New Dell mini 9

wmpwi · 09-18-2008, 10:11 PM

With these getting faster and having greater SSHD storage, it's starting to look very appetizing. Has anyone else been looking at trying one of these? $450 for 1.5HZ and 16G solid state HD w/ XP sounds pretty slick.

HERE

I have the ASUS Eee, but the 4G SS drive w/ XP doesn't leave a lot of room for much else. Any thoughts appreciated.

jss812 · 09-19-2008, 12:02 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by wmpwi

With these getting faster and having greater SSHD storage, it's starting to look very appetizing. Has anyone else been looking at trying one of these? $450 for 1.5HZ and 16G solid state HD w/ XP sounds pretty slick.

HERE

I have the ASUS Eee, but the 4G SS drive w/ XP doesn't leave a lot of room for much else. Any thoughts appreciated.

Well, I liked the specs of the Mini well enough to give it a shot. It's on the way. Should be delivered in the next few business days. I did get the 16g drive. Plan is to connect audio out to factory radio cd changer port via interface. What I'm really after is a small laptop that can be easily removed. I plan on loading nav and use external drive for mp3. Then when I travel, the laptop is removed at hotel or other hotspot. You get the picture. I don't expect killer audio but then it doesn't take a lot to please me. I'm currently using a Dell Axim but unfortunately it doesn't multitask very well (nav + mp3). I like the system that's in my truck but have decided that I don't like it as a stand alone. Great for trips but bites when bouncing around town. Anyway, I'll see how the Mini works out.

NSFW · 09-19-2008, 02:53 AM

Someone buy this and try this, please....

Tidder · 09-19-2008, 03:11 AM

I was looking at all these (eee, Dell mini, HP something or other, Acer), but settled on an MSI Wind. Bigger screen and bigger HDD. Looking for a 6 cell battery now.

fixerofallthing · 09-19-2008, 09:09 AM

Mine just shipped from Dell and will be here Monday. I will let you all know how it does.

NSFW · 09-19-2008, 03:12 PM

Sweet! I look forward to your review.

RyanB95 · 09-19-2008, 03:25 PM

Solid state is very appealing, but the size really isn't. I would imagine all of you that ordered one are using an external drive to store media and such just as jss plans to do, no? Otherwise this thing looks like a very nice solution for a very cheap price.

fixerofallthing · 09-19-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by RyanB95

Solid state is very appealing, but the size really isn't. I would imagine all of you that ordered one are using an external drive to store media and such just as jss plans to do, no? Otherwise this thing looks like a very nice solution for a very cheap price.

Picked upa 32GB thumb drive on Ebay for $45.00 to store my stuff.

tom61 · 09-19-2008, 04:11 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by wmpwi

With these getting faster and having greater SSHD storage, it's starting to look very appetizing. Has anyone else been looking at trying one of these? $450 for 1.5HZ and 16G solid state HD w/ XP sounds pretty slick.

HERE

I have the ASUS Eee, but the 4G SS drive w/ XP doesn't leave a lot of room for much else. Any thoughts appreciated.

You could always add in a 16GB SDHC card into the slot on the side for storage and programs fairly cheaply, if you're otherwise happy with the 700 model you have.

If I was in the market for a netbook now, I'd likely go with either the Dell Mini, or the Aspire One.

wmpwi · 09-23-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by jss812

Well, I liked the specs of the Mini well enough to give it a shot. It's on the way. Should be delivered in the next few business days. I did get the 16g drive. Plan is to connect audio out to factory radio cd changer port via interface. What I'm really after is a small laptop that can be easily removed. I plan on loading nav and use external drive for mp3. Then when I travel, the laptop is removed at hotel or other hotspot. You get the picture. I don't expect killer audio but then it doesn't take a lot to please me. I'm currently using a Dell Axim but unfortunately it doesn't multitask very well (nav + mp3). I like the system that's in my truck but have decided that I don't like it as a stand alone. Great for trips but bites when bouncing around town. Anyway, I'll see how the Mini works out.

Me too. And it looks like we have a similar build plan. I ordered mine, but it looks like a couple of weeks yet. I plan on using SDHD for media. I have several laying around and they're large enough now to hold most of what I need. I'll use the OEM head unit via USA-SPEC module for the sound. Big questions for me are the power supply and turning it on and off w/ the key.

fixerofallthing · 09-23-2008, 10:19 PM

I received my Mini yesterday and I love it! It is very fast and very small. I ordered a 16GB SD card and use the 32GB thumb drive for the files I don't need all the time. I plays divx files perfectly and of course flash and mp3 files are not a problem. It is somewhat lacking when it comes to multi-tasking though. I tethered it to my Iphone for internet everywhere and I am posting this from my Mini now. If anyone has any questions about it feel free to ask.

jss812 · 09-23-2008, 11:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by wmpwi

Me too. And it looks like we have a similar build plan. I ordered mine, but it looks like a couple of weeks yet. I plan on using SDHD for media. I have several laying around and they're large enough now to hold most of what I need. I'll use the OEM head unit via USA-SPEC module for the sound. Big questions for me are the power supply and turning it on and off w/ the key.

Received mine Saturday. I haven't put in my car yet, mainly because it's really fun to play with, new toy and all. I'm also using SDHD for media. Works well.

I'm seriously thinking of using a small inverter for the power brick. Figure I can wire it either via relay or direct to switched power and then set the netbook to power down after 5 minutes of inactivity when on battery power. That way, when the key is turned off, the inverter looses power and the netbook goes to battery. Then it just powers itself down after 5 minutes. Just need to remember to set the power option to something else when I take it out of the car.

Since my car is rather cramped, I'm thinking of getting a touchscreen to mount somewhere. Figure I can set the netbook to "do nothing" when the lid is closed (it does blank the screen). That thing is so small closed that it can be set about anywhere without too much problem. May be able to set it in the glove compartment.

I've already loaded Centrafuse and Roadrunner. Centrafuse nav is having trouble finding the gps receiver coming up from hibernation even with some of the fixes applied. I've never really played with RR but I think it may be better for my purposes.

As far as performance, the Mini 9 is about what I expected. It certainly isn't a rocket but does do well. Signal for wireless is very good. Keyboard takes a little getting used to but is usable. And, considering what I paid for the system in my truck, the Dell is a good buy even if I end up adding a touchscreen. The only thing missing is the am/fm tuner that the truck system has, and that's not bad since reception isn't as good as the head unit.

Overall, I think it was an excellent choice.

NSFW · 09-24-2008, 01:12 AM

Are you going to use W3bma5t3r's auto-on module?
If so, how easy/hard is it to solder to the power switch leads?

FusionFanatic · 09-24-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jss812

I'm seriously thinking of using a small inverter for the power brick. Figure I can wire it either via relay or direct to switched power and then set the netbook to power down after 5 minutes of inactivity when on battery power. That way, when the key is turned off, the inverter looses power and the netbook goes to battery. Then it just powers itself down after 5 minutes. Just need to remember to set the power option to something else when I take it out of the car

there are probably better options available to power and control startup/shutdown for that PC. I wouldn't consider using an inverter to power a PC unless there was no other option.

what is the output voltage (and amperage) of the power brick that came with the mini?

jss812 · 09-28-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by FusionFanatic

there are probably better options available to power and control startup/shutdown for that PC. I wouldn't consider using an inverter to power a PC unless there was no other option.

what is the output voltage (and amperage) of the power brick that came with the mini?

Actually, that's the reason I was looking at using an inverter. The output of the brick is 19v/1.58a.

The bigger problem is how to start it remotely. I do not want to take a brand new, still under warranty netbook apart to solder some wires to the board.

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