Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

[It should say REVIEW and not UNBOXING in the video; it's a total failure on my part to not change that. Whoops! Since the source files are deleted, so I can't fix it.]

Here it is, the "mega review" of this laptop, a follow-up from my unboxing video. This video is quite long because I go into a lot of detail about battery tests, performance benchmarks, and the pros and cons of this notebook. I hope everyone enjoys the level of detail!

This notebook, shown here in ruby red, is a little different that most notebooks in that it lacks a CD/DVD drive - but it's no netbook! It has a 14 inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen running at 1600 x 900 resolution, which is Dell's 900p resolution option (an upgrade). The standard resolution is 720p, which is 1280 x 720. Read more...

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the Dell Inspiron Studio 14z (I mistakenly thought it was called the Inspiron 14z, but it's not an Inspiron, it's a Studio notebook). This notebook, shown here in ruby red, is a little different that most notebooks in that it lacks a CD/DVD drive - but it's no netbook! It has a 14 inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen running at 1600 x 900 resolution, which is Dell's 900p resolution option (an upgrade). The standard resolution is 720p, which is 1280 x 720. Read more...

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the HP Pavilion dv2 notebook (the dv2z-1199us) in moonlight white. This thin and light notebook from HP, running Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, features the AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual-Core CPU (1.6 Ghz, 1 MB L2 cache), a 320 GM 5400 RPM hard drive, 4 GB of RAM, an external Blu-ray ROM/DVD burner drive, a 1.3 megapixel Web cam, 12.1 inch WXGA (1280 x 800) BrightView screen, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 GPU, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, 5-in-1 memory card reader, and powered by a 6-cell battery. Read more...

This is an in-depth review video of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10. A couple of months ago I did the unboxing video, and after some heavy use here's my full review - it's the longest video review I've done to date. As configured from Dell Canada, it cost me $559 CAD in March 2009 - and now, in May 2009, the same configuration is available for $499 CAD. It goes to show you how often Dell changes the prices on their products, and how the only way to find out how much a Dell computer costs is to go to the Dell Web site yourself and configure one. This Mini 10 is cherry red in colour, uses the Intel Atom Z530 (1.6 Ghz) CPU, has 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, uses Windows XP Home SP3, has a 10.1 inch 16:9 aspect ratio screen (1024 x 576 resolution), a 160 GB 5400 RPM 2.5 inch hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel Webcam, a 802.11g WiFi card, and is powered by a 3-cell 24 WHr battery.

As I mention in the video, since I purchased the Dell Mini 10, Dell has come up with a new model: the Dell Mini 10v. The 10v is puzzling, because if I configure a 10v to match the specs of the 10 I configured above for $499 CAD, the 10v comes out at only $409 CAD - and the only difference is that the 10v uses the Intel Atom N270 rather than the Z530 that the regular Mini 10 uses. Both CPUs run at 1.6 Ghz, and both are on a 533mhz bus. The only difference I can see is that the N270 uses 2.5 watts of power under load while the Z530 uses 2.2 watts under load. In other words, not much of a difference from a consumer's point of view. Equally important is the fact that Dell is now offering a 1366 x 788 screen option, and a 6-cell battery - both choices that weren't available to me when I ordered mine. Read more...

This is my review video of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Dell's first step into the world of low-cost netbooks. The Mini 9 that I ordered has Windows XP, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 16 GB solid-state flash storage, 1 GB of RAM, a 4 cell battery, and an 8.9 inch at 1024 x 600 resolution. The Linux-based versions start at $349 USD, and the XP-based versions start at $399. If you get the XP-based version with every option, it's about $480 USD.

There's a lot to like about the Dell netbook, but it's not without significant shortcomings from my perspective. On the plus side, the build quality is top-notch. In fact, I'd venture to say that it's the best-built Dell notebook I've ever had my hands on. It feel very solid and durable, with a fit and finish that's light years above other netbooks. Considering how cheap most other netbooks look, you might think that's not saying much, but holding the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 in your hands just feels...good. The keyboard is a bit on the small side, but that's not unusual for a netbook with an 8.9 inch screen. Read more...