Dell says the 10v's screen is 10.1in but it's not. We measured it and it's 10in dead. It has a 1024 x 576 resolution. Exactly why Dell has eschewed the more normal 1024 x 600 – the 10v's perfect 16:9 ratio notwithstanding - is anyone's guess, but at the end of the day unless you knew it was different you wouldn't actually notice. After all, what's 24 pixels between friends? Odd resolution aside the glossy screen is very pleasant to look at, being bright, sharp and vibrant.
No surprises on the port array...
Take a quick tour around the 10v and you will find that its external portage consists of two USB connectors, a Kensington lock, a three-in-one memory card slot and power jack on the left, along with a VGA port, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet socket, a third USB port and 3.5mm audio jacks on the right. Above the screen sits a 1.3Mp webcam and microphone while system lights are limited to a bright white power lamp at the front of the keyboard. Rather than fit an external Wi-Fi switch Dell make do with a Fn/F2 keyboard combo.
The only panel in the underside of the machine covers the wireless card, so swapping out the memory and/or hard drive will involve removing the entire rear casing.
...on either side
Being fanless and having an SSD, the 10v is quite literally silent in operation though it did get a good a bit warmer than the similarly fanless Mini 12 during extended periods of use.
With the standard 24Wh three-cell battery fitted, the 10v is hardly a porker, weighing in a 1.14kg and measuring up at 261 x 182 x 26.8-28.3mm around the houses, which makes it very similar to Acer's Aspire One D250. Our test machine had the optional 56Wh (5040mAh) six-cell battery, which adds about 300g to the weight and props the back the machine up by around 10°. Imagine sticking three rolls of £1 coins to the rear underside of your machine and you get the general idea.
The six-cell battery adds runtime.... and a little height
The 84-key keyboard looks and feels identical to that on the Mini 12, though Linux aficionados will doubtless be more than a little peeved by the presence of a redundant Windows button to the left of the space bar. Though the keys themselves are rather shallow their action is positive and the base is solid with little if any flex, making the Mini 10v an easy machine to type on if not a device to keep the designers of the keyboard on the Samsung N120 awake at night.
COMMENTS
Famous last words
The Linux version appears now to have vanished without a trace from Dell UK's site.
Arm-twisting from the beast of Redmond?
OK, it's back on the Dell site now
They do hide it rather though....
It's a graphics world now...
Intel Video chipset...uhhhh...no.
@ratbert
I have only looked at a couple of these netbooks so its hard to compare plus I am from the U.S so im not sure about pounds. I spent $329. for the acer one with free shipping and $300. plus $8.00 for the Dell 10v, but the acer has much better specs for the extra $21.00 dollars.If you can buy from Amazon the then compare the Asus and also the Samsung nc10. Too me the most important issues are hhd size and battery size and I would assume they have normal Led indicators for keyboard functions. Sometimes spending a little extra money is worth it. When I got my acer I called tech support about a questions and I got through in a couple minutes and they were very helpful.
When I call dell I am always transferred numerous times and they a very unhelpful.
The Asus looks good and I would buy it if I had the extra money.
Dell Mini 10v=JUNK
I have read several reviews about the dell mini 10v before I ordered it and not one said anything about the missing leds considered standard on any notebook or netbook. It is my opinion that dell cut every corner they could to make this netbook. I have read other people having problems with the power switch. Yes the dell is pretty compared to the acer one and does have a better keyboard but thats where the compassion ends in my mind. Xp probably cant even use the 1gb ram included but if you a different os that can use my ram you have to void the warranty ( im not sure but I would almost bet money it would.) Maybe mine was a lemon but it should not of left the factory and if you have ever delt with dell they are the absolute worst unless you have a business machine.
I felled to mention my 10v crashed constantly even after I flashed the new bios and there where 2 new bios update already meaning it was not ready to be sold.
I didnt mean to offend anyone but at least some reviews are more impressed with looks than function and Its a waste of time because there short on the facts. I like the the lan switch and light on the acer one . Not having the leds would be a deal breaker for me, some people like you dont care but its nice to now.The acer one has both a larger hdd and a larger battery capacity. I would be interested in seeing some more benchmarks. They are basically the same inside so they should have the same numbers.
