamilyguy]

Yep, But I'm not saying buy this than that. It's just that I use it very much and see it very important. But if people travel alot netbook is a very good laptop.

[haigh152]

Thanks soooooooooo much!!!!

This review answered all my questions! |] ☆ ☆

[KenitraBiker]

How well would the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, with Linux, be at updating a Wiki? Will it run the kind of Javascripts that are probably necessary? How about watching YouTube? Running a slide-show of my pictures? If it will really do those things it's probably most of what I'd need.

[ThoughtsMedia]

YouTube didn't post my comment, but here's the shot version: yes, it will run Javascripts just fine. That's a function of the browser, not the CPU. Slide shows should also be fine, though it depends on the software - some software is very CPU-intensive and might use transitions or effects that the Atom processor can't keep up with.

- Jason

[KenitraBiker]

Excellent - but I didn't wait for your answer, I'm waiting for a white one to be delivered this morning! I can't imagine it will replace my desktop, but then it doesn't need to. I'll have to try to wifi network it to this machine to read the CD for those things I do need to run - any tips?

[balletbeauty23]

I just ordered this in white!(: Great review. It helped me SO MUCH. i have a question or suggestion too....can you make a video of like every laptop you own? Like a huge size comparison?! PLEASE!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Most of the laptops/netbooks I review go back to the company after 30 days. The only laptop I own is a Dell XPS M1330, and the only netbooks I own are the MSI Wind and an HP Mini 10000. That's it. :-)

- Jason

[NumbaOneproducts]

Do they come in Red? I really want one. I don't like white or black.

[andrethom48]

yea but its 35 bucks extra

[ThoughtsMedia]

There are all sorts of colour options - go to Dell's Web site and look.

- Jason

[mfatman00198]

I think you should get a dell mini 10.

Its really awesome.:)

[Aidanjk0921]

whats your favourite lap top?? plz tell me

[ThoughtsMedia]

I just shot a video today of the new Dell Mini 10, and it's pretty nice, but I think my current favourite is the HP Mini 1000.

- Jason

[juanescru1]

Esperaba mas de DELL

[ThoughtsMedia]

No habla Espanol. :-)

- Jason

[bazzyb3737]

can it run itunes on ubunto?

[SoldatCrinale]

It should run itunes no problem..and you can actually get the minis from Dell preloaded with Unbuunto already on them. I think it saves money too.

[ThoughtsMedia]

No idea - this is a review of the Windows XP version of the Mini 9.

- Jason

[Bikercr3w]

Im 12 and i have a 13th birthday coming up in april and i have the older white 13 in. apple macbook and i've been looking around at some smaller notebooks or even the nokia n810 internet tablet,because i commute to go and see me my dad like once a month and i just wanted a smaller notebook or even that internet tablet by nokia

should i consider getting this or sticking with bringing my 13 in. apple macbook?

thanks for the review.

[SoldatCrinale]

it really depends. I just bought a Dell MINI 9 and its a great netbook. Running WinXP,1gb RAM, and 8 gb SSD. All which will be upgraded. anyway i do have some rec's you might be interested. Check out:

Samsung NC 10

Lenovo SC 10

HP Mini

Acer Aspire 1 or EEE pc 1000HA

and if you want to spend a ton of money

Sony P Series Netbook. but it packs a PUNCH!

Getting a netbook really depends on your situation. Its mainly use for travel and if carrying your current notebook is a pain. Good luck!

[TehNoobinShow]

Could it run internet browser games well? Or Youtube? Lol.

[SoldatCrinale]

yeah it can and youtube is no problem.

i forgot to write in the MSI Wind which is a nice netbook also.

[TehNoobinShow]

What about downloaded games that are 1GB, that take a bit of power?, I think i'll just get one and check it out.

[volure1]

i just bought 1 for very cheap only 200 dollar but their alway a down side have only about 30 hard drive space but it's a netbook for serfing the web still a good price

[kabookiwooki]

where can you get he DVD drive and how much is it

[ThoughtsMedia]

There are a few different options for external DVD drives: check Amazon, NewEgg, etc. I bought a Samsung drive for $70, works nicely. I'll be doing a video of it soon actually, watch for that...

- Jason

[Exc3lcior]

not to sound nerdy or anything, but do you think this can run the game runescape well?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Possibly - the recommended specs for Runescape are 128Mb RAM and a 500Mhz CPU...and that's pretty low. So it should work, yes.

- Jason

[Exc3lcior]

k thx a lot man

[kabookiwooki]

3. if this is good for a 12 yr old first laptop, where can you get the external drive?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I don't know what external drive you're referring to. An external DVD/CD drive? There are lots on the market - there's a great one by Samsung that I bought for $60. Or do you mean an external hard drive? Any external hard drive will work with this.

- Jason

[kabookiwooki]

1. would this laptop be good for a 12th birthday first laptop?

2. does it come in pink now?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Sure, it's a good first laptop for anyone - not too expensive, durable, small and light. As for pink, yes, if you go to Dell's Web site you'll see pink is an option.

- Jason

[melany1000]

Will this thing run iTunes?

[digitalchatroom]

yes. the only problem you might run into is the ram or the CPU speed but overall it will work with win xp but im not sure about linux netbooks though

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, but not fast - if you're patient a netbook will run pretty much anything. It's just like other laptops, but smaller.

- Jason

[therrion32]

Will it run iTunes?

[IpodbeastIpod]

hey can u play games on it like using that dvd thing or can u get on u tube and upload stuff could u play on things like runescape or club penguin and could u have i tunes on there

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, you can load software onto it using a USB-based DVD drive. I'm unsure about specific games - remember this is a very underpowered computer compared to most desktop computers, so it's not meant for gaming in any way. If you want a small laptop that can plan some games, check out the HP dv2.

- Jason

[junkauge]

runescape and club penguin are games that should probably be thrown in the trash anyways.

no offence

[Nindiscods]

I have this. I have the ubuntu version and am in the process of putting xp on iut. I have an 8 gb, but have an ecternal hard drive

[junkauge]

external*

[Nindiscods]

right

[kenye8]

is the external hard drive a usb one?

[Nindiscods]

yes

[upressaltf4]

would u be able to if the requirements are 512 MB

[ThoughtsMedia]

512 MB what? Storage? Video RAM? The system requirements for the game would have to match the specs on this unit: 1.6 Ghz CPU, and no GPU. I'm sure there are some videos on YouTube about this netbook and gaming. The truth is that there are so many variables (like what resolution you're playing the game at) that's it's impossible for anyone to tell you 100% for sure how well this will work with games.

- Jason

[upressaltf4]

ok thank you for the help ill look around

[upressaltf4]

Can u play games on this?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Depends on which games of course, but in general, the answer is no - the GPU is pretty weak, and the CPU isn't exactly powerful either, but it's not supposed to be.

- Jason

[RockStar9145]

Sorry 16gig

[RockStar9145]

The 8 gig solid state is the letdown:(

[ThoughtsMedia]

You mean that they used an SSD, or that it's only 8 GB? There's an upgrade option for 16 GB, but I definitely prefer hard drives, so that was one thing that didn't fit in with the way I like to use devices like this.

- Jason

[TPIR2008]

They did create blue, pink, yellow, and green for the netbook.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes - but none of those were available at launch when this video was created.

- Jason

[goloet]

i am wondering does it have a cd / dvd slot to play movies can someone reply if you can :)

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, you'll need to rip your DVDs to video files and transfer them to the Mini 9 - or get an external USB DVD burner.

- Jason

[froggerdoodlegirl]

omg i have two of these laptops and im watching this video on my white one ,but i also have the black one

[DiabeticJohn]

BALLS OF STEEL!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Thanks...I think?

- Jason

[widerangledotcom]

maybe your campaign for one worked? lol. never know.

but... yoeah, you're gonna have to use a different resolution (a widescreen one). now yours has a pillar box and a letter box!

[ThoughtsMedia]

You bet, I bent YouTube to my will! ;-) Hah. My newer videos look good: the Acer, HTC Touch Pro, etc. Question is, does YouTube allow high-quality embedding from external sites? If they don't, I'll still use MotionBox (or another host) on my Web sites.

- Jason

[widerangledotcom]

dunno. i dont think so... but i could be wrong.

[deagle94]

when you opened the lid,,,it was so cute inside the notebook,,and the way you hold it,,it seems that its extreamly light!!is that right??

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, it's 2.28 pounds - very light, very easy to carry.

- Jason

[deagle94]

dude,,your vid are awesome,,,specialy the 22" hp laptop ']

[dotaboy3892]

lol shiny black ya i got a dell inspiron 1525 with 250gb hard drive and 3gb ram and it has a street pattern so fingerprints show

[THEPAINE552]

cool

[ThoughtsMedia]

OK, so it looks like YouTube doesn't want to hear from users: I spent 10 minutes trying to find this mythical "contact form" they talk about, and it's nowhere to be found. It seems like the Community Help Forums (see sidebar for the URL) are the only place where you can make your voice heard. Please post a message there asking that YouTube deploy a wide-screen video player for 16:9 content. Yahoo's video player is an example of how it should look and work.

- Jason

[cswish700]

Do dey have vista?

[ThoughtsMedia]

No, not on the Inspiron Mini 9...on the Mini 12, yes, it comes with Vista Basic.

- Jason

[widerangledotcom]

they do actually have an option for 16x9. you uploaded it wrong though.

make sure that your video is actually widescreen that you upload, not letterbox.

when people click fullscreen - it'll be widescreen if they have a monitor that is widescreen.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm finding it hard to figure out exactly what resolution YouTube supports for 16:9 videos - I can't find any official support documentation, just a bunch of YouTube help forum questions with no authoritative answers. 480 x 360? That's what was suggested. I'll try that as a test and see how it looks (publishing privately). I wish YouTube supported 720p resolution...now THAT would be sweet. :-D

- Jason

[widerangledotcom]

I'm exporting mine at 640x360 (WMV format, but use whichever you like). I get widescreen like that.

itd be nice if they documented it, i found out by testing too.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Some further tests reveal that if I upload a video at 640 x 360, even at 3 mbps h.264, I lose the "High Quality Playback" option. I'd much rather have high quality playback on my videos than give people the ability to go full screen at the correct aspect ratio - going full screen at regular YouTube video quality looks horrible.

- Jason

[widerangledotcom]

okay. with mine, its 2mbps 640x360 @ 30fps (160kbps, 48kHz CBR sound) in WMV format, and seems to normally take a day or so (or more sometimes) for the higher quality option to appear.

[widerangledotcom]

hey! did you notice, they have a widescreen player now!

check out any of my videos that are widescreen - i dont think yours will be, you have to upload it at 640x360 or another widescreen res.

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, I just noticed that this morning - and you're right, my two Dell Mini 9 videos were hard-rendered for 4:3, so they look ESPECIALLY ugly with this new wide-screen player. I'm surprised that YouTube didn't implement an auto-detect feature though, 99.9% of the videos on here are in 4:3 and now they all look pretty lame with the black space on the left and right.

- Jason

[LefthandedGeek]

Jason, are you sure you didn't upload the video in letterbox (4:3 ratio) format? YouTube now allows 16:9 videos to display properly, but they won't crop letterbox videos.

Anyway, it's a shame Dell doesn't have any hard drive options (or at least an internal CF/SD card slot), because 8/16GB is hardly enough to hold any decent software, let alone any music or pictures. But I guess since it's a *netbook* it really isn't designed to be a portable photo album.

[ThoughtsMedia]

OK, I've done some more research and it seems like I didn't explain myself clearly: I was referring to the lack of a 16:9 format video player - something that shows 16:9 video without black bars on the top and bottom. Something that would hopefully be bigger than what YouTube offers today. Check out Yahoo's video player for an example of what I mean. I personally don't think there's much value in uploading 16:9 video unless there's a player that supports it properly.

- Jason

[LefthandedGeek]

Oh... see I was talking about the full-screen mode which, aside from the lousy compression, fills a 16:9 screen properly. Yeah, I agree that the standard player isn't the most efficient for

[LefthandedGeek]

(oops...)

Really, the video player needs a lot of work beyond just the aspect ratio. The performance and quality (even the "high quality" mode) are terrible - even when minimized.

[alanjrobertson]

unfortunately can't find an email address to contact youtube - the help centre mentions a contact form but never links to it - can you post a URL we can visit to send in the request re. 16:9?

[callmejosiah]

great re-unboxing, I think the keyboard size would be the only thing about this notebook that wouldn't work for me... as for contacting YouTube about a 16:9 view, I couldn't find anywhere to email them about that.

[silverstonewebcam]

ill try to get utube to do that

good video

[chieffw]

To be honest "shiny black" products should be sold with one of those silk handkerchiefs for wiping off the finger prints

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yeah, I agree - a micro-fibre cloth would be a nice touch. Even better though would be a different finish option.

- Jason

[lololzak]

yeah, with my new lg flatscreen tv,

its all shiny black,

and they gave us this huge microfiber cloth,

i use it for my ipod though,

lol

[panch85]

Great video WELCOME BACK!

[ThoughtsMedia]

Thanks, it's good to be back - though I really do hate the black bars on the top and bottom of my video. It sucks that YouTube doesn't offer any 16:9 aspect ratio player. My videos would be almost twice as big on the screen if they were in 16:9 format. I hope everyone emails YouTube to ask for this!

- Jason

[gunkydood]

how much does this cost in america? in my country, they overcharge for this kinda stuff. =.=

HP Mininote costs $1000++!!! WTF!

[ThoughtsMedia]

The Linux-based versions start at $349 USD, and the XP-based versions start at $399. If you get the XP-based version with every option, it's about $480 USD.

- Jason

[dudewtfwtf1]

First, sorry but always wanted to be first. Great unboxing video 5 stars! u rock dude