Dell bulks up with Mini 12

The Dell Mini 9 has become a more than worth it alternative to the slew of Asus Eee PCs that tech heads everywhere are struggling to keep up with. But rather than knocking on the door of Stuff Towers with a predictable 10in model, just like HP has already done today, Dell has decided to bulk up with a 12in lappie, the Mini 12.

Ok, that takes it into the realms of proper laptops rather than that of the ubiquitous netbook. But size isn't everything folks and that's why Dell has made sure that the specs are very much of the Mini 9 variety. There's the usual Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB HDD. Because of that 12in screen though, it breaks Windows rules on what constitutes a netbook and therefore comes packing Vista rather than XP. Boo.

Never fear though, Linux fans. There is an open source model planned for later in the year, with the Vista Home Basic edition coming out in November. Sadly, the UK price is still being kept under wraps, but US laptop lovers will pay no more than $600.

Is a 12in netbook really worth it? Or should Dell just make a fully featured micro machine instead? Let us know what you think in the comments section.