JP
Dell has suspended shipments of the Inspiron Mini 12 netbook, at least that’s the latest rumor from DigiTimes. According to their sources, the 12.1-inch budget ultraportable – which uses Intel’s Atom Z530 processor – could be discontinued, leaving Samsung the only vendor with a 12-inch netbook.
At time of writing, the Inspiron Mini 12 is still available to order on Dell’s website, and there’s no official word from th company regarding the rumor. Given that the Mini 12 only launched in October 2008, it’s hard to believe the company would pull it so soon; however some are suggesting that the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 – which was announced at CES last month – will now take its place.
DigiTimes suggest that the Samsung NC20 will hit the market in mid-February, with VIA expected to ship 150,000-200,000 of its Nano U225 processors for the netbook. If the Dell rumor is true, it could point to disappointment with the performance of the Z530 CPU, compared to the HD-capable Nano chip.
[via Small-Laptops]
3 Responses to “Dell Inspiron Mini 12 facing axe?”
Jez February 9, 2009
I spent a bit of time trying to verify this claim over the weekend in the vague hope of a scoop for my SammyNetbook.com NC20 community site! Unfortunately I couldn’t get in touch with anyone who was in a position to confirm one way or another.
I can’t quite decide if it would be good or bad news for the success of the NC20! In one respect it reduces the competition which is surely good news, but like you hint above, it is also a vote of no confidence for the chip. But I don’t see why that should put people off as early suggestions lead us to believe it is competitive.
+1jayatdell February 9, 2009
Shipments of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 have not been suspended and Dell has not discontinued the Mini 12.
+1mjpd1 April 1, 2009
I just picked up a Mini 12 last weekend. While it’s certainly not the fastest system I’ve ever used, it does what it was made to do…surf the web, check my e-mail, watch YouTube vids, edit Word/Excel docs.
I went with the 12 because the 10 was just a bit too small to work on, especially the keyboard. I’m happy with my decision whether they axe it or not.
+1