Gaming Anyone considering the Dell Mini 9?

[DjFIL]

http://www.dell.com/mini/
Very nice looking netbook. The keyboard looks a lot less cramp then other netbooks (except maybe the HP One-Note... but I only want a netbook w/ Intel Atom processor). I only have one disapointment... in Canada... we can't order it with Dell's Ubuntu Netbook Remix, we're stuck with Windows XP. But they are offering Canada a very good deal when compared to the US offering.

USA's 399; XP, 512MB Ram, 8GB SSD, 0.3mp Webcam, only in Black unless you pay premium.
CAN's 399; XP, 1GB Ram, 8GB SSD, no Webcam, Black or White for no extra charge.

As said it's a very competitive offer. I'm probably going to order one in the next week or so (just want to wait for Apple's anouncements next week, but I think it's all basic iPods, which i don't need another). I really hope I can find an ISO of the recovery discs that come with Dell's version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/video-hands-on-w...inspiron-mini-9
Here's a video review, including a walkthrough of the very nice Ubuntu OS... other reviews mention the boot time for Ubuntu is around 20 seconds. 20 seconds is quite impressive... except my GF's Acer Aspire One with it's Linpus Lite Linux has a boot of about 15 seconds. But the Acer's keyboard is too cramp for me (espically the one here in canada, some keys are cut in half to allow extra keys for it's bilingual layout)

 

[notnarb]

I would personally go with an eee 901. Although two very similar machines, the 901 has more internal flash storage (and 18 more GB of online storage), a couple extra hours of battery life, a multi touch trackpad (yes, not that useful), and almost the exact same form factor. Granted the dell ubuntu distribution seems much better then xandros, but if unavailable in Canada, it shouldn't matter.

 

[Urza]

The MSI Wind beats both, so don't bother.

 

[DjFIL]

I don't want to pay the extra for the EEE 901... Don't need extra HDD storage, I'll just use a SD card to keep transferring media (tv/movies/music) between my desktop. The extra battery could be nice, but I'm not conserned at all with Dell Mini 9's sufficient 3+ hour 4cell battery. I shouldn't pay the extra for the MSI Wind either, especially because it's put together by the same factory/manufacture as the Dell Mini 9 (so no extra benefits in quality). Also I don't think it'll be too tough to get someone to post an ISO of the Dell Ubuntu recovery discs on a torrent site.

 

[Urza]

I don't want to pay the extra for the EEE 901... Don't need extra HDD storage, I'll just use a SD card to keep transferring media (tv/movies/music) between my desktop. The extra battery could be nice, but I'm not conserned at all with Dell Mini 9's sufficient 3+ hour 4cell battery. I shouldn't pay the extra for the MSI Wind either, especially because it's put together by the same factory/manufacture as the Dell Mini 9 (so no extra benefits in quality). Also I don't think it'll be too tough to get someone to post an ISO of the Dell Ubuntu recovery discs on a torrent site.

If you can't warrant the extra 35% cost for:

A) A larger keyboard
B) +1" screen
C) Integrated BT
D) 1GB ram
E) 1.3mp camera
F) A 6 cell battery

And of course the 80GB hdd (debatable on superiority vs ssd though, personally I would say it is).

 

[DjFIL]

Price difference is a bit more for us in Canada, epically for the model of the MSI that you are quoting.

MSI Wind (Intel Atom 1.6GHZ/1GB/80GB/10IN/WLAN/BT/XP Home/Webcam/6CELL) - from my cheepest Canadian retailer (including shipping and taxes) is $675.85
-vs-
Dell Mini 9, as offered to Canada (Intel Atom 1.6GHZ/1GB/8GB/9IN/WLAN/XP Home/4CELL) - direct from Dell (including shipping and taxes) is $452.48

I wouldn't say no to the slightly larger screen and keyboard. But I have no need for the BT or WebCam (I've never used either one on my MacBook once). The extended battery life could be nice, but not a consern of mine. And the hard drive isn't going to be used for anything extra beyond the OS (to be replaced with Ubuntu Netbook Remix), Applications (not too many extra to be installed) and Settings. Everything else for use on the netbook will be stored on the SDHC card... and all my other things (music, movies, ISO's, torrents, etc) will be on my desktop. Again this netbook is only for websurfing, email... and maybe watching a movie/tv show when traveling (will preload the SDHC before leaving each time). I have considered the MSI Wind before.. but what Dell is offering is exactly what I need for the price I want to pay.