Is the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 still a netbook?

There’s this ongoing debate on what really differentiates a notebook from a netbook. It’s supposed to be the size or the computing power but recently, the borderlines have been crossed as well. Take for example the Dell Inspiron Mini 12…

It’s the 2nd iteration of Dell’s attempt into the netbook category — they had an 8.9″ Inspiron Mini before and then skipped the 10.2″ size. Then the 12.1″ Inspiron Mini was announced last month.

Netbooks generally started at aorund 7 inches then grew to 8.9″ and then to 10.2″. Or that they weigh around 1kg only (2lbs to 3.5lbs). The most common denominator though is the processor — Celeron M, Via C7-M or the more common Intel Atom processor.

Does the processor define the notebook? Well, you still see older 12″ laptops running Celeron M processors from two years ago and we don’t call them netbooks.

How about the price? AtÂ a $999PHP 58,627INR 84,665EUR 951CNY 7,271, would you call the SRP of Inspiron Mini 12 a netbook price? Or does the Asus N10’s Php39,999USD 682INR 57,783EUR 649CNY 4,964 still fall under the same category?

How about the weight or the size? The check out the Sony Vaio TZ series at 11-inches, 2.7lbs and runs a 1.2GHz Intel CPU.

Once a netbook steps beyond the Php30k range or the 10″ size, it loses the attractiveness that it inherently had. Upwards of 30k and beyond 10″, people start to look at regular laptops and not netbooks.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

9 Comments

BrianB says:

16 years ago

I’d go with processor.
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jhaylogs says:

16 years ago

If it is running on intel atom, celeron M, Via C7-M then it will be a netbook, just for my own Opinion, (wink).
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cris says:

16 years ago

i go for the price. once lumagpas sya ng 20k, then i’ll go for a regular laptop.
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Andre Marcelo-Tanner says:

16 years ago

I’d say a combination of size, weight, and price. Anything over is either a laptop or a UMPC.
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Loadex says:

16 years ago

product positioning lang yan.. Dell can introduce a 12inch laptop and yet call it a netbook..and Asus can launch a 12inch and call it a full pledge laptop.
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Edzhstar says:

16 years ago

I go for typical size of laptop.brand must also consider, processor, price, quality, etc.

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Tolits says:

16 years ago

For me it’s still a netbook since it uses an atom processor and Dell probably wants to redefine how a netbook should look like and we should all be thankful with Dell. However, if the price tag go beyond the netbook range it would automatically become a notebook, and I would also consider to buy a typical notebook rather than hurting my pocket purchasing an overpriced netbook. :)
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calvin says:

16 years ago

same here… 30k or more id rather buy a laptop. more than a 10″ would be a laptop na rin for me.
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sylv3rblade says:

16 years ago

at the price of $999, I’d get an MSI Wind and a modest desktop PC

For Asus’ part I’d still call the N10 a netbook because it has the specs to do so even with the separate video module for gaming.
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