The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is the first 10 inch laptop from Dell to feature an Intel Atom N270 processor. You might think that makes this laptop just like virtually every other 10 inch netbook on the market, but there are a few key features that make the Mini 10v stand apart including a good keyboard, an odd touchpad, and decent battery life.
The unit reviewed has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive and 6 cell battery. The model I received ships with Windows XP, but the Inspiron Mini 10v is also available with Ubuntu or Moblin Linux. The laptop is available for purchase from Dell for $299 and up.
Design
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is relatively compact for a 10 inch netbook thanks to a keyboard which stretches virtually from one end of the chassis to the other and a touchpad which incorporates the left and right mouse buttons into the touch area. There's a decent sized bezel around the display, but it would be hard to make the netbook much smaller without shrinking the keyboard.
Dell offers the netbook in a number of colors. The black model is included in the base cost, or for $40 extra you can get the netbok with a white, red, pink, blue, green, or purple lid. The model reviewed has a purple lid which is glossy but does not show fingerprints as clearly as most other glossy lids I've seen. The bezel around the display is matte, and while there's a glossy silver strip of plastic in the palm rest area, it doesn't really show fingerprints either.
The hinge is placed in a way so that when you open the lid it folds down a bit behind the base of the computer which helps keep the machine from taking up too much vertical space. But that also means it doesn't open to a very wide angle.
Around the sides of the netbook you'll find mic and headphone jacks, 3 USB ports, a VGA port, Ethernet jack, and SD card reader.
The bottom of the Inspiron Mini 10v has a single access panel for replacing or upgrading the RAM the wireless module. If you want to upgrade the RAM, change the hard drive or other components you'll have to disassemble the laptop, which can be a time and labor-intensive process.
If you get a 3 cell battery it will sit flush with the base of the netbook. The 6 cell battery sticks out like a sore thumb. But while the 6 cell battery isn't exactly the most attractive, it slides firmly into place, makes a nice carrying handle, and gives the keyboard a bit of tilt which makes typing reasonably comfortable.
Keyboard and Touchpad
I usually start this section by focusing on the keyboard. But by far the most noticable feature on the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is the touchpad. It's nice and wide and has a decent textured feel to it. When you scroll your finger along the right side (up and down) or bottom (left and right) you can scroll through applications and web pages.
But here's what's really interesting: The left and right mouse buttons are built right into the touchpad. When you want to left click, you actually push down on the touchpad near the bottom left. To right-click you press down near the bottom right.
This combination touchpad/button layout saves a lot of space without resorting to the HP style solution of putting the buttons on the left and right side of the touchpad. But there are at least two major problems with the touchpad. First, if you're used to using one hand to move the cursor around the screen and the other to click the mouse buttons, you'll have to be very careful with this netbook. If your clicking hand is hovering over the touchpad at the same time as your scrolling hand, there's a good chance you'll accidentally make the cur
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