Review: Dell Inspiron Mini 12

PACKS A LOT IN: There's no CD or DVD drive, but Dell's latest netbook is an affordable package with a lot of extras.

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Dell's latest netbook blurs the line between these pint-sized portable PCs and their larger cousins.

The Inspiron Mini 12 ($899 from www.dell.co.nz) has most of what we like about netbooks: a modest price tag ($899), low weight (1.2 kilograms) and most noticeably, a slim sylph-like profile that tapers from 2.5cm to 1.8cm at its thinnest.

But while many netbooks suffer from a cramped keyboard and screens averaging about 23cm to 26cm, the Inspiron Mini 12 maxes out with a vivid 31cm display and an appropriate full-sized keyboard that is a delight to use.

There are still some compromises, such as the lack of a CD/ DVD drive (that's part of the netbook recipe) and a hard disk limited to 80GB. And you can buy a fully featured brand-name notebook for not much more money than the Mini 12, but it'll be much bigger and heavier. It's this go-anywhere portability that makes the Mini 12 shine.

Add features such as in-built wireless (including Bluetooth, for mobile phone connections) and a webcam and in some ways it's like getting a MacBook Air at a quarter of the price.

For all that, the Inspiron Mini 12 isn't as good as it could be. Even with Intel's Atom processor punching above its weight in tasks such as video playback, the system struggles under Windows Vista, which Dell has chosen as the pre-loaded operating system instead of the more nimble Windows XP.

That the Mini 12 is fitted with only 1GB of memory, which can't be upgraded to a meatier 2GB, is another hardware handicap.

We rated the battery life at three hours while using a wireless internet connection, a figure likely to disappoint road warriors, although it'll be enough for the average user as long as they travel with the tiny power pack and don't stray too far from a 240V socket.

- © Fairfax NZ News