Thanks for this review -- I have been pouring over several to see if this is the computer for me. I want an extremely portable device that will allow me to surf the net, watch streaming video, listen/watch music and video files and work with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Would be nice to add images and photoshop -- but not necessary as I have my desktop as my photography studio.
All of my previous laptops and even my desktop have less than 1GB RAM (256MB and 520MB respectively) so I am thinking despite the reduced hard disk space, this will be an improvement. I can always add memory cards.
Any thoughts you have regarding the compatibility of this computer for my needs would be appreciated.
Review of Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (October 2008)
Over the past four months, I have been using the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 for web based documents/blog/email, still photo manipulation/transmitting and I have attempted to harness it for editing video.
I bought it as a low cost (motorcycle laptop) that would be less likely to be damaged by vibration (no mechanical hard drive) and would have a better risk/loss ratio than my expensive laptop.
The nice part about running Windows XP is that it's compatible with everything. I can browse swiftly with Firefox and Google Chrome or anything else I desire to download. It takes my Verizon broadband modem and has built in WIFI.
It will stream video content like any Windows XP computer. The speakers are smaller and less robust than with most laptops but adequate for personal listening. There are jacks for headphones and mic. With the headphones the volume is comparable to any laptop.
I used it as a backup laptop to edit/transmit photos last week from the Inauguration where I needed 17 hours of reserve power and had no ability to charge. I have not used Photoshop on the Dell Mini 9, but use the free image editing program GIMP
