For starters, this mini is not better or worse then the HP mini. That's good news as it will save you some money. This performs as well as my Acer 10.1, but the battery life on the Dell is 3-5 hrs. Windows 7 starter is crap, to be honest but, what did you really expect for 250$. The Mini is perfect for what I purchased it for, surfing the web. I highly suggest removing the bloatware and use a fast browser like Firefox or Google Chrome. Internet explorer is really slow and this having only 1gb of ram is a killer. I have had this for 5 days now of heavy use and feel comfortable sharing my opinions. Hopefully this will help you decide if this is right for your needs.
Pros:
Cheap price & solid build.
Nice keyboard with no flex.
Power adapter plugs in on the rear.
Solid power supply input.
Tight usb ports x2
Decent gloss screen
Sound is ok for a mini ( 1 speaker right side on bottom )
Great WiFi
Trackpad is single finger scroll which I prefer.
CONS:
Time consuming removing all the garbage and getting started.
Dust and fingerprint magnet!
Removal of entire bottom ( 8 screws ) to get to Hdd or Ram. I have not opened.
Battery has noticeable wiggle room when inserted.
SD cards do not insert all the way. While pushing in there is no click or spring device. They simply hang out.
Air intake and heat exhaust are poorly placed on bottom but, no major heat issues.
Overall If you are on a budget or need other means of access to get on the web, this is a great purchase. I would also recommend this highly as a childs first computer since it seems it can take some punishment. Satisfied with my purchase!
For those that possess patience and want to upgrade the ram, I am providing a video link on how to do so.
