Dell Inspiron Mini 10v: Flying V
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is the little brother to the Mini 10. But what does the V stand for? Value? Virtue? Vimto?
Did somebody say netbooks? Then you're in the right place, friend. We have netbooks coming out of our ears, the latest of which is the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v laptop.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is a cut-price follow-up to the Mini 10, running either Ubuntu or Windows XP and adding solid-state memory options. It packs a keyboard that's a respectable 92 per cent of full size, and the glossy 10.1-inch screen boasts a 1,024x576-pixel resolution. Like its bigger brother, the 10v has a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a three-in-one card reader and three USB ports. There's no HDMI.
Inside the 10v lives an Intel Atom N270 chip, as opposed to the Mini 10's Z520 or Z530 chips. It has 1GB of DDR2 RAM running at 533MHz. The Windows variant includes a roomy 160GB hard drive and, unlike the Mini 10, you can also opt for solid-state memory, which is hardier but doesn't have anywhere near as much capacity. The version running Ubuntu packs an 8GB solid-state drive, and although we've been promised a 16GB SSD, we couldn't find it on the Dell site yet. There's no optical drive and only integrated graphics, but that's the same as the Mini 10 and par for the course with a netbook.
The 10v is available now from Dell in black or white, with ice blue, pacific blue, cherry red or flamingo pink flavours for an extra £19. With Ubuntu Linux and an 8GB SSD, it'll set you back a very reasonable £200, or £280 for Windows XP and 160GB to play with. And hey, if you buy one, they might tell you what the 'v' stands for.