Digital Home Thoughts: Dell Teases Inspiron Mini 10 Features

Dell is doing something really puzzling with their Mini 10 netbooks, and I can't quite wrap my head around the logic of it. At CES they announced the Mini 10 with some really surprising features, including GPS, a built-in TV tuner, and several other options you don't typically see in netbooks. When I saw that Dell Canada was releasing the Mini 10, I placed an order to get one to review. Imagine my surprise when I was configuring it and saw no features beyond the basics offered on every other netbook out there today (well, other than the colours offered). I dug around the Mini 10 product pages, and found this text:

"Coming Soon: The following Inspiron Mini 10 features will be available at a later date:

• HD capabilities - Enjoy your favorite movies on the optional 720p Hi-def 10.1¨ seamless display.
• More Storage - Do even more with optional 2GB memory and optional 250GB hard drive.
• Navigation - Know your way like the back of your hand using the optional GPS with optional internal WWAN support.
• Design Studio - Personalize your Mini 10 with cool designs from the artist, Tristen Eaton, in Dell's Design Studio.
• Long battery life - No need to sacrifice weight for battery life. The Inspiron Mini 10 provides extended battery life while keeping the weight of the system under 3 pounds. 3-cell: approx. 3 hours. 6-cell: approx. 6.5 hours
• The New TV - Watch your favorite TV shows with the internal digital TV tuner."

In the many years I've been running my tech sites, I've never seen a company promote an unreleased, improved version of a product on the pages for a current product they're selling. Talk about killing sales! Nobody wants to order a product and find out that it's already obsolete before they order it. A Dell Mini 10 with all those features will certainly be more expensive than the already expensive Dell Mini 10 that's offered today, but most consumers doubtless want the option to have these improved features. Dell, where's your head at?