• Dell entered the netbook market in 2008 with the Inspiron Mini 9. This miniature version of their popular budget line of laptops, the Inspirons, came with either Windows XP or Ubuntu, a Linux operating system. Due to its size and the fact that technology and design for netbooks did not yet have time to mature, the specifications for the Mini 9 are low compared with the later Mini 10.
  
  

Processor

• Intel's low-power, single-core Atom processors helped make the Mini 9 possible. The model Atom used in these netbooks is the N270 with a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) clock speed and a bus speed of 533 megahertz (MHz). The max watt usage of 2.5 contributes to this netbook's long-lasting battery power.
  
  

Memory

• Buyers had a choice of getting the Mini 9 built with either 512 megabytes (MB) or 1 gigabyte (GB) of memory. The memory type is Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) running at 533 MHz. There is one stick of memory inside this netbook, but it is not user-accessible.
  
  

Display

• The Mini 9 has an 8.9-inch TrueLife widescreen display capable of up to a 1024 by 600 pixel resolution. Graphics are handled by Intel's Mobile 945GSE Express Chipset, which provides 8 MB of shared video memory. This is a very low amount of memory for graphics, compared to the typical 128 MB or 256 MB on-board graphics of full-sized budget laptops.
  
  

Drives

• Solid state drives are used in the Mini 9 for both their size and low power consumption. Buyers had the option of getting this model with a 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB hard drive. No optical drive is built into the Mini; Dell instead sold an external USB optical drive as an optional accessory.
  
  

Networking

• Ethernet networking capabilities are built into the Mini 9 motherboard, so you can plug it into your wired network at home. There is also built-in wireless, which varies based on which option the original buyer selected. These include a WWAN mini card or WLAN mini card with Wi-Fi and optional Bluetooth technology.
  
  

Ports

• Two audio jacks and one microphone-in jack allow users to plug in headphones, a headset or even stereo speakers. There is a VGA port for connecting the netbook to an external monitor or projector. Also included are three USB ports, one RJ-45 jack and an SD card reader.