Dell Netbook for $199

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Dell dropped this in my mailbox and I thought I would pass it along. Anyone looking for a Netbook to use for lighter duty needs should give a look at the Inspiron Mini 9 with Ubuntu Linx for $199 today. Looks to be a hell of a value if you have been wanting to get into a Netbook.
 
Was working on a mini9 w/ XP UMPC and ~8GB SSD over the weekend. Was a pretty slick little machine. IMHO XP doesn't below on a netbook, its just too fat. You can tweak things to slim it out, but all in all, your favorite Linux variant belongs.
 
That's weird. I spec'd out a 9 and a 9n. The 9n is only offered with 1gb RAM but the 9 can be speced for 512mb, 1 and 2gb.

The 9 spec'd to 2gb is still cheaper than the 9n spec'd with 1gb, and is only $10 more if you bring up the SSD drive from 4gb to 8gb, the 9n spec'd drive.

Someone needs to show Dell how to manage specs with prices better.. but they can wait til I buy their netbook first *grin*
 
I bought one the last time they had the $199 deal. I love it. Awesome little netbook that does everything I need it too. Unbuntu works out of the box as well. (with most everything I needed)
 
PyroHoltz said:
Was working on a mini9 w/ XP UMPC and ~8GB SSD over the weekend. Was a pretty slick little machine. IMHO XP doesn't below on a netbook, its just too fat. You can tweak things to slim it out, but all in all, your favorite Linux variant belongs.
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I was able to squeeze XP and Office 2007 onto my Dell Mini and I only have the 4gb SSD. I don't have any issues running it. You just have to know how to properly tweak everything and strip out all the crap.
 
ima gonna get one...I've been looking at one of these for ages.

how important is the external dvd drive? i guess i could just buy the netbook w/o the drive and see if i need it....buy one later on.

how much ram do these things need?
 
WesM63 said:
Am i missing something? The cheapest 1000HA I see is $330-350. That is $150 more, not $50 more.
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Oops, yeah your right...

My brain wasn't functioning when I responded. For some reason, I was thinking the 1000HA was $249.99, not $349.00.

I'd still rather have to 1000HA though :)

Actually, that HP model with the x768 screen and aluminum chassis looks really nice...
 
Nice deal on a neat little machine.

I picked up a refurb'd mini9 early last week. It ended up about $60 more than this with 1Gb DDR, XP and the 16Gb SDD after the refurb price minus an outlet coupon I found. Mine looked brand new, YMMV of course.

A certain apple'y OS sits on it very well I've found ;)
 
mikeczyz said:
ima gonna get one...I've been looking at one of these for ages.

how important is the external dvd drive? i guess i could just buy the netbook w/o the drive and see if i need it....buy one later on.

how much ram do these things need?
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The one we have here at work, I used a USB thumb drive to reinstall the OS. I don't like OEM builds, so I always reinstall.

I wouldn't say it's "necessary", but it's pretty convienent. If you have something that "needs" a CD-ROM (like TrueCrypt), you can install an emulator and mount the ISO from a flash drive.
 
This is a very nice little machine. The most solid built netbook I have laid my hands on. Also it has no moving parts so it is completely silent. Also it was ridiculously fast. Booted to XP desktop in 24 seconds on a slimmed down xp install.

Alas, I couldn't get past the small keyboard and screen. Ended up moving to a 10" Lenovo which was easier to use. Looks like Dell is coming out with a Mini 10 in which I would quickly move to.
 
pxc said:
Sam's Club has the Dell mini 9 version with an 8GB SSD, webcam, 1GB memory and XP Home for $245 including shipping: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item_nbr=702612&iid=02-21-09_Homepage|POV|Mini

Even if you don't want XP, this is still a cheaper way to get the mini with better specs ($199 version only has 4GB SSD, 512MB memory and no webcam), plus you get a choice of colors at no extra charge.
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The Sam's club is a nice deal but it says 3-4 weeks for delivery....
 
I have a Mini 9 (nlite'd XP, 2GB RAM, 16GB SSD) that I use as my regular laptop (was using an Inspiron 1420 previously).

Works great for browsing, Office 2007, light Photoshop, light simulation work using Arena.

I swapped the keyboard for the international version which has a slightly different arrangement of keys than the US version keyboard (for example, the ; and ' are in the proper place and they keys are aligned more like a full size keyboard rather than in straight lines vertically - they do this by using even slightly smaller keys, but use it for a week or two and you get totally used to it).

One of these days I'll up it to 64GB SSD from RunCore, and put a full XP install on it.

MyDellMini.com is an active community where you can learn about these systems.
 
The base model is actually $185 (or $178 with a Dell Preferred Account) w/ shipping Ground shipping right now. You have to add it to your cart, and then you'll see the lower price there.
 
Has anyone tried running MAME or any other emulators on one of these? Would the performance be better with XP Home or Ubuntu? It would be awesome to have a small computer you can stuff away inside of an arcade cab...
 
Can you run external USB sound like the Asus Xonar on this and does it sound decent?
 
Jim Robbins said:
Has anyone tried running MAME or any other emulators on one of these? Would the performance be better with XP Home or Ubuntu? It would be awesome to have a small computer you can stuff away inside of an arcade cab...
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No, but that's a hell of an idea :D To the intrawebs!!
 
These machines are awesome! I wish I had the option of getting a 32gb ssd when I got mine, 16gb is barely big enough for 'fruity' os that I put on it. Regardless, it's a fun little computer to use on the go, as long as you don't have to do any serious typing. It should also be noted that these are thing are build very solidly, mine only had a little battery jiggle which was cured by putting some tape on the side of the battery to make it fit nice and snug.
 
I ended up buying one. Tricked it out a little bit over the base model...ram, 16gb, webcam etc. am VERY excited to play around with this thing.
 
Now, keep in mind my mini 9 is running OS X... I installed MAME and played a quick game of WWF Wrestlefest. Ran fine, sounded fine...

ISSUE! The keyboard is not recognized once you're in the game :( I plugged up an external KB and that worked.
 
I bit.. damn you hardocp, always making me spend my money!

anyways, I got the 9n ubuntu model with a 32gb ssd and the stock 512mb ram, but I ordered a 2gb stick seperately (in the same order) to save $42. It was $33 for the 2gb stick through the parts / accessories section, rather than $75 if purchased in the mini 9.

I'm gonna drop OSX on it once I get it.
 
That's a pretty good deal, although it only comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB SSD by default. Adding another 512MB is $25 at the site, and doubling the SSD capacity to 8GB (which is the bare minimum IMO) is another $35.

IMHO XP doesn't below on a netbook, its just too fat. You can tweak things to slim it out, but all in all, your favorite Linux variant belongs.
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On my Aspire One, a tweaked version of TinyXP is slightly more responsive than a standard install of Ubuntu. I even switched to a leaner kernel made specially for the Aspire One, but things like scrolling through complex pages was still faster under XP. Of course Linux can be customized in an infinite number of ways so it can probably be made leaner and faster. Still, the 2D graphics part of Linux (X itself or e.g. Metacity?) seems to be less optimized than Windows, no matter how much you try to tweak it.
 
I think we should start calling them "thrown room books" for obvious reasons!

Not a bad deal on the Dell's. I picked up an Eee PC 1000H with XP, 10.1" screen, 160GB HD for $320 at Best Buy a couple of weeks ago. The small SSD drives just don't cut it though I would like to upgrade to a 160GB or higher SSD in the future.

My first recommendation for those who like Windows, put Windows 7 on it. I put build 7022 on mine and what an awesome little puppy. I can even play hi def TV shows recorded on my Vista Media Center over the wireless with decent performance.

No speed demon but I've been able to run Office 2007, surf, play videos and music just fine. I'm thinking about putting some development tools on it (VS and Eclipse) but the small screen really would be the issue there. I think just having something that I can pick up around the house and take it to the garage, kitchen or "thrown room" is just fine for me.
 
How long till the 10's come out, thats what i'm waiting for.

If the 10 inch wasn't so close to come out i would have bit on this.
 
The 10 is already out. regular price is $449 for the 1.6/1GB/160GB HDD or take off $50 by getting the 1.3

COLOR Obsidian Black edit
PROCESSOR Intel®Atom®Processor Z530 (1.6GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition SP3 edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service edit
HARD DRIVE 160G, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
WIRELESS CARDS Wireless 802.11g (1397) Mini Card edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 24WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (3-cell) edit
My Accessories
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE Norton Internet Security 2009 AntiSpyware Edition, 30-Day Trial edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9 DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD edit
My Service
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
PROCESSOR Inspiron Mini 10
DISPLAY 10.1" Widescreen Anti Glare$#174; Display (1024x576)
VIDEO CARD Intel®Graphics Media Accelerator 500
MEMORY 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
MOBILE BROADBAND No WWAN Option, Inspiron
TV Tuner No Internal Digital TV Receiver
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, English
POWER OPTIONS
 
Disregard my last comment.... Looks like the GMA 500 is some sort of PowerVR core, so it wouldn't be a simple case of modifying a driver........ Someone would have to write one from scratch.
 
Yet again, this deal is for U.S. customers only...is there one for canadians?

Best buy has a deal for the dell mini 8.9" for $299, apparently $120 off.
 
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Oh thats a great find! Somehow I'm still drawn to the NC10 though, it looks a lot better. Why do the EEEs always look so.. cheap?
 
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