It's a price worth fighting for!
(Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment)You say you want value in your mobile computer? You say you want something super cheap? Not one year ago, we visited a very similar subject and found most Netbooks averaging $499. Now Netbooks are available for $299 or less, thanks to incredibly affordable new offerings from Acer--the just-reviewed Aspire One AOD250--and Dell's Mini 10v. A line has been drawn in the sand, and now we answer the question: what can $300 get me in a new Netbook?
The Dell Mini 10v was the first mainstream Netbook to come out of the starting gate at this sub-$300 price, followed by the new Acer Aspire One AOD250 and the HP Mini 1115NR. Below, check out our chart comparing the features each will give you in terms of CPU, hard drive, RAM, screen size, and other basic specs.
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| CPU | Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) | Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) | Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) |
| Hard drive | 120GB (5600rpm) | 160GB (5600rpm) | 80GB (4200rpm) |
| RAM | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| OS | Windows XP | Windows XP | Windows XP |
| Screen | 10.1 inch | 10.1 inch | 10.1 inch |
| Battery | 3-cell (not tested) | 110 (minutes) | 150 (minutes) |
| Network | 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth | 802.11 b/g | 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, Verizon 3G broadband modem |
| Price | $299 | $298 | $199 (with a 2-year Verizon mobile broadband contract) |
First off, you might notice a lot of similarities between devices. Might we say nearly identical specs? ... Read more
Care for a Dell Cupcake? We knew you would. Credit to Dell for not only listening to reader suggestions, but for doing their own video hacking. At their own labs (hey, those kinda look like ours), they demonstrate the newest Android update, "Cupcake," on a Mini 10v, being quick to announce that "they have no plans" to announce such a thing...but that it "runs really nicely." So says Doug Anson, a technology strategist who works at the office of the CTO, who demonstrates.
We see no sign of it running nicely on the video--in fact, all we see is a semi-squished clock and some icons. But if Dell is already playing with Android, wouldn't that mean Cupcake...er...Android Netbooks in the very near future? (Of course, we already knew that, though, didn't we?)
Despite all the grumblings about Android being less than ideal for Netbooks, if Google were to release an Android-upgraded Google Office suite, we'd sit up and pant just a little bit.
Also demoed (or briefly shown, should we say) is a Dell Mini 10v running Ubuntu Netbook Remix...a far less exciting reveal.
So, the 10v runs a myriad of operating systems, and is a friendly development platform. Note to all OS makers out there: Dell wants to catch your eye. After all, says Anson, they've got a nice "notebook...er...Netbook."
Dell has released a revamp of its Mini 10 Netbook, that "delivers on value," says the company. Accordingly, the new product's name is the Dell Mini 10v. Starting at $299, the Mini 10v is a bold shot across the bow of the competition, notably Acer's $349 Aspire One. We've seen talk of $199 or cheaper Netbooks bundled with mobile phone company contracts, but nothing this inexpensive as a stand-alone product.
The $299 base price Mini 10v includes An Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a 3-cell battery, and Windows XP. That makes for a perfectly serviceable Netbook experience, and Dell's cost-cutting seems to revolve around replacing the Intel Atom Z520 and Z530 processors used it the previous Mini 10 systems with the more common N270 (which is found in virtually every other Netbook). Interestingly, you can swap in Ubuntu Linux instead of XP, but the cost is the same.
Trading up to a $350-399 system from HP, Acer, or others would get you a 160GB hard drive and a 6-cell battery, and Dell offers those as options as well (brining the total cost to $354). The base model is Obsidian Black, and other colors (Alpine White, Cherry Red, Promise Pink, Ice Blue, Jade Green,and Passion Purple) add $40.
According to Dell's online configurator, the preliminary ship date for the Mini 10v is June 2.
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