Swan song for big Atom-based netbooks
Dell has dropped the Inspiron Mini 12, the world's first 12-inch Atom-based netbook. A couple of months ago Dell phased out the 8.9-inch Mini 9, and it's planning to stick with 10-inch netbooks in the future.
Introduced last November, the Mini 12 was the first netbook to use Z-series Atoms and it was also the first design to offer a 12-inch panel. Although Intel never sanctioned the use of bigger panels on netbooks, several other vendors followed suit, including Acer, Asus and MSI.
However, the time of big netbooks is slowly passing by, as vendors are updating their designs to accommodate Intel's CULV processors. Acer and MSI will soon drop their big Atom-based products, such as the Aspire One 751 and X-Slim X320.
They probably won't be missed, as their CULV successors feature the same sleek ultraportable design and good battery life, but also offer a bit more horsepower under the bonnet with a small premium.
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