I've been putting off buying a eee 900 since I saw the first photos of this thing. The August 22 release date had better be true, this waiting is killing me!

Sythzen

@SeattleTed: I don't consider ubuntu netbook remix to be of world so we might be safe.

thechansen

$299.99 is instant impulse buy. Shit even if it lands at $349 I'll buy it. $399.99 and I'll eventually buy it. Any higher and I'll remind my self that I'm a mac fanboy and don't really need it. Wonder what the battery life will be like?

thechansen

It looks like I will switch my focus from the MSI Wind to this one.

I've been waiting for over 2 months for MSI to get their act together and release a Wind in white, but with all the date changes, price changes, and recent news of using cheaper components, I want a company with some real management.

This looks very nice, and at a $300-$500 price point, I will get one in a heartbeat.

salviati

o nos. I was so awaiting a macbook refresh but at $300 I may jump into the pc world. Impressive Dell, I never thought I would say such a bit.

SeattleTed

Bummer, I was hoping for a 10" screen.

davezatz

if they hit $299 I will by one in a second. That would be an amazing deal.

xxdesmus

That pencil is apparently photoshop'd in that shot. I estimated its side view size by the USB port (assuming its standard) it is about 1.5" thick and 8" wide. The average pencil is only about 7.25" unsharpened. Fail

LiquidGravity

That pencil is HUGE!!!!

Geisrud

Looks really good. Digging the improved screen over the Eee, though the keyboard looks just as tiny. I don't see the dimensions but it looks just as tiny. Get me one in lime green and I'll swap out my Eee in a heartbeat.

weatherman

i doubt it'll be $299. so far, all these netbook manufacturers have announced a lowball price to generate interest and then release at a higher price

Weihovah

If they maintain the $299 price point, I would totally cheat on my MacBook Pro with this for low-tech business trips and coffee shop work.

SF_iris

UGH... No Expresscard slot :(

scoobydoo

I for one welcome our mini-notebook overlords.

Seriously Dell will dominate if this can maintain the 299 price point. Insides look very moddable, has WWAN and bluetooth options, and I just love that gloss black.

phunktion

Gah! I was really pulling for this one. My sweet spot is 10" screen, non-SSD HD with a 6-cell battery. This Dell has a really sweet look but I think I'm going to have to pass and continue my wait for a Wind.

sn0zc0r3

Now if they will just release a mini Latitude.

enine

Any word on the 12.1 inch model? The bigger keyboard while still light aspect of it draws me in, as well as the all-day battery. The top of the line one shouldn't be any more than $700, I hope, and if it is I'll probably bite.

mhlaxp

i agree, i have a number of dell computers, and my current laptop is a dell xps m1210 that i like a lot. i think i want the linux version in the 8.9" size, mainly for something to check email and read gizmodo without waiting for long boot times.

Aaron Stein

AND it looks a hell of a lot better than the Asus. If it ends up being $299, I'm so snapping one up.

Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish

Thanks, Dell. "Wait until Friday." You hire a whole team of monkeys to work on that?

Killjoy

PLEASE stay at $299.

I agree with above. Why drag around my MBP all the time when I just want to surf the net.

Also really want a machine to get down and dirty with learning Linux.

dirigoDIGITAL

Why did they ever kill off the Latitude X1? That was such a nice form factor, and three years ahead of its time!

bandit

@LiquidGravity: If the dimensions haven't changed since it was first announced as the Dell E then it's .82"-1.22"x9.13"x6.9", specs that actually fit with a pencil that size,though it may be a biiiit long.

Source of specs here.

mhlaxp

GodWhacker you would not need more then 1gig of ram in this. nobody is buying this expecting it to be a gaming /video editing machine.

majortom1029

i am not seeing where this is a big enough upgrade to replace my 701. and only 1gb of ram? weak.

godwhacker

@dirigoDIGITAL: Thats what the Macbook air is for. You get a light overpriced, underpowered machine to surf the net.

Joseph

Hackintosh book?

Joseph

WTF is up with the keyboard? The keys in the QWERTY row are almost completely on top of the ASDF row of keys.

Ayreon

I would sit on that
and probably break it, if not cause internal hard drive hemmoraging.

and if you have big fingers, how are you supposed to type?

UrIt

Wait....is that MAX 8MB shared video memory...that's like nothing!!!

is that enough? for web stuff etc.,?

henhen

@Joseph:
Hahah... right on.

Half the attraction to this is, that at $299 I can throw this in a back pack, have it on the car seat beside me, take it on a vacation, let other people use it, without fear that something is going to happen to my $2,000 investment. Everything is backed up, but I would so be F'd if something were to happen to my "main" computer.

dirigoDIGITAL

1 gig of ram Max is pretty weak. 1 gig shipped is more like it like ALL OF THE OTHER NETBOOKS. Still bummed about the lack of specs on the Dellbook Air.... Bummer

etaripamai

@LiquidGravity:

The diagonal of the screen is 9". The pencil is the right size. Chill.

-AP-

Well it's now it's down to this or Acer's Aspire One for me. I personally really like the Aspire One's navy blue paint job, and the reviews on it are glowing. This one is more likely to hit stores such as Best Buy and Fry's though, and I always love to get my hands on "expensive" toys like this before I buy. $299 is too good to be true though... we'll see on Friday.

SpyderMS

@bandit: Or the Inspiron LS/LX series. I picked up a used bios-locked LS a few years ago. A little Social Engineering and I got Dell support to give me the unlock code, ploped in a bigger HD and some more RAM, and had a great little netbook for a grand total of like $200.

Sure the new netbooks are quicker and prob have a better batt life, but this was also like 3/4 years ago before the current crop of netbooks had hit the scene... And its still going strong, a plenty fast enough to just browse the web on.

bpapa9013

@henhen: I used a panasonic toughbook cf-m34, the most badass and expensive portable I've ever used, and I can tell you the 4 mb(most of the time like 2 mb) of SGI powered graphics was more than adequate for video playback, photoshop, and I didn't stack it full of games but I did put carmageddon 2 on there with a fantastic framerate for a 2002 8 hour batterylife touchscreen bulletproof computer(stopped an AK bullet full on in Iraq, not this one but I did get it used from the 82nd airborne). And its smaller than this thing. TOUGHBOOKS FTW! I used it to hammer nails once, and my friend thought it was a tool box at first

CrashingOut

if this can run OSX, then its my new beater laptop.

hell i was just about to drop $150 to replace my ate up MacBook's top case (kb/trackpad/palm rest area).

This could be the laptop that makes everyone ELSE notice the netbooks.

djadamjay

hmm, that sure is a small processing cache for these days. 512k? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...nope. MIGHT run halo XP, but even 2001 tech can be demanding...

CrashingOut

@majortom1029:

i have 2gb in the 701 i have, and yeah i do play some older games on it, like mercedes-benz semi-truck racing.
what's the point of having the better processor if you can't utilize all the goodness?

godwhacker

Whats this? I thought the Netbook was called the "Dell E"

DssTrainer

Is that body identical to the HP Mini-Note? Different ports, but it looks the same otherwise. The HP is a magnificent machine but underpowered; this should make up for that very nicely.

NetSlut

You've also have to keep in mind that Dell's low-end laptop prices generally don't include things that you would assume to be standard on the higher-priced laptops, particularly wireless.

That being said, if the price does fall between $300 and $400, I'll almost certainly be picking one up. I was looking at the Aspire One, but upgrading the RAM on those things is like performing open heart surgery and that really turned me off.

Sportyboard

Wouldn't this be better with an 80 gig hard drive? Any idea if it would run XP pro so you could join a domain and use networked printers, etc?

Tex1961

man i am so glad that I ordered my eee last week over this thing... I was considering this, until I find out it will only support 1gb of ram and 16gb of storage. I would've put vista on this if it did, but no, I won't be getting this, i'm getting my eee 1000 with a 40gb ssd!

Sam_Zebian

I want to be able to run full-blown Ubuntu 8.04, and have room to install more programs, and keep a few MP3's.... I thought 4gb would be enough, but after a quick look at the Ubuntu requirements, it appears an upgrade to an 8gb ssd might be in order...

Ubuntu is available for PC, 64-Bit PC and Intel based Mac architectures. At least 256 MB of RAM is required to run the alternate install CD (384MB of RAM is required to use the live CD based installer). Install requires at least 4 GB of disk space.

The price had better be $299 or, like a lot of people, I'll just sit on the fence and wait...

dirigoDIGITAL

@Sam_Zebian:

How much is that going to cost?

dirigoDIGITAL

well at lest it doesn't look like a normal Dell. Now it just looks like Dell trying to copy HP.

kevman90

Engadget has nothing on Gizmodo....

dirigoDIGITAL

I get a bad feeling the $299 is for the 4 gb SSD only, I hope it's not an outrageous price to get a 16gb. I guess I will know on Friday.

theblackdog

yea i reckon the $299 will be crippled, possibly without webcam.
this jpg says subject to change and who knows but... [www.engadget.com]

so i guess the real question will be how much for the midlevel 8.9? $349? $399?

djadamjay

Man Giz you are killing me with all this unicorn talk. Twice in one day. Just stop triffling with my emotions you tramp. First that sexy beast of a Lenovo and now you give me leaked shots of this Dell Cutie Pie, and that MSI Wind just makes me one randy Techo-Munk, STOP TEASING ME!!!!! This like having my wife, Jenny Finch, Leryn Franco, and Serena Williams naked in my house with a don't touch this sign on.

THE CRUELTY OF IT ALL GIZ

/rant

Cordfucious v 2.0.1

I'm certain i'm way off, but this is the first time I can remember engadget honest-to-goodness linking to a gizmodo scoop. N1.

erikislame

Is that a glossy screen? =(

The image of the screen also shows a slightly different look than the other image on the main page here. Just different colors or is one the new variant?

Weet

@bandit: Ahh, the Latitude X1. Actually, it contains a dark secret: it's a rebranded Samsung Q30.

Okay, so not that dark.

bluemonq

looks promising with the ubuntu installation, hell i'm sure you'll find a way to install xp on it if you really need to

Gonzie

$299 for a 4gb SSD?
I'm guessing the HDD version will be about 350-399..if there will be one?

Like others hear, my sweetspot was the 10' screen + 80gb hard drive...

Come on dell, I expected more!

aR-Tard

It better be only $299, because for all the access they give you, it's really not that upgradeable. Only one memory slot? No standard hard disk? Be prepared to pay out the ass if you want to upgrade your storage.

ChoadNamath

I already have an Acer Aspire One and I put Ubuntu on it. There seem to have been an increasing frequency of updates from the netbook remix team in the last few days, making it more stable. (I'll be installing the latest after sending this comment). Now I wonder if this is why. :-) And... even though I bought this already, I might well buy the Dell as well. The Aspire One isn't without its issues. (Battery life is Just Too Damn Short for one. Noisy fan for another, but we worked around that now.) (Ubuntu + netbook remix very nice btw. I anticipate the version for Dell would have the niggles dealt with, proper driver support, optimised build for Atom et al...) -- Rachel

RogerBrinston

Where is the instant on it was suppose to have (dual boot windows xp and linux) I thought this was the reason for waiting for this one. I hope that you can add more ram to it always more memory is better.

mypup

Whatever happened to the "instant on" splashtop-ish thing it was supposed to have. I know last week they were talking about it for other lappys but I thought this was also going to have it. I was really drawn to this one because of that feature. Hmm well unless you can stick more ram into it yourself looks like i might have to wait for something else.

mypup

I had a meeting with two Dell account reps just last week and they hinted at the real reason for the delay. Evidently they have a standing order with Wal-Mart for 150K units. That means the day these are "out" it should be on every wally world shelf in the entire country. They also hinted at a second unit with a larger display being released shortly after the first.

KarstenEliphino

@Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish: Doesn't look better than my black eee 901. Not even close.

shaq

This is the one I have been waiting for! If the new date hadn't been leaked I would have probably caved and gotten an Asus Aspire One, I really like the size of it with the 160g storage, but if Dell pulls through...

Joolz

8/22 can't come soon enough. Anyone know how viable of an option it is to use a sdhc card for all external storage?

YamIinLawSchool

@aR-Tard: you may want to look at the Lenova S10 then for 10"/80GB
I just saw it come up on Slickdeals with 15% off coupon getting it down to $365
[forums.slickdeals.net]

djadamjay

I can't wait... Gosh

dc67021

I just read a review of this Ubuntu Remix OS here: http://www.ubuntuproductivity.com/journal/ubuntu/08/2008/focused-workflow-with-netbook-remix/ I like the idea behind it, and its looks and design go well with this Dell. I'm going to buy one when they are available!

TheoboldGadison

I was hoping they would have upgraded the storage from the initial announcement, but I guess not. I have an old "beater" Toshiba laptop with XP and a 20GB harddrive, and it is barely adequate for anything once you account for all the space XP takes up.

GPS Maps? Music? A movie to watch? Seems pointless with the level of storage, or am I missing something?

Smilodon

I currently have an order in for a Lenovo S10. I believe it was just under $383 shipped. It only comes with 512mb ram but does have a 80gb hard drive. However the memory is upgradable to 2GB without ripping apart the entire machine. But if these do hit Wal-Mart on Friday for $300 I may have to pick one up.

Scott

@djadamjay: If the Dell disappoints, the S10 is the next one I'm gonna check out, but Dell better not disappoint, or there are going to be a lot of angry people that were waiting for this to be "the one."

Joolz

Well, the 22nd has arrived, and this is nowhere to be seen on Dell's site. Unless they are gonna do a noon unveiling or something. They're in Texas, right? Maybe they'll put something up at 9 Central time.

chucklebuck

Where the heck is it? It's the 22nd already.

sygyzy

ok, it's August 22nd. i'm so ready. give it up!

mjlambie

@enine:
exactly

my d600 is getting a little long in the tooth, and i'm looking for a mini notebook. dell needs to make something like the raon mininote/everun note in the latitude series.

a bit bigger and more useable, like 8-10in, powerful, nice screen.

emptythought

this sucks....

deputyjones

way to suck dell. i hit refresh all day waiting for your site to add this and nothing. not even a formal "this is what it will be" page with an expected ship date sometime later. nothing at all.

rainsfather

tick...tick...tick

Asus is gonna get my money if we don't see something about this soon!

reckless_inoz