Dell has stopped selling its 12-inch Intel Atom-powered device, the company announced, stating 10-inch is the current sweet spot for netbooks.
Ending the Mini 12 program was discussed on the official Dell Blog web site, with the following reason offered: "It really boils down to this: for a lot of customers, 10-inch displays are the sweet spot for netbooks," the Dell blog says. "That’s why we offer two different 10-inch Inspiron netbooks for Mini 10 and the Mini 10v. And on the Latitude side, the Latitude 2100 netbook is finding a home in schools all over the place."
The Mini 10 and Mini 12 share very similar hardware specifications, except the 12-inch model has higher power usage requirements. Despite shorter battery life, most consumers appeared happy with the heavier device, as it had a bigger viewing screen.
In reality, it's likely Dell stopped manufacturing the Mini 12 because Intel has stated its dislike of 12-inch netbooks -- consumers, instead of purchasing more expensive dual core products, are instead opting for the lower-cost 12-inch netbooks, which Intel wants to stop.
Even though Dell has stopped making the Mini 12, the company will continue to embrace netbooks, understanding the lower-price, ultra-portable devices will remain popular among consumers. Some analysts believe consumers want 13-inch and 14-inch netbooks, which may put Dell in a difficult position, if the the company wants to keep Intel on its good side.
Do you think this is a good move by Dell, or are you upset the Mini 12 is now officially dead?
