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Dell have responded to customer criticism and dropped the premium pricing it placed on the Alpine White version of its Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. The netbook, which begins at $349, originally had the glossy white casing as a $25 upgrade; that’s now been flattened so that black or white will cost the same.
It’s a small point, but considering the whole idea of netbooks is meant to be their budget pricing, it makes a difference. Now, of course, it’s up to Dell to introduce some more color options if they want to catch up with ASUS and others.
The Inspiron Mini 9 has been performing well in recent reviews, and there’s a 3G WWAN option fast approaching. It’s also found some favor with modders, who prize its upgrade flexibility.
[thanks Sarah!]
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A premium charge for the WHITE version? What gives? No wonder Dell sales and profits are way down… foolish decisions by inept corporate personnel. First, Dell is late to the game, then they charge for a color option. Not a smart move. I used to like and buy Dells, but then getting a non-English speaking customer service rep and being transferred from one rep to another….What ever happened to Dell? And what of those wonderful days of Dell coupon codes and snapping up great deals on their computers? Now, we’re buying cheaper Asus and Acers and the like, and Dell is playing catch up. It reminds me of the story of how the Japanese came to dominate the American auto industry… and now the Chinese are taking over the computer market.
My Mini does not have a miniPCI connector soldered on the board where the WWAN card would go.
Other than that it is great. I upgraded to 2 gigs of ram almost immediately so I can’t say how 512 megs works. It seems to playback dvd video fine. I can use a USB HD tuner card it plays pretty well. I can’t quite tell if the glitches are tuning issues or processing problems.
Ray
From everything I’ve read (my Mini won’t be here until around 10/17), the Mini beats the other netbooks and Dell’s warranty is actually honored, unlike Asus.