901 vs S10 vs Mini 9

vindicator · 14th December 2008, 8:59 AM

I have one of each on my desk.

Here is my take.

The 901 feels chunky in comparison. The build quality feels relatively poor. I despise the way the track pad buttons are stiff and loud. The plastic is a magnet for finger prints. The screen is grainy and constantly looks dirty thanks to the anti-glare coating. I can't stress how shitty this screen is. A coworker walked past and said "Wow those are cool... Your screen is dirty". The aesthetic is Taiwanese camp. Keyboard layout is horrid.

The S10 feels the thinnest. I think it has the best form factor. The plastics are average, but the build quality is nice. The screen suffers the same problem as the 901. Not as bad though. The keyboard is larger, but not utilized well. Similar horrid layout to the 901. The track pad buttons are noisy and cheap. The fan is relatively noisy and on most of the time. Not as loud as my Mac Book under load, but my Mac Book is rarely under load. The underside is warm, but not hot as described by others.

The Mini 9 has a great form factor. The plastics are nicely finished. Aesthetically, I find it to be the best looking. The best built of the lot. The gloss screen is great. Crisp, clear and vibrant. It shits all over the other two. The keyboard whist smaller over all then the others has larger letter keys, but smaller auxiliary keys. Very smart. The layout works very well. The track pad buttons are silent. No fan. No moving parts. Silent. Limited flashing lights. The cover picks up finger prints, but the gun metal colour handles it better then the 901. SSD is very fast. It boots an unoptimized OpenSuse install faster then the others boot the optimised OEM XP. Application load times appear instant. Appear to lag on the others.

I'm going to buy the Mini 9. If you need more storage space get a Mini 12.

AussieTemplar · 14th December 2008, 9:40 AM

I was having a toss up between the Mini 9 and the 1000H.

vindicator · 14th December 2008, 9:42 AM

Go for the 9.

The 1000H has the same problems at the 901.

It's relatively bulky.

TidyBoi · 14th December 2008, 3:13 PM

Does the mini 9 have the option for more storage expandability?

I'm looking at a small lappy like these for around or under $500.

Looks like mini 9 is the winner?

Other than the bad screen, is there anything else bad about the 901, I'm looking at it because its quite cheap.

kazimatiz · 14th December 2008, 3:46 PM

You make no mention of battery life, SSD capacity and performance, Bluetooth etc.

vindicator · 14th December 2008, 6:13 PM

I didn't get the chance to test the battery life.

The battery life is well documented for this trio. 901 > Mini 9 > S10.

If you need "all day computing" get the Mini 12 with the 6 cell.

The SSD in the 901 is split between 4GB and 8GB. A bit of a pain. Seemed sluggish compaired to the mini 9. Applications took seconds to load on the 901. Appeared instant on the Mini 9. Nothing scientific as the Mini 9 was running OpenSuse and teh 901 was running the oem XP.

The S10 has a 160 GB SATA HDD. The disk died after installing Linux. Had to swap it for a spare I had. These things happen though with Lenovo.

They all have bluetooth.

vindicator · 14th December 2008, 6:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TidyBoi

Does the mini 9 have the option for more storage expandability?

Not from the factory yet.

Buffallo have 32GB SSDs available.

I'm planning to use this for idling on the couch and travelling. I have a wireless NAS setup so space isn't concern for me.

A 1.8" HDD option would be great.

Kelvin · 14th December 2008, 7:31 PM

I don't understand why anyone would what a computer without the Function keys f1-f10...

?How could dell omit such an essential set of keys....

vindicator · 14th December 2008, 8:00 PM

Function keys are accessible via the Fn button.

You compromise either way.

I, and I would wager the majority of people, use the alphanumeric keys much more then I use the function keys.

The Dell ditched the dedicated function keys in order to have larger alphanumeric keys.

It's a much better compromise then Lenovo or Asus compromise.

dracoMJB · 18th December 2008, 4:42 PM

The Dell also has a memory card reader, so with SDHC you can expand quite well without trying to replace the SSD.

I went with the Dell because I wanted ssd (no moving parts) and it feels a lot better than the eeepc. Only downside I had was that the SSD was configured in XP as compressed, which made booting up and running apps really slow. Turning that off didn't lose much disk space and sped things up a lot.

tangcla · 25th December 2008, 8:54 AM

I bought the S10 as it looks least like a toy.

I hope my HDD doesn't die...

Scandrew · 25th December 2008, 9:04 AM

For those who have a 901/Mini 9 and are looking to speed up their SSDS.

Have a look into the Runcore SSD modules. Quite cheap for the performance.

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/1...ie-ssd-on.html

Deanodriver · 25th December 2008, 9:40 AM

OpenSuse on the Mini9? I thought they only came with XP here?

Midz · 25th December 2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scandrew

For those who have a 901/Mini 9 and are looking to speed up their SSDS.

Have a look into the Runcore SSD modules. Quite cheap for the performance.

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/1...ie-ssd-on.html

How much are they though?

desertstalker · 25th December 2008, 10:03 AM

$70 us for 16G 120 for 32 others are more...

14th December 2008, 8:59 AM	#1
vindicator (Taking a Break) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: LoNoSho Posts: 2,954	901 vs S10 vs Mini 9 I have one of each on my desk. Here is my take. The 901 feels chunky in comparison. The build quality feels relatively poor. I despise the way the track pad buttons are stiff and loud. The plastic is a magnet for finger prints. The screen is grainy and constantly looks dirty thanks to the anti-glare coating. I can't stress how shitty this screen is. A coworker walked past and said "Wow those are cool... Your screen is dirty". The aesthetic is Taiwanese camp. Keyboard layout is horrid. The S10 feels the thinnest. I think it has the best form factor. The plastics are average, but the build quality is nice. The screen suffers the same problem as the 901. Not as bad though. The keyboard is larger, but not utilized well. Similar horrid layout to the 901. The track pad buttons are noisy and cheap. The fan is relatively noisy and on most of the time. Not as loud as my Mac Book under load, but my Mac Book is rarely under load. The underside is warm, but not hot as described by others. The Mini 9 has a great form factor. The plastics are nicely finished. Aesthetically, I find it to be the best looking. The best built of the lot. The gloss screen is great. Crisp, clear and vibrant. It shits all over the other two. The keyboard whist smaller over all then the others has larger letter keys, but smaller auxiliary keys. Very smart. The layout works very well. The track pad buttons are silent. No fan. No moving parts. Silent. Limited flashing lights. The cover picks up finger prints, but the gun metal colour handles it better then the 901. SSD is very fast. It boots an unoptimized OpenSuse install faster then the others boot the optimised OEM XP. Application load times appear instant. Appear to lag on the others. I'm going to buy the Mini 9. If you need more storage space get a Mini 12. Last edited by vindicator; 14th December 2008 at 9:06 AM.

14th December 2008, 9:40 AM	#2
AussieTemplar Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,233	I was having a toss up between the Mini 9 and the 1000H. __________________ \| HIS 4870X2 \| Q6600 G0 3.4ghz \| P5Q Deluxe \| 4GB Corsair 800 \| PC-P80B \| HX-620w \| Win7 Ultimate x64 Successful Trades(26) ($2500+): Trades

14th December 2008, 3:13 PM	#4
TidyBoi Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bass Hill, Sydney Posts: 672	Does the mini 9 have the option for more storage expandability? I'm looking at a small lappy like these for around or under $500. Looks like mini 9 is the winner? Other than the bad screen, is there anything else bad about the 901, I'm looking at it because its quite cheap. __________________ Good Trades commando, Ichiro, Alsoar, Rickster, susmind, denwol, sim36, dainese, Tasty_Vito, i4560011, maco, Narikki, mystique1, kaotickelly, azndude Need a Lockerz.com invite? PM your email, I'll happily invite you. Last edited by TidyBoi; 14th December 2008 at 3:20 PM.

14th December 2008, 3:46 PM	#5
kazimatiz Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sydney 2224 Posts: 484	You make no mention of battery life, SSD capacity and performance, Bluetooth etc. __________________ E6300 @ 2.94GHz \| Gigabyte DS3 \| 2GB Corsair \| 8800GT \| 1.5TB Storage \| Chimei 221D

25th December 2008, 8:54 AM	#11
tangcla Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 6,723	I bought the S10 as it looks least like a toy. I hope my HDD doesn't die... __________________ www.tangcla.com - photography Canon 5D Mark II \| 1D Mark III \| 16-35mm f/2.8L \| 24-70mm f/2.8L \| 70-200mm f/2.8L IS 15mm f/2.8 fisheye \| 85mm f/1.2L II \| 100mm f/2.8 macro \| 580EX-II x2 \| PocketWizard TT1/TT5

14th December 2008, 9:42 AM	#3
vindicator (Taking a Break) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: LoNoSho Posts: 2,954	Go for the 9. The 1000H has the same problems at the 901. It's relatively bulky.

14th December 2008, 6:13 PM	#6
vindicator (Taking a Break) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: LoNoSho Posts: 2,954	I didn't get the chance to test the battery life. The battery life is well documented for this trio. 901 > Mini 9 > S10. If you need "all day computing" get the Mini 12 with the 6 cell. The SSD in the 901 is split between 4GB and 8GB. A bit of a pain. Seemed sluggish compaired to the mini 9. Applications took seconds to load on the 901. Appeared instant on the Mini 9. Nothing scientific as the Mini 9 was running OpenSuse and teh 901 was running the oem XP. The S10 has a 160 GB SATA HDD. The disk died after installing Linux. Had to swap it for a spare I had. These things happen though with Lenovo. They all have bluetooth.

14th December 2008, 7:31 PM	#8
Kelvin Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 1,668	I don't understand why anyone would what a computer without the Function keys f1-f10... ?How could dell omit such an essential set of keys....

14th December 2008, 8:00 PM	#9
vindicator (Taking a Break) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: LoNoSho Posts: 2,954	Function keys are accessible via the Fn button. You compromise either way. I, and I would wager the majority of people, use the alphanumeric keys much more then I use the function keys. The Dell ditched the dedicated function keys in order to have larger alphanumeric keys. It's a much better compromise then Lenovo or Asus compromise.

18th December 2008, 4:42 PM	#10
dracoMJB Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 490	The Dell also has a memory card reader, so with SDHC you can expand quite well without trying to replace the SSD. I went with the Dell because I wanted ssd (no moving parts) and it feels a lot better than the eeepc. Only downside I had was that the SSD was configured in XP as compressed, which made booting up and running apps really slow. Turning that off didn't lose much disk space and sped things up a lot.

25th December 2008, 9:04 AM	#12
Scandrew Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: NSW 2162 Posts: 1,773	For those who have a 901/Mini 9 and are looking to speed up their SSDS. Have a look into the Runcore SSD modules. Quite cheap for the performance. http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/ http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/1...ie-ssd-on.html

25th December 2008, 9:40 AM	#13
Deanodriver Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 6,953	OpenSuse on the Mini9? I thought they only came with XP here? __________________ sifnt.net.au \| I brew, therefore I am.

25th December 2008, 10:03 AM	#15
desertstalker Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 152	$70 us for 16G 120 for 32 others are more... __________________ My gallery - SmugMug