Jump on the netbook bandwagon on the cheap side with this Dell Mini 9 refurbished netbook. It’s the low end Ubuntu model with only a 1.6GHz Atom, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB SSD but it’s only $179. Because it’s right from Dell, however, buyers still get a 1 year warranty and 24/7 tech support. Just use coupon code $C$TXXP1CT3BLC (via) to bring the advertised price of $209 down to a tad more affordable $177. Not bad, eh?

So it’s not an official touchscreen option; this is better. Dell now allows Mini 9 buyers to spend $100 to upgrade from the standard 4GB SSD option to a 32GB solid state drive. Total price with SSD option installed: $449. Nice.

The well-received Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is now available in two more colors, if that type of thing matters to you. (I’m colorblind.) Yup, now you can run Windows XP on the bite sized Mini 9 in red and pink.

It’s the same machine otherwise: up to 32GB solid state storage, 1.60GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB RAM, etc. You know the drill.

What concerns me is that this info isn’t up on Dell’s U.S. site yet; we found this on the Japanese Dell site, where it wants ¥34,980 (around $360) for the entry level system.

Dell has taken the Inspiron Mini 9 netbook and dressed it up for the business types. The innards are exactly the same as the pedestrian counterpart with an Intel 1.6 Atom CPU, 8GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and a 8.9-inch screen. So far the stark black netbook is announced only for the Japanese market and carries an astonishing high price of ¥92,830 ($999 USD), and unless this netbook fad takes off here in the States, chances are the Vostro A90 will stay over in Tomorrow Land. We don’t need another netbook here anyway.

Looks like Dell is getting ready to release the Mini 12, a netbook in the Mini 9 mold, but, you know, with a 12-inch screen.

CMS Report speculates that the netbook could be released as early as this week or next. Dell.com already has a few references to the Mini 12, including a non-functioning link to its user manual.

Considering the Mini 9 was well-received, there’s no reason not to think this Mini 12 wouldn’t be similarly embraced. Unless, of course, you’re still a little gun shy when it comes to netbooks, like me. Pry my desktop from my cold, dead hands, I say.

A bloke at UneasySilence has managed to install Leopard on his Dell Mini 9. Even better, he’s listed all the steps, so if you’re hankering for a quick weekend project (and you have a Mini 9), this may just do the trick.

Note that it does include downloading a specialized version of Leopard off The Pirate Bay, which may or may not be illegal. Who cares, I say. A quick search for “MSIWindosx86.iso” there will bring it up for ya.

It’s a fully functioning install, too, as the bloke was able to update his Mini 9 all the way up to 10.5.5.

I actually used the phrase “oh, wow, neat” when I first read about this. Perhaps it’s time I turn in my Cynic Card.

The Dell Mini 9 appears to not completely suck, which is good news for the netbook crowd, I suppose. But—and I’m sure you’ve all been wondering about this—what does it look like on the inside? How does Dell manage to fit so much into such a tiny space?

As luck would have it, Dell actually has provided photos and illustrations of the Mini 9′s interior. Unless you’re one of those folks who hang out at Radio Shack for fun, they’re probably only worth a “oh, cool, that’s what it looks like,” which is exactly what I said.