[dellmaster]

Hi All.

Got your Dell Duo? Are you satisfied with it?
How about contributing to MyDellMini community and write your review about it? This can really help those who are thinking of getting it and educate them.
If you think you can do it, please go to our new reviews section at Reviews - MyDellMini Forum and post a new thread for your Dell Duo review. You can add pictures, thoughts, rating, upgrades and so on...

Many thanks,

MyDellMini team

[NTFDAWY]

So far I have to say this little thing Rocks,
Of course I'm going to have to tweak it to my likings, snap an image then start fresh with a vanilla copy of win7 Ultimate, but I wanted to see what I could get out of it right out the gate, after about 2 hours of uninstalling bloatware and installing a decent browser, I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with Dell's offering. I'll post more after I haven't been up all night Spinning up new images on my XenApp servers.

[JannoRobin]

i`m absolutely more then pleased with the Duo.

i had to reinstall, because the "out of the box" installation was plain horrible.

that was also the only bad thing about it, because with a fresh install it works great!

i replaced the Stage Interface with Thinix, and when Thinix will be releasing their version for the Duo this will be without a doubt the best machine i`ve had in years.

the hardware is great, it uses Windows 7 to reach it`s potential.

the HD quality is sublime, watching 720p in Media player has a few glitches, but with VLC player this isn`t a problem, it can easily play the HD files.

also i tweaked the buttons to be a bit bigger, set the text to 125% and tweaked the power settings to optimal performance ( i have a power connection in my car, so i dont have to worrie about power). i also tweaked with MSconfig, to make sure there are only neccesary processes loaded.

i`ve installed Adobe CS 3, and it works without a problem.

my RAM load is only 800MB, against the 1,3 GB with the "out of the box" installation.

with the on screen keyboard docked, Win7 is a much better Tablet OS then with the pop-up.

i`m sure i`ve a lot more that i will do with this machine, when i do i`ll keep you posted!

Janno

[hugodlr]

I've had mine since January. Like others have mentioned, the out of the box experience is a bit lacking. I didn't want to do a fresh install, so I've used a few utilities to uninstall programs and rein in startup programs and services. Runs pretty well now with a fast boot up. I'm using Fences to keep three sets of icons on the desktop (hidden when not needed), with a few programs pinned to the taskbar for faster access.

I primarily use it at work (Campus Minister / Teacher) - since I teach in several different classrooms it's great to carry around with me (lesson plans, seating charts, access to my files, access to personal/work email, etc.) and get work done during downtime instead of always walking back to my office from the main building.

It runs Office 10 perfectly, and since I'm on our school network I can print to most printers no matter where I am. I've even influenced one teacher to buy one and another one (a nun, no less!) is thinking about getting one for herself.

For personal use I've installed ereader software, a few games, and I love having this docked and watching Netflix while doing work on my main desktop.

Overall I am really enjoying this foray into the netbook/tablet area. Thanks!

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

[anthonyclark]

Originally Posted by JannoRobin

i`m absolutely more then pleased with the Duo.

i had to reinstall, because the "out of the box" installation was plain horrible.

that was also the only bad thing about it, because with a fresh install it works great!

i replaced the Stage Interface with Thinix, and when Thinix will be releasing their version for the Duo this will be without a doubt the best machine i`ve had in years.

the hardware is great, it uses Windows 7 to reach it`s potential.

the HD quality is sublime, watching 720p in Media player has a few glitches, but with VLC player this isn`t a problem, it can easily play the HD files.

also i tweaked the buttons to be a bit bigger, set the text to 125% and tweaked the power settings to optimal performance ( i have a power connection in my car, so i dont have to worrie about power). i also tweaked with MSconfig, to make sure there are only neccesary processes loaded.

i`ve installed Adobe CS 3, and it works without a problem.

my RAM load is only 800MB, against the 1,3 GB with the "out of the box" installation.

with the on screen keyboard docked, Win7 is a much better Tablet OS then with the pop-up.

i`m sure i`ve a lot more that i will do with this machine, when i do i`ll keep you posted!

Janno

Janno-

The Dell Duo patch is on the Thinix website now - www.thinix.com/touch under the "Downloads" tab.

[Dell Duo]

The first thing that I did was download uTorrent and downloaded 30 movies in less than an hour. I was amazed that I could fit that many movies on my computer and have plenty of more room left. This thing has so many "smart" technological features, such as its ability to automatically dim the monitor when you turn the light in a room off, and to be able to brighten itself when the light comes back on. It's an amazing piece of technology. It's rubberized exterior is quite rugged and durable. This reminds me of a body glove on a cell phone. I thought the Duo was going to be a pain to carry around, but I carry this thing EVERYWHERE. It's like my personal underarm computer, as a small book would be.

I started to get the iPad, but after playing with my friend's iPad, I missed the keyboard. Now, I've got both. iPad doesn't even have USB outlets. I have two. There are some things that are give or take with the Duo, but it usually has an easy solution that makes perfect sense. Don't forget that this is not a laptop. It's a netbook. Netbooks come without optical drives and offer less features, and the reason for this is, more speed and better performance. I may not have an optical drive, but USB ports are more convenient with different pieces of hardware, rather than a special plug in for every different device.

I found a lightweight extension cord to keep plugged into the Duo's charger cord. It's too short.

The next thing I did to my Duo was followed the directions on these websites:

The Dell Inspiron Duo Tips & Tricks – Part 1 « CMediaStudio

The Dell Inspiron Duo Tips & Tricks – Part 2 « CMediaStudio

The changes certainly make a difference. It makes it so much faster, easier to use, and it makes sense about changing these options.

This is my first "tablet". It's the best notebook I have ever used. I hope you got the optional optical drive. I wish I did.

I also put Firefox 4 on here and downloaded avast! Free Antivirus. I love avast! It runs in the background and never bothers me. I have never had a virus or anything that may pose as an annoyance or be unhealthy to my Duo.

I also did some of the things on here:

Speed up Windows 7 with 26 Tweaks

I disabled the login screen which makes my boot ups much faster.

Disable Home Group. It messes with other laptop's internet connections nearby, and yours as well.

Finally, I went here:

Black Viper’s Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Service Configurations | Black Viper's Website | www.blackviper.com

and looked at the tweaked, safe, and bare bones settings of the services (start - services.msc), and set each of the services accordingly.

Notice that there are 256 items in the list in chart provided in the link above. Click the arrow following to the right below the chart to view the next page and so forth.

There are so many ways to tweak Windows 7 and tablet type PC's and netbooks, such as the Duo. The possibilities are endless. There is a solution or tweak for just about anything you'd imagine.

Here are some more awesome tweaks:

[GUIDE] *Ultimate* Windows 7 Speed Tweaks! - iFans - iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch Fans forums

This thing is... Amazing. It's not even a computer to me. It's a mind blowing piece of technology.

[Dell Duo]

The Dell Duo is amazing. It is surprising in many ways. The performance is so much more than what I expected. I've stopped using my desktop PC to use this for work, school, research, etc... I've done some tweaks to speed up my Duo (services.msc) and a few other tricks to speed up windows 7. I was shocked when my Duo would automatically dim the monitor when the light in a room was turned off, and brightened back up when the light was turned back on. If you just got this gem, be prepared to be amazed.

[ricogs400]

I've had it for about 2 months now and am very happy with it. I was debating between Android tablets and netbooks, never too concerned about an ipad. Luckily for me when researching netbooks and my price range, the duo went on sale at the Microsoft store for $399, so I jumped at it and got the docking station $99 at the same time. The best part about it was that it came with Microsoft Signature which optimizes it for running windows and leaves out all the bloatware, so it saved me the headaches of uninstalling extra crap I don't want that slows it down.

The build quality, fit and finish is top notch. Solid, pretty heavy, but solid and the flip screen is high quality and doesn't wiggle or have any flex, great mechanism with a nice firm magnetic thunk when it locks in place. The keyboard is a good size and key feel is good. Mouse pad and buttons feel good, mouse buttons need to be pressed in all the way to catch the contact for the click, but its good for safety so it isn't getting mistakenly pressed alot.
Screen is nice with good resolution, but the viewing angle is not as great as it could be. Just have to adjust the screen so you're looking more directly at it.

Windows 7 runs great on it and it is pretty easy to adjust to coming from vista. It has alot of customizable options for netbook/tablet use. The touch screen features are great and useful, but the touch points are not as user friendly as android or ipad since it is geared more towards the precision of a mouse/arrow instead of a fingertip, but there are some gesture commands like tap with 2 fingers to zoom in to select a link which make up for it.

I mostly wanted this for web surfing and watching online shows from Comcast Xfinity and live sports streaming. It does that and much more. I wanted to make sure all of the various video players out there could be used and with Android and Ipad, you can't install all of them. Streaming video runs good and movies play good, wireless connection with wirelessN is as good as my wire connected laptop, 22mb/s download.

Docking station is nice for charging it and the speakers sound good, plus gives extra ports and memory card slots. I have been having trouble with the speakers cutting out when playing video, but they are fine with media player and music. I'll have to look into that, maybe a driver issue. Nice mute button on the side along with volume + and -. Sound is good for its size.

Overall, happy with the duo.

[penmaker]

I'm happy with my Duo for the most part. The fit and finish is really good, screen is excellent and the hinge mechanism for flipping the screen seems to be well thought out. I have had my Duo for about a month now and it is working out well for me in its role as an electronic organizer / day planner / place to take notes at work. I have cleaned up a lot of the 'bloatware' that came on it, maybe I will get around to doing a clean install in the near future.

There are two areas that annoy me, one is the capacitive touch screen. I have tried several different styli on it and although they all worked to some degree none of them were useful for taking notes on the screen. The hand writing recognition works well but the stylus accuracy is terrible. It would be nice if Dell offered an option for a resistive touch screen instead of the capacitive touch screen. The other area that annoys me is the fact that they did not populate both PCI-e positions with connectors, at least that is true on this one. I really would like to have wireless broadband in the Duo. I know I can use my cell phone as a wireless hot spot but would much prefer to have it broadband capability built into the Duo. I have that capability in my mini 1012 so I think Dell knows how to do it, I just wish they had implemented it in the Duo.

With all that being said, I like the Duo and plan on continuing to use it for the functions I purchased it for. I would highly recommend it to anyone that has a need or desire for a tablet and does not want an Android or Apple tablet.

[jtay]

I have had my duo for about a month now and I like a lot, though it could be a little better. Here's my review:

HDD: 320 GB is fairly roomy for a netbook like this.

RAM: 2 GB isn't THAT bad but 3 or 4 GB is like standard these days. It gets most jobs, even games like Command & Conquer ( C&C kicks ass!), done, though.

OS: Window 7 Home Premium is not that common for minis as it is an excellent laptop/desktop OS and an OK tablet OS.

Touchscreen: I found the touch screen to be very accurate ( fingers or stylus ), perhaps even superior to that of the iPad.

Graphics Card: Yeah, an Intel GMA 3150 doesn't sound like much, but it packs more punch than you'd think. I stated earlier it could run some fairly modern games like C&C ( I'm reffering to Generals ) with ease, but you can play Half-Life 2 and Portal with relative ease as well, but nothing better than that ( I has a steam account too. ),

Overall build: A nice, silicon-ish, rubbery finish surrounds the screen for easy carrying and portability. The flip-hinge feels sturdy - more than you'd think.

Keyboard: This is a comfy and quiet ( I'm typing this review with someone asleep nearby and their still snoring), Chiclet island-style keyboard.

Now let's see what's great, good, bad, and ugly.

The Great:
-Two expensive entertainment devices in one shell for 1/4 the price.
-Ultralight weight yet very productive and powerful

The Good:
- A solid build for any casual user
- Windows 7 provides a user-friendly and customizable way to access files
- It's a Dell, not one of Apple's lab projects
- A considerably low price tag for those interested

The Bad:
- While Windows 7 is a pro for laptops, its a con for tablets because of its small, hard to hit icons and lack of much touch software,
-Dell's Stage UI is underdeveloped and is a couple of cool programs and explorer's main shortcut spot.
-Battery life is ok or below average, it depends on how you use the machine.

The Ugly:
-Nothing

The Verdict:So there you have it. The duo makes for a great laptop and has the POTENTIAL to be an iPad killer. I wasn't even looking for either a tablet or netbook yet I got this and am highly satisfied. I'd give a 4.75 out of 5. I will post further experiences with my duo if possible.