[Waffles]

So, I have been playing with the 10v now since about 11:30am. Thought I would share my thoughts on it.

So far, I do like it more then the Mini 9. I've been looking for a small netbook that could also function as my "day to day" computer. The mini 9 was great, but the size and cost to upgrade the SSD just wouldnt fly for me. The keyboard is also very compact on the 9, and I find it much easier to use the keyboard on the 10v.

As everyone as seen, yes, the memory is upgradeable. Any PC2 DDR2 PC4200, PC5300 or PC6400 2 gig notebook stick should work. Newegg and Fry's generally have good prices on these sticks. And yes, its a pain in the ass to do (I'm a Dell certified tech for my office and can usually fly through stuff like this). If you do upgrade your ram, follow the service manual EXACTLY and be VERY careful. It would be WAY to easy to bust the plastic or pull out one of the wires from one of the connectors you disconnect. If you have questions about taking this apart, then by all means, ask here! A few of us have already done it, so someone here should be able to answer your question.

As for the mouse/trackpad.....I'm still not sure about this. There are times when I think it just sucks and other times where I think its ok. I think its more of a 'retraining' issue with my fingers. Why on earth Dell did not make this more like a regular trackpad (like the 9) is beyond me. Its like they used the multi-touch pad of the 10, and took out the multi-touch part for the 10v. My guess is many folks will be using an external mouse with this.

The video/display is not bad. Those missing "24 pixels" dont really bother me. Yeah, I may have to scroll a little more then on a full sized laptop, but I'm not worrying about it.

So far I am just running XP on this (I did a clean install when I got it today to get rid of all the Dell crap). If you do a clean install, note that the drivers for the wireless card are not on the Dell website. They are on the driver CD Dell sends with the system.

The system ships with A00 bios, and the A02 bios is already on the Dell website, so grab it and flash your bios to A02. Not sure exactly what it fixes/addresses, but I like having the latest.

If you guys have any other questions, just ask away and I'll do my best to answer!

[anguish]

Yeah, the pixel loss hasn't bothered me. In fact, I kind of like the way everything is a little larger.

I definitely like it better than the Mini 9 because of the keyboard.

Trackpad, on the fence about, we'll see after a week or so.

Overall, well worth it in my book. Wouldn't mind the extra pixels, especially when it comes to OS X, but Windows 7 sure works nicely.

Battery life sucks, OS X is only reporting around two hours. I haven't actually completely tested it though, it may be better, it may be worse.

[DELLsFan]

Originally Posted by anguish

Yeah, the pixel loss hasn't bothered me. In fact, I kind of like the way everything is a little larger.

I definitely like it better than the Mini 9 because of the keyboard.

Trackpad, on the fence about, we'll see after a week or so.

Overall, well worth it in my book. Wouldn't mind the extra pixels, especially when it comes to OS X, but Windows 7 sure works nicely.

Battery life sucks, OS X is only reporting around two hours. I haven't actually completely tested it though, it may be better, it may be worse.

Betcha battery life is better with a RunCore Pro IV.

[metalunna]

Originally Posted by Waffles

So far I am just running XP on this (I did a clean install when I got it today to get rid of all the Dell crap).So If you do a clean install, note that the drivers for the wireless card are not on the Dell website. They are on the driver CD Dell sends with the system.

Hi,
When you reinstalled XP, did you have to install any special drivers for the HDD (ie slipstream) or can I just use a plain old Windows XP disc.

[Waffles]

No special drivers needed for the HDD. You should be fine with a plain old XP disc.

Originally Posted by metalunna

Hi,
When you reinstalled XP, did you have to install any special drivers for the HDD (ie slipstream) or can I just use a plain old Windows XP disc.

[nobbie]

Thanks for all the info and impressions Waffles and Anguish. As I await mine to ship, I was wondering if there's a PC Card slot to store and charge my MoGo Bluetooth Mouse.



Please tell me there is! Would negate having issues with the trackpad!

[anguish]

Nope. No PCMCIA slot, only SD. Joys of fitting 10 pound of crap in a 1 pound sack.

[nobbie]

Originally Posted by anguish

Nope. No PCMCIA slot, only SD. Joys of fitting 10 pound of crap in a 1 pound sack.

LOL! Thanks, Anguish. I knew it was a long shot. Guess, I'll have to cart around the Logitech retracting-corded mouse!

[anguish]

Yeah, that's brutal. Although, I still stick with wireless. I'm carrying around my Microsoft Arc mouse for now. It'll save me during the week once I start getting pictures off the Nikon D40.