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Dell launches mini-PC to rival HP

Dell Inc, the world’s second-largest personal computer maker, introduced an ultra-portable PC in a bid to lure consumers away from Hewlett-Packard Co.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 weighs 1kg and has an 8.9-inch (23cm) screen that can present most Web pages fully without scrolling from left to right, John Thode, chief of small-screen devices, said in an interview.

A model with Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system will sell for US$399, Dell said in a statement yesterday.

Dell’s product debuted five months after Hewlett-Packard released the HP Mini-Note, with a starting price that is almost US$150 more than the Dell device. Hewlett-Packard targeted its model at educators, while Dell’s is aimed at travelers and social-network users.

Ultra-portables will account for about 4.6 percent of the 77.6 million PCs shipped worldwide this year, researcher IDC estimated.

“The concept hasn’t been well-tested in the marketplace,” said David Daoud, an analyst at IDC, based in Framingham, Massachusetts. “The industry has to find ways to expand beyond the current 15-inch screen PC world. Still, they need to show what spending US$400 on a smaller, cute product will do for the consumer who can buy an iPhone or a BlackBerry for about the same price.”

The Inspiron Mini 9 with Windows is available from yesterday in the US, Canada and Japan through Dell’s Web site, and next week in Europe.

A US$349 version with a Linux operating system will go on sale in a few weeks.

The device offers easy, instant Internet access and isn’t meant to replace an office PC, Thode said.

“It’s a cross between a smart phone and a PC, but I wouldn’t put it up to your ear,” he said.
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