Devices that try to reconcile the essentially irreconcilable often come a cropper. As the Good Book says, “Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Trying to combine the best of the netbook with the best of the tablet is what Dell’s new Inspiron Duo is all about, but does it work as either, let alone both?
Back in the fold: Dell’s Inspiron Duo
First off a word about the lid assembly and screen mount which is the Duo’s party piece. The lid itself opens and shuts just like any other netbook but the screen can pivot through 180 degrees within the lid frame, so it can face inwards to work as a regular laptop or outwards to work as a tablet. Small magnets keep it in place in either position. The design looks fragile but it’s not actually, so durability shouldn’t be an issue. Read the rest of this entry »
Review In the 18 months since Asus rocked up with its Eee PC 701 and kicked off the whole netbook malarkey, we’ve seen the number and types of devices that are nominally included in the category expand almost exponentially. As Ms Streisand so appositely noted, it was all so simple then.
Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10v: a true Small, Cheap Computer
Of course, as with small hatchbacks and RAF fighter aircraft, as the breed has developed so it has become larger, heaver, more complex and more expensive. So whither the Small, Cheap Computer? Well, thanks to Dell, it’s alive and well, thank you very much.
Over the last few months, Dell has quietly taken the axe to its UK netbook range. Gone is the Inspiron Mini 9 – which is a shame – and ditto the Mini 12, though that’s less of a shame because it was cursed with a small and slow HDD, and Dell never saw fit to offer it with Linux or an SSD. Read the rest of this entry »
