Dell Inspiron Mini 10v review
in Laptops
1 of 3 
Verdict
The vivid 10in screen and light travelling weight are both attractive features in this well-priced netbook, but there are some annoying flaws too
Review Date: 13 Oct 2009
Reviewed By: Tim Danton
Price when reviewed: £243 (£279 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | Inspiron Mini 10v |
| Review Date | 13 Oct 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £243 |
| Price inc VAT | £279 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Performance |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
| Physical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 261 x 183 x 30mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 1.150kg |
| Travelling weight | 1.4kg |
| Processor and memory | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Atom N270 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel 945GSE Express |
| RAM capacity | 1.00GB |
| Memory type | DDR2 |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 |
| SODIMM sockets total | 1 |
| Screen and video | |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 10.1in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,024 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 600 |
| Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Graphics chipset | Intel GMA 950 |
| Graphics card RAM | 128MB |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 160GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 139GB |
| Spindle speed | 5,400RPM |
| Internal disk interface | SATA |
| Hard disk | Western Digital WD2500BEVT-75ZCT2 |
| Optical disc technology | None |
| Optical drive | N/A |
| Battery capacity | 2,100mAh |
| Replacement battery price ex VAT | £69 |
| Replacement battery price inc VAT | £79 |
| Networking | |
|---|---|
| Wired adapter speed | 100Mbits/sec |
| 802.11a support |
|
| 802.11b support |
|
| 802.11g support |
|
| 802.11 draft-n support |
|
| Integrated 3G adapter |
|
| Bluetooth support |
|
| Other Features | |
|---|---|
| Wireless hardware on/off switch |
|
| Wireless key-combination switch |
|
| Modem |
|
| ExpressCard34 slots | 0 |
| ExpressCard54 slots | 0 |
| PC Card slots | 0 |
| USB ports (downstream) | 3 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| 9-pin serial ports | 0 |
| Parallel ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 |
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 2 |
| SD card reader |
|
| Memory Stick reader |
|
| MMC (multimedia card) reader |
|
| Smart Media reader |
|
| Compact Flash reader |
|
| xD-card reader |
|
| Pointing device type | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Realtek HD Audio |
| Speaker location | Base |
| Hardware volume control? |
|
| Integrated microphone? |
|
| Integrated webcam? |
|
| Camera megapixel rating | 1.3mp |
| TPM |
|
| Fingerprint reader |
|
| Smartcard reader |
|
| Carry case |
|
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows XP Home SP3 |
| OS family | Windows XP |
| Recovery method | Recovery partition |
| Software supplied | Microsoft Works 9, McAfee Security Center (15-month licence), Dell dock |
| Battery and performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Battery life, light use | 3hr 28min |
| Battery life, heavy use | 2hr 0min |
| Overall application benchmark score | 0.42 |
| Office application benchmark score | 0.55 |
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 0.34 |
| Encoding application benchmark score | 0.39 |
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 0.43 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | Fail |
| 3D performance setting | Low |
From around the web
Does this model have a standard DDR2 laptop module? I've got the earlier model, the Mini 10, and that has the memory and cpu soldered onto a despoke daughterboard - meaning of course that it cannot be upgraded.
I've heard that the Mini 10v is different, but not had chance to dismantle one to check.
By davidbryant4 on 13 Oct 2009 
Memory type
Hi David - I haven't taken the Mini 10v apart so can't be 100% certain if the memory and cpu are soldered on. However, there isn't any easy access to the memory socket so clearly it isn't designed for end users to increase the memory.
By TimDanton on 13 Oct 2009
Memory
I bought mine from Dell for £229 with Windows 7 starter. Memory is upgradable yo 2Gb. Great video on You Tube how to do it. V funny. You need to be fearless though. It means taking the whole machine apart. Motherboard and everything. Not for the faint hearted.
By merlingabriel on 6 Apr 2010
advertisement
- How to install Internet Explorer 9
- Maintaining and supporting IE9
- Plan your deployment
- Creating a custom browser package
- Search in corporate environments
- What's on this week's PC Pro podcast?
- Judges mulling Twitter bomber conviction
- TomTom tech to set driver insurance premiums
- Speed-hungry customers push Virgin into profit
- Windows 8 pauses desktop apps to save energy
- Privacy expert: Google pushed for cookie law delay
- Nokia axes another 4,000 jobs
- Google brings Chrome browser to Android
- Symantec: we didn't "bribe" hackers, police did
- UK PC sales tumble by 20%
- Chrome's shine getting lost in translation
- BytePac: the cardboard hard disk enclosure
- How tech loosens our grip on reality
- Hokum watch: Safer Internet Day
- Why I'm deleting Adobe from my PC
- Prepare to be patronised: it's Safer Internet Day
- Dear Sony, Samsung and every other tech company in the world: stop trying to be Apple
- Will Apple's Final Cut Pro X update placate the pros?
- Smartr Contacts for iPhone review
- Switching to Office 365's Outlook Web App
- How Apple lulls Mac owners into a false sense of security
- Privacy - outdated luxury or public necessity?
- Building the bionic man
- The making of open-source software
- Top 10 stupid security stories of 2011
- 10 techs to watch in 2012
- PC Pro's favourite tech products of 2011
- 10 most read articles on PC Pro in 2011
- 50 ways to make your PC better
- A licence to print anything
- How to make Google AdWords work for your business
- The curse of sloppily written software
- Paying for your crimes with Bitcoin
- Behind the scenes: tech support for Formula 1
- The security risk of fat fingers
- Why Windows Phone 7 isn't quite ready for business
- When will Microsoft stop fiddling with Windows 8?
- Flash down the pan?
- Metro Style apps vs desktop applications
- Coping with Facebook changes
advertisement
Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk