What better way to test the Dell Mini 10 than to actually write the review on it I thought, and I’m glad I did. Using the pre-installed Microsoft Works (a cut down version of Microsoft Office) I was able to get going right out of the box. The first thing I noticed was the glossy 10.1 inch display, it’s a nice touch on a netbook, which makes it look classy and high end. However, the thick black bezel that borders the screen means you lose almost 2 inches from the display. Images and videos look great on this display, but if you were using it outdoors or in a lot of light the gloss may affect your viewing.

With its standard netbook spec of 160GB, 1GB memory and 1.60GHz processor the Dell Mini 10 is up there with the rest of the netbook crowd, but what I liked about it was the ease of setting up and getting going. It’s lightweight at 1.5kg, has Windows XP Home Edition installed, an almost full size QWERTY keyboard and a 1.3 megapixel built-in webcam. All of this makes it perfect for travelling and using it for simple tasks such as email, web browsing, Skype and Instant Messaging. I did notice however that when viewing HD (high definition) videos online it stuttered quite badly, so I’m not sure how useful the HDMI cable connector would be?

The battery power on the Dell Mini is adequate – the model I’m reviewing has a 6 cell battery which provides double the power of a standard 3 cell battery, giving you 6.5 hours of use. Although this all sounds great, you have to pay the upgrade price and also contend with the larger battery, which in my opinion ruins the nicely designed lines that cause the otherwise flat laptop to tilt at an angle. There are other netbooks out there that have greater battery performance as standard if you are a hardcore traveller who requires more juice without paying the premium!

Being someone who travels a lot and uses my netbook on the move, I was pleased to see that there’s internal WiFi as standard. Getting onto a wireless network was a cinch as it’s all clearly displayed in the easy to use wireless utility. If I was in an area that didn’t have many wireless networks, I could always connect my mobile phone to the Dell using Bluetooth and use my phone as a modem, but this is a complicated process and not one for the fainthearted! If you want to be truly mobile, you could just get a 3G mobile broadband USB dongle that should just plug into one of the three USB ports to get you surfing in no time at all. I would also recommend using an external mouse as the track pad and mouse are not easy to use at all. Even though us women have ‘smaller and more delicate’ fingers, the track is awkwardly placed, making accidental clicks easy to make and use of the multi-touch function near impossible!

As a nice touch, the Dell Mini 10 can be customised with different coloured lids and designs for an additional cost, this appeals to those that like to be unique or to bring some sense of fun to their gadgets. The model that I got had a Tristan Eaton designed lid called ‘Muse Purple’. It’s an odd design that I think you’ll either love or hate, for me personally, I found it a bit scary and I don’t think it would represent my style or personality very well, but each to their own!

Netbooks have been so popular of late with their cheap price tags that the market is flooded, making it hard to choose one based on the specs alone. Choosing the Dell Mini 10 means you have the Dell reputation and build quality you can rely on for below £300, you just need to make sure a netbook is what you’re looking for. Netbooks are never going to be massively high performance, but if you want something quick to get started on with a decent size hard drive for your media library, and you’re not bothered about running high-powered applications or using an internal optical drive (CD/DVD), then you would do well with the Dell Mini 10.

Available from www.dell.co.uk or by phone: 0844 444 5818, with prices starting from £299 for the Mini 10 (as reviewed), and just £199 for the slightly lower spec Mini 10v