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29 of 29 found the following review helpful:
After all these years... May 17, 2009
By John M Flora
"olioscourge.blogspot.com"
I've been looking for something like this for years to chronicle my motorcycle trips.
I was loathe to give up saddlebag space to a full-size laptop and worried that the heat, dust and vibration of motorcycle travel would kill a laptop with a conventional hard disk drive.
So I started out with travel journals, but I had to wait until I got home to blog my trip stories.
Then, five years ago, I tried blogging from the road with a Palm Treo 300. It was barely adequate. I stepped up to a Treo 600, and then the 700p, but even with the accessory fold-out keyboards, it was still a chore to write blog entries and manage my e-mail. And while the cameras have improved, they're still pretty bad.
I miss the 3G connectivity with the Mini 9, but Wifi hotspots are becoming more plentiful and it's getting easier to find them, especially if you have the AT&T deal with Starbucks or McDonald's.
The SSD (solid state drive) seems perfect for motorcycle travel, since it has no moving parts and is, therefore, less vulnerable to damage from vibration.
The 1GB of RAM and 8GB of SSD capacity are plenty, assuming you don't junk the Mini 9 up with lots of software. And there isn't any reason to do that, considering that you can do all of your email, word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, and other office-type functions up in "the cloud" with Google Apps.
I found the Internet Explorer browser's menu bars took up too much screen real estate, so I installed Google's streamlined Chrome browser that lets me see more of the web pages at a glance. I also avoid loading up the SSD by using an 8GB SanDisk thumb drive as a D: drive.
I'm not much for touchpads - the Mini 9's touchpad works fine, I'm just not a touchpad guy - so I use a wireless optical mouse.
The built-in webcam is surprisingly good. I have yet to use it for a live conversation, but it shoots quite acceptable still photos. The SD card reader is perfect for importing images from a higher-quality digital camera.
The smaller keyboard takes a little getting used to. The apostrophe and quote marks and dash/underscore are not where my fingers expected to find them, but it doesn't take long to make the synaptic adjustment.
The Mini 9 is intelligently designed when it comes to upgrades. You can access its guts by removing two screws and a cover plate on the underside. As I said, it comes with 1GB of RAM. You can double that for about $30 and the conversion takes about 5 minutes.
Computer development being what it is, there are sure to be subsequent generations of netbooks with more speed, power and versatility. But for now, I think the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is one of the best buys out there.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
dell mini 9 Dec 23, 2009
By Stephen B. Hudak i have had my dell mini 9 for almost a year now and still LOVE it. I do a lot of writing and it is excellent fr that. I have Windows XP but did not get the office software. I downloaded openoffice.org software and the programs I use (writer and presentation are they are compatible with word and powerpoint thus far).
I purchased additional SD cards which I use for storing my info...
Using a mouse is best for me, and the keyboard takes a little to get used to, but for its purpose, the Dell mini 9 is wonderful...I had an ASUS, which was fine, but I prefer the Dell mini.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Worked well until... May 19, 2011
By Pat Same problem as others have mentioned here, died and can't reload operating system. Of course, two years out of warranty. Main purpose for buying was the SSD and my motorcycle travels. Felt without a regular HD, I'd be safe. Was for two years, and it worked great during that time, but now it's useless, unless I want to spend big $$ to get it fixed, and it's probably not the hard drive giving the problem. Anybody know of a sturdy netbook that can withstand the vibrations of a bike on the road??
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Better than expected Sep 22, 2010
By SyntaxSyanide got this in the mail for my brother, for his graduation. Had a free case, was nice, works well and in good condition as advertised.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
good buy for the bucks Oct 14, 2009
By Edward G. Foley It's small. Not a mainframe. Ir you want to surf the web without lugging a suitcase, it's perfect. Just don't plan on solving universal questions. Mine works great, although I had a charger issue, which Dell dealt with in a timely manner, I have no complaints.
I can carry it almost everywhere as it is so small. Also,I have small hands so the keyboard is workable. If ya got clunky hands, probably not the best bet.
For users: If you're into "nero", delete it (you will have to download a mini-ap to actually delete it. Then, entirely and reinstall from the disc. You get a better deal. And yeah, I agree with the former poster, get a mouse.
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based on 10 reviews
After all these years... May 17, 2009
By John M Flora
"olioscourge.blogspot.com"
Worked well until... May 19, 2011
By Pat
good buy for the bucks Oct 14, 2009
By Edward G. Foley
