Dell Mini 10v

The "v" in the Dell Mini 10v's name is seemingly there to indicate value for thrifty netbook shoppers. The system is in many ways hard to distinguish from its more expensive cousin and is one of the better under-AU$600 netbook packages we've seen.

It does, however, lack the high-end configuration options of the regular Mini 10, including a higher-resolution screen and webcam. You're limited to a three-cell battery instead of six, a 160GB hard drive and it uses the Atom N270 instead of the Z530 found in the Mini 10. Regardless, if you're a fan of the wide flat keys and reasonably slim design of the Mini 10, the less expensive Mini 10v version offers the same basic look and feel for less.

Like the Dell Mini 10, the Mini 10v is not as streamlined as Asus' latest netbooks or the minimalist HP Mini 5101. Instead, Dell's Mini line takes its design cues from the bigger laptops in the Inspiron family, with similar rounded edges and shiny surfaces.

Unlike Dell's older 9-inch netbook keyboards, there are no missing keys or major space compromises, and important keys, such as the shift, tab and control keys, are relatively full-size. The wide, flat keys go nearly edge-to-edge, but the long, letterbox-style touch pad has to squeeze its mouse buttons directly into the lower left and right corners of the pad. It's far from our favourite netbook touch pad, but better than the similar long touch pad with buttons on the far sides found on HP's Mini 110.

While the Mini 10 has an HDMI port, with the less expensive 10v you're stuck with a basic VGA output, plus SD and three USB ports. Trading up to 802.11n Wi-Fi is an AU$29.70 upgrade, but there's no option to add Bluetooth.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v ran for five hours and 45 minutes on our video playback battery drain test; however, this was with a supplied six-cell battery, as is the option in the US — Australia's three-cell battery will perform considerably worse.