[akabigtuna]

What are the advantages of the Dell mini 9 over the HP and the hP over the mini9? Well, obviously the hard drive...

[Fanfoot]

The Dell is cheaper. The Dell is more expandable/upgradable. It is smaller and lighter. I presume it has better battery life vs. the HP's 3 cell battery. The Dell has a standard VGA connector. The Dell's SSD's probably perform better than the HP's 4,200 rpm drive (not sure how the performance of the SSD's would compare). You can buy the Dell in black or white, while the HP is only available in black.

The HP has a better keyboard. You can buy either an 8.9 or 10.2 inch model. The 10.2 inch keyboard will be more usable. You can get the HP with either an SSD drive, or a 120GB 4,200 rpm drive. You'll be able to replace the HP's drive with a Toshiba 5,400 rpm bigger driver if you want.

Personally, if you want a 10.2" netbook, I'd buy the Samsung NC10. It has a faster hard disk, a matte display, the best keyboard, the best battery life (a 6 cell that doesn't stick out), bluetooth included rather than extra, and is available in a cool blue color.

[akabigtuna]

well, can you list a good mini setup cheap. I would want the mini, 2gb ram upgrade, since I alrady have a 120gb hard drive for the USb port, I dont think a hard drive upgrade would be a necessity. i would also like a slim USB powered disk drive. case would be nice too...

[Fanfoot]

Rumors have it that the Mini 9 will be available for what, $299 on Black Friday? I assume this will be all day online. That's probably your best bet.

Assuming you want a Windows XP machine, go for the 8GB version and skip the bluetooth option and you'll be out the door right now for $399.

If you want a LInux machine, or are going to do your own XP install, go for the 4GB version, and upgrade it with a drive from Runcore/MyDigitalDiscount.

A small USB powered drive? How about the Aegis 1.8" 80GB drive?



I have one and am quite fond of it. Seems about right for a netbook as far as size. It will fit in your pocket without complaint.

A good case? I'd suggest the Tucano 7/9" Eee model "easy sleeve" for $15-$20 online. You can find the 10 inch model at Fry's electronics. Its got a little more room for some extra crap inside. No extra pockets though.

[akabigtuna]

well, i would buy the mini 1000 by hp, but its battery life is so small... Could someone take pictures of a mini 9's thickness and just photos around the computer. also, does the white version differ on the inside from the black, or is it the same? if you could post pictures tonight that would be great! What CD/DVD Drive, i have a 120gb hdd via usb powered.

[Fallstar]

There are lots of photos of the mini HERE.

I have the white Mini, and the inside/keyboard area is basically the same, with the outside of the base being black. As for an optical drive, I have the LG Slim drive, works great. There's a thread about optical drives HERE and HERE.

[akabigtuna]

I've seen all of those, but would like to see more specific picutres on how thin they are. Also, if you areder the alpine white one, does the interior grey get turned to be white around the touchpad area?

[Fallstar]

Did you see page 7 of the photos thread? Someone posted some side comparisons of thicknesses. It's thicker in the back due to the battery. The palm rest and trackpad area is all silver (metal or whatever it is).

[akabigtuna]

oh, it looked like if you got the white one, it had a white palm rest...

[spades]

The hp mini 8.9 and 10 inch screen models are in the same body, which is both thinner and shorter than the dell. The hp mini is a bit longer in length however. Getting to the sdd/hdd requires some extra steps with the hp mini, while the dell is easy. The hp mini will come out with a 6 cell this January, the Dell - anyone know? I'd avoid the mini 12, at that point save another month or two and get a better system than the 12. It's in a really awkward price spec range for value.

Advantage for me goes to the hp mini overall - the keyboard wins with the bigger screen (same resolution though). With the dell mini advantages having a fanless machine - less moving parts, and easy access to upgrades.

And just to add one more to the mix. The s10 looks even better in regards to upgrades - 2.5 inch bays but the weight is an issue. Lenovo also claims a 6 cell is coming out soon. The keyboard can be an issue, they spec it at 85%, but can someone measure from q to p from the left side of the key in King's standard measurement. The hp mini is seven inches.

If I was buying today I'd wait for January if any dual core atoms comes out, or jump on a cheap outlet system if you need the machine right away. I'm happy with my dell and look forward to installing os x on the machine. I'll wait for the second generation of netbooks for a much needed keyboard upgrade. You really don't know how much a good keyboard is until you're placed on one of these small one's. And no, I have not gotten use to it. I was raised on Apple and IBM keyboards, it's hard to get use to chicklets. What can I say, it's my biggest gripe.