Dell Releases HD Ready Mini 10 Netbook

Dell has announced that the latest refresh of its Mini 10 Netbook will support HD content for an extra $35, which boosts the screen resolution to 1366x768.

The new Dell Mini 10 has a rather thick frame, an integrated TV tuner - which is quite nice considering it also has a HDMI port, a 6-cell battery, an Intel Atom Z520 CPU running at 1.33GHz, 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard disk drive and WiFi.

The default 10.1-inch anti glare screen can show 1024x576 pixel, a correct 16:9 ratio, powered by the GN40 chipset which incorporates the GMA X4500 graphics module.

The brand new netbook options have yet to come to the UK, featuring under the "coming soon" section. Dell only says that the new features are launching at a later date.

Other upgrades that will also come with the new HD Ready netbook will include a 250GB hard disk drive as well as a 6-cell, 6.5 hours battery while keeping the total weight of the system under 3 pounds.

The Netbook currently sells for £299 in the UK including VAT and delivery. Adding the HD ready screen should bump the price of the laptop by £30.

But whether the Atom platform will be powerful enough to stream HD content is something else. Wired, which published a preview of the Mini 10, says that movies became jerky when moving to 480 lines.

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