The market is certainly flush with netbooks today. Many of the netbooks come from brands that many of us may not be familiar with. One brand we are certainly familiar with is Dell and it has recently announced its first netbook called the Inspiron Mini 9.

The Mini is one of the smaller screened notebooks on the market with an 8.9-inch LED backlit display. It runs an Intel Atom N270 processor like virtually all of the other netbook systems on the market. It can be had with Linux and Windows XP Home operating systems and storage of 4GB to 16GB depending on the model. All versions run a 4-cell battery and feature integrated Wi-Fi. Pricing for the Mini runs $349 for the Linux model, $399 for the low-end XP version and $449 for the high-end XP version.

Dimensions for the Mini are 9.13" x 1.07" x 6.77" and it weighs 2.28 pounds. It also has an integrated Ethernet jack, three USB ports, AC adapter, and audio jacks built-in. A webcam is optional with 0.3 or 1.3MP. Bluetooth is optional as well. The 8.9" screen has a resolution of 1024x600.

For Whom:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is perfect as a low-cost second computer or for the mobile worker that doesn't need all the power and bulk a full size notebook offers. Students could also find the Mini 9 to be perfect for taking notes and surfing the web.

The Good:

• Cheaper than full size notebooks
• Small size
• Light weight

The Bad:

• May not offer enough performance for some applications
• Small keyboard

Where to Buy:

Buy the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook from the Dell website.

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