Dell Inspiron 1011 Mini Netbook Review

A claim made by Dell in their marketing announcement for the
Inspiron 1011 Mini Netbook states that the battery life for this new
model is up to 9.5 hours. During testing, however, we have failed to
get the battery to survive more than approximately three hours, based
on what we were trying to do. The Dell 1011 Inspiron mini Netbook does
have a 160 GB hard drive, big enough for most people's pictures and
iTunes, a very lightweight chassis, good sized keyboard and trackpad
and an exceptional wireless card.The small size and light weight of
the Dell mini makes it ideal for anyone on the move; it is easy to
read e-mail, surf the Web, look at movies and generally keep in touch
when travelling. Like most Dell machines, this Netbook comes installed
with a support centre application that makes receiving help simple and
even comes with remote desktop support.The compact screen and wide
keyboard make this a handy, compact device that has "best in class"
industrial design and was developed from the ground up to be the
perfect travelling companion. Many netbooks are notorious for having
keyboards and trackpads that are difficult to use because of their
size, but this machine is not one of them; it also includes 3 USB
ports, a digital card reader and built in web cam for good measure.
The Inspiron Mini 10 offers a number of different hard drive options
and up to 2GB of memory, and as netbooks are cheaper than full-size
laptops, it can be the perfect budget netbook for families with
school-age children. A brand new model running Windows 7 was available
at the time of writing for under �200.Many variations are still
supplied with Windows XP Home, but for some reason, nearly all we have
noticed did not come with a card reader installed. Our test netbook
ran Windows 7 starter edition that was fine for a number of things but
did slow down to a crawl if more than three applications were running
at once.Although there are a number of more modern netbooks offering
enhanced performance, quicker processing and more features than the
Dell 1011, few can equal it on value.For what it is, the Dell 1011 is
great for surfing the Internet and working while on the move. Its
light weight makes it great to tour with, but the battery life is a
disappointment when compared to some newer rivals. For the majority of
people contemplating purchasing this Netbook the cost will be the big
concern, but for some buying into an established brand like Dell will
be the critical factor. Verdict 3/5