Note: This review is focussing on the usability of this laptop and my experiences with it, rather than technical specifications.

I bought the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 when I moved to university in September 2010; I still have it now, and (most of the time) it's in relatively good working order. The reason I wanted this particular model was because I needed something small and easily transportable in order to be able to take it to lectures and use on trains. While it fits this brief in terms of size, I have experienced a number of issues with it due to the short battery life; currently, when not plugged in it doesn't even last for two hours. This means I am unable to conveniently take it into university with me to use during lectures. However, it is very portable; it fits in my, albeit rather large, handbag and so when I am travelling long distances via train it is easy to have with me. This is definitely useful, particularly as trains have plug sockets so I am able to use it.

In terms of the look of the laptop, it is fairly funky. The colour is ice blue, and so it's a lot cooler than a typical black or dark grey model. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 comes in a variety of colours, and so it feels a bit personalised. It is also quite durable; it still works two years on from purchase despite the fact that I have spilled numerous glasses of Diet Coke and mugs of hot chocolate over the keyboard. This is quite impressive, and part of the reason why I would definitely recommend it to students/teenagers!

My main fault with it, aside from the poor battery life, is the fact that it lacks a DVD drive, although this is an issue with the majority of netbooks due to their size, and one that is easily redeemed by purchasing an external DVD/CD drive, although when doing this it is important to be careful as some DVD drives do not actually play DVDS.

In conclusion, I would recommend this laptop, although it is not without its faults. It's great for someone who doesn't require something particularly highspec - for example, I mostly use it to browse the internet, watch TV and write essays. While the screen is quite small for watching television shows on websites such as BBC iPlayer, it's not impossible and works fairly well for this purpose. If you are looking for something that does more than just these basics, then another laptop/netbook might be better for you.