Dell Unveils ‘Netbook’ Computer, Sort Of
U.S. computer giant Dell officially unveiled its 8.9-inch mini laptop, the Inspiron Mini 9 Thursday, joining the growing ranks of "netbook" makers.
For industry observers the official coming of Dell’s small laptop was something of an anticlimax. Pictures of the Inspiron Mini 9 appeared on the Internet months ago; the price and some of its main features had been previously leaked, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported.
The 2.28-pound netbook will be offered with a choice of XP or Linux Ubuntu operating systems or sold with a Dell interface system, retailing at $399 and $349, respectively, the newspaper reported.
The mini comes with 512 megabytes of storage that can be upgraded to 1 gigabyte. But, storage will be offered online — jumping capacity up to 25 gigabytes — through Box.net, the report said.
Analysts at Gartner Inc. said the computer maker expects to ship 5 million units in 2008.
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