Dell Mini 10 – Available Now! $474. Update: Leopard No!

The upcoming Dell Mini 10 looks to be a great machine, and if my hunch is right it could be an even better hacintosh than the Dell Mini 9.  The bigger, higher rez screen and real (as in reasonably sized) hard drive will put it in a different category over the 9.  Plus the normal keyboard helps too.

UPDATE: Apparently my hunch was wrong. Several commenters have pointed out that the graphics card in the Dell Mini 10 is not compatible with Leopard. A real shame since from all other accounts it would appear to be a good candidate. None-the-less, if you do want to order one for a windows machine the rest of the post is still applicable…

The official launch of the Mini 10 isn’t for a week or two, but here’s a little known fact: Even though there is no pricing information on the website, and no online order form, you can order one today if you know how to do it.  Read on for details, specs, and pricing info…

The trick is to either call them or to do a live chat. The deal is not online, you can only get one through a sales rep – and you have to order it in a preset configuration.  The Mini 10 deal is $474, it comes in Black, has 1GB of RAM, XP Home preloaded, a 160GB hard drive, Wireless G card, and an integrated webcam.

I asked the rep if the 10 will eventually be offered with Ubuntu (which saves a few bucks if you’re going to install Leopard anyway). I also asked how different the architecture is and if it will support Leopard the way the 9 does.  He didn’t know but said (exact quote) “It may very well support Ubuntu (it should), and Leopard, we just aren’t offering it with those options at point-of-sale.“ I don’t know if he means never on Ubuntu or just not today. My guess is never because the integrated HD TV tuner will require XP.

If you’re hot to get the Mini-10 you can order one today!  The bad news is that he was showing 3/31/09 as a estimated ship date. I remember that it took about 5 weeks to get my Mini 9.  So their estimate is probably accurate.  They are expecting to sell out of these things and I’ll bet they will.

It really is time for Apple to get on the stick and do their own netbook. I’ve said it before, if they made a decent one I’d give up on all this hacintosh stuff and just pay the $$ to get a real Apple.

ANYWAY – That means that my Dell Mini 9, pre-installed with Leopard (shhh, don’t tell anyone), is officially for sale. Get those offers coming in. Just post offers in the comment section or email me at michael at tomorrowland.com.

Update #2

Dell’s website now has the Mini 10 for sale there too, although it’s the exact same deal I described yesterday and for the same $474.  Although now that it appears it won’t work support a Leopard install, it might be better to just add a larger SSD and replace the keyboard with one that has the quote key in the right place.