Oct 05 2008
Selling Geek podcast #14 - Dell Inspiron Mini 9
The tech blog Engadget recently pronounced: “The age of the netbook has indeed, arrived.” According to an Amazon.com list of the best-selling computers, nine of the top ten systems sold in September 2008 were ultra-portable devices. Popular netbooks like the ASUS EeePC 900, HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind and Lenovo IdeaPad S10 are all designed principally for accessing the Internet, managing email, browsing websites, instant messaging, running hosted applications and other connected tasks. Designed to be lightweight, compact, easy to carry and simple to operate, netbooks have emerged as an affordable option for Internet-connected professionals, which of course include most salespeople.
Recognizing this accelerating trend, Dell has released their Inspiron Mini 9 netbook at comparatively low prices: US$349 for a model with 4 gigabytes (GB) of solid-state storage, $399 for 8GB and $449 for 16GB. Customers may select either the Ubunu Linux or Windows XP Home operating system to run on the Mini 9’s Intel Atom processor. The compact, lightweight unit weighs just less than 2.3 pounds, and features an 8.9-inch screen, all in a relatively tiny package approximately 1 by 9 by 7-inches - about the size and weight of a moderate-length hardback novel.
Dell describes the Mini 9 as a “communication device,” rather than as a computer, as this box is tailor-made for Internet-centric tasks. To supplement the relatively small amount of on-board storage, Dell bundles 2GB of free Internet-based storage from Box.net, providing users with an online resource to keep and retrieve files. The Mini 9 also includes wi-fi access with a wireless 802.11g adapter installed, and also offers optional Bluetooth connectivity for an additional $20. The Mini 9 supports video chatting with a built-in microphone and webcam.
Some people have experimented with using a netbook as their sole computing device, with decidedly mixed results. Ultra-portable computers are designed to be carried around and connected to the ‘net - and for these tasks, they are very well suited. But as a rule, they lack the processor power, storage capacity and ergonomic niceties needed for content creation tasks including graphics, audio, video, and intensive text editing.
I wondered if the Mini 9 would be suitable as a second computer, to be used for sales trips on the road. After lugging around a full-featured laptop for many years, which weighs 12 pounds, I dreamed of leaving that heavy-duty computer (in every sense of the phrase) at home, transferring only those files I needed for sales calls to a lighter unit. I’ve found that I rarely use all the storage and content creation power of my laptop when traveling - most of that work is usually done in the office. On the road, I typically use my computer for email, web browsing, light document editing, and to show PowerPoint presentations. Could the Mini 9 fill the bill as my traveling machine, and save my aching back?
Girls like netbooks!
I tested a 16GB Mini 9 with Windows XP, with Bluetooth and the higher-resolution 1.3 megapixel camera options. The first thing you notice about this machine when you take it out of the box is that it is indeed tiny, compared to its laptop cousins. My charming spouse, after seeing the Mini 9, remarked, “I like your little toy computer - it’s cute.” If you have insecure feelings about your masculinity, the Mini 9 won’t do much for your image, apparently.
At the risk of sounding a bit sexist, I’ve found that, in general, women seem to love the Mini 9. After seeing my new Dell netbook, one of my female co-workers commented, “Hey, I could put that in my purse – it’d be great for browsing at Starbucks,” and then she pressed me for details about how to order one. On my last plane flight, three attractive flight attendants descended upon me, literally cooing at my Mini 9 like it was some sort of cute electronic newborn – which, in a way, I guess it is. Just yesterday, a young lady stopped when she saw me working on my Mini 9 during lunch in a nearby deli – she was fascinated with my little netbook and practically begged for an on-the-spot demo.
Folks, I’m your average-looking, middle aged sales geek, and I long ago gave up trying to share my enthusiasm for gadgets with the fairer sex, realizing that they found such discourse boring in the extreme. So, I find this sudden female fascination with reduced-size technology a bit baffling. I leave it to you to think of your own clever innuendo regarding how size doesn’t matter – but clearly in this case it does, and in favor of the diminutive. Could the compact design of netbooks like the Mini 9 make them into items of fashion, attractive to women buyers? I wonder.
Small is beautiful - mostly…
Practically speaking, the Mini 9’s small size is both its greatest asset and its worst flaw. It is indeed easy to carry. My laptop bag strap no longer cuts into my shoulder like a scythe. The Mini 9 fits neatly in your hand, too - it really does feel like you are carrying a book, not a computing device. On a plane, the Mini 9 is so compact that it can share a seat-back tray table with a drink and peanuts, with room to spare.
But its small size does make the Mini 9 feel like a compromise in use. The 1024 x 600 resolution screen, although bright, crisp and very clear, doesn’t provide a lot of real estate for displaying information – so be prepared to scroll up and down a lot when web browsing.
And, as on all small netbooks, the keyboard is a challenge. The Mini 9’s letter keys are larger than on other netbooks, such as the ASUS EeePC 900, although certainly not full-sized. And less-used keys, such as Shift, Tab, Caps Lock, Escape, Page Up/Down and others, have been shrunk to half-sized mini-keys. Further, the function keys require simultaneous pressing of the “Fn” key with another key on the middle row of letters. Similarly, engaging other features, such as turning wi-fi on or off, muting the speaker, or switching display output to the VGA port, requires some finger-twisting concurrent pressing of Fn, Alt and number keys. Sometimes you feel like you’re playing a miniature version of Twister on the Mini 9’s keyboard.
You might not think that a 10 percent reduction from normal key size would make that much of a difference on the Mini 9’s letter keys, but if you are a touch typist, it’s just enough to slow you down significantly. My fat fingers have a hard time with the smaller shift keys, which means I have to stop, look, engage shift, then proceed. The same goes for the period key, too. And the key for apostrophe and quotation marks is wedged in at the bottom right, which is guaranteed to interrupt your creative flow if you use a lot of possessive contractions or write dialogue. Unless I ever think I deserve to pay a heavy penance for past sins, I will never write a novel on the Mini 9.
The integrated touchpad and mouse buttons, however, are very easy to use, and configurable to individual tastes. I usually attach an external mouse on my laptop, but I never felt the need to do that on the Mini 9.
Under the hood
Despite my spouse’s initial impression, the Mini 9 is no toy. I installed Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and Word 2007 (using a third-party USB attached DVD/CD drive), and the Atom processor cranks through these applications quite easily. The lean XP Home OS runs multiple applications simultaneously, and it’s a breeze to switch from one task to the other with just a quick tap of the touchpad control. I did experience some degradation of processor responsiveness after I had a half-dozen application windows open, so don’t count on the Mini 9 for more than moderate multitasking. The on-board 1.6-GHz Intel Atom processor isn’t going to win any super-computing awards, but it’s more than enough horsepower for the kind of work that most sales pros need to do.
I also found file retrieval and storage on the solid-state drive to be very snappy and simple, although I found myself wishing for a 32GB or larger option. If you run any moderately hefty applications on the Mini 9 with only 4GB of storage, or even with 8GB, I‘m sure you‘ll bump your head on a disk drive ceiling in a hurry. Unless you plan to use your netbook only for web browsing, bite the bullet and pay the extra $50 for the largest 16GB drive.
With 3 USB ports, extending storage on the Mini 9 with connecting devices is easy to do. I tested several third-party USB 2.0 flash drives and they all worked flawlessly, as did a USB portable hard drive and the aforementioned DVD/CD drive. With all the extra room in my computer bag that the Mini 9 frees up, carrying a portable hard disk unit and a couple thumb drives isn’t a problem. The unit also includes standard headphone and microphone jacks, a VGA-out port, a 3-in-1 media card slot (supporting SD, MS/MS Pro, and MMC formats), and an Ethernet jack. I tested all of these by conducting Skype voice-over-IP calls, connecting to a projector and driving a PowerPoint presentation, transferring images from my digital camera, and hooking up to a hotel Internet service, respectively, and the Mini 9 performed perfectly on all of these tasks. Dell provides a video-conferencing client with the Mini 9, but I tested the built-in webcam using the latest Skype 4.0 beta, and had no problems at all.
Is the Mini 9 a cloud computer?
On his blog, tech pundit Om Malik outlined ten criteria for a perfect “cloud computer.” The Mini 9 comes close to meeting these qualifications, but not quite. Let’s run through each of these criteria, and see how the Mini 9 stacks up:
- Instant On - I was disappointed that the Mini 9 did not include a Linux-on-a-chip “instant on” feature that Dell provides in some of its new Latitude E-series laptops. This feature enables you to do simple tasks immediately after switching your computer on, by loading a basic Linux operating system from firmware, rather than a full-featured OS from the hard drive. Instead, the Mini 9 loads its OS conventionally from storage. I timed the Mini 9’s boot-up time for XP, after powering on, at just over 30 seconds. Wondering if I might improve that, I uncompressed the hard drive, and that reduced the boot up time to just over 20 seconds, albeit by sacrificing a couple gigabytes of storage. It’s not “instant on,” but it’s pretty darned close.
- Doesn’t generate too much heat - even after running for three hours, the bottom of the Mini 9 gets only slightly warm. You won’t find your thighs sweating after working with the Mini 9 for a while.
- Minimum 5 hours of battery life - the Mini 9 gets close to this mark, but not quite. I timed battery life while doing word processing and spreadsheet work at just under four hours. Not bad.
- At least four communications options - again, the Mini 9 comes close, as it includes WiFi, Ethernet, and Bluetooth. However, when you open the bottom of the device, you will find an empty slot that is clearly marked “WWAN”, and Dell has hinted that it is in discussion with several wireless service carriers for a Wireless Wide Area Network connection to an EVDO or HSPA network option, so perhaps we can expect a fourth connection option for the Mini 9 soon.
- Less than three pounds (batteries included) – here, the Mini 9 shines, weighing only 2.3 pounds, even with a 4-cell 32WHr Lithium-Ion battery on board.
- Screen size of 3.5-8 inches (wide-screen proportioned) – The Mini 9 is slightly larger than Om’s ideal criteria, at 8.9 inches, but I like it that way, and in fact, wish it was even a little bigger.
- Cloud-based activity focused – Dell recognizes that netbooks are oriented for Internet-centric work by bundling in Box.net storage, which I found a snap to set up and easy to use. The 802.11g wireless adapter is also one of the most sensitive I’ve ever seen – I was able to pick up wi-fi hotspots from more than 300 feet away and make reliable connections. This box is clearly designed for connecting to the ‘net.
- Cost no more than $300 – ah, here the Mini 9 stumbles. Even in its least expensive configuration, the Mini 9 is $350 – and my fully tricked-out version will cost you just over $500, not including any externally connected drives, if you need them. Compared to other competitive netbooks in the market, such as HP’s Mini-Note or the MSI Wind, the Dell is similarly priced, and still about half of what you’d expect to pay for a good fully-functional laptop. But make no mistake, it’s still not what I’d call cheap.
- Ports and connections geared for Internet-based activities — as I’ve said before, the Mini 9 handles external peripherals with aplomb, and it supports ‘net-centric tasks, like Skype calls, very easily.
- Touchscreen interface - not keyboard, touchpad focused – sorry, the Mini 9 is no iPhone.
So, in total, the Mini 9 meets five of the ten cloud computer criteria perfectly, with near-misses on another four. In short, if computing in the cloud is your goal, you’re going to be pretty happy with the Mini 9.
Although Dell is entering the crowded ultraportable market relatively late, the Mini 9’s release is a significant event. Dell is one of the last major computer manufacturers to embrace netbooks, and this should help to accelerate the acceptance of Internet-based cloud computing using lightweight, portable devices.
Sales Pro Value Score
In summary, the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 has indeed become my favorite road trip machine. Although it’s a bit more expensive than I hoped, the keyboard is more cramped than I’d like, and the memory options are limited, it fulfills all of my most important expectations for a traveling sales professional’s portable computing device. It’s easy to overlook the Mini 9’s few flaws after you’ve carried it to some sales calls – especially when you realize that your back doesn’t hurt anymore from lugging around a comparatively behemoth laptop. So, for its solid, lightweight design and good performance, though not without a few compromises, Selling Geek awards the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 a Sales Pro Value Score of 4.0 out of a possible 5.
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