Hmm, that’s a pretty sweet looking pen in that pic. Is it a Mont or a… Oh sorry, we got sidetracked. You know how it is – all these netbooks coming out and well, it’s getting a tiny bit hard to care. Tiny ones are cool as long as they pack integrated cellular radios, thin ones are instantly compared with the MacBook Air with Mac-lovers scoffing and PC-lovers insisting. Anyway, Dell just announced the second addition to it’s Mini lineup, the Inspiron Mini 12. It’s not quite as mini as the Mini 9 but it’s still pretty mini, with a profile that tapers from 24 mm to 21 mm. Yup, that instantly plops it into the category of laptops and netbooks that are compared to the MacBook Air. We’re going to go ahead and skip that part if it’s ok with you – on to the spec highlights:
- 1.3GHz Atom Z520 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530
- Windows Vista Home (XP and Ubuntu options toward the end of the year)
- 12.1-inch 1280 x 800 display
- 1GB of RAM
- Hard drive: 60 GB or 80 GB
- Integrated Bluetooth / WiFi
- Standard 3-cell (3 hour life) and optional 6-cell (6 hour life) battery
- 2.7 lbs (with 3-cell battery)
All in all, it’s a pretty solid offering from Dell and the exposure-factor alone should help the Mini 12 find its way into plenty of homes throughout the country this holiday season. In terms of timing, the Mini 12 will drop in Japan first before eventually finding its way to the US late in November. Pricing will start at $600.
