Dell has finally come out with its much-awaited new mini-laptop (netbook) for education. The Latitude 2100 has a 10″ screen includes many of the features of other mini-laptops, as well as some unique features for education, most notably a ruggedized case. The starting price is $369.

There is also an optional touchscreen that could add some real benefits for education. (This seems to add only $30 to the price. Amazing!) Other add-ons include additional memory, hard drives (up to 250 GB)  a longer-life battery (recommended), an extended warranty, and even Vista. (This is the first netbook I’ve seen that could run Vista.)

Stay tuned for more reviews as these roll out.

Apparently, the Dell Mini 9 has already been discontinued. Also I’ve heard that the Mini 10 is not available through the educational channel (just consumer). Educators are being told to with for the Mini 12.

This is disappointing and doesn’t reinforce my previous assertion that Dell gets the education market. The consumer mobile electronics market continues to be a tough fit for institutional purchases.

Anyone else hearing other news on this or other mini-laptops?

The next evolution of mobile technology is mini-laptops. At prices as low as $249, these devices are  affordable and provide an excellent way to integrate technology to improve student learning.

A new wave of EETT money that was included in the latest stimulus plan could provide fast funding for this type of technology.

See this new rundown of many of the most popular mini-laptop models.

The long-rumored, low-cost laptop from Dell is now official: the Inspiron Mini 9 (currently available for pre-order only).

The prices start at $349 (not quite as low as had been rumored and hoped for, but prices generally fall over time) and go up to $449. Like other low-cost laptops, the lower end model ships with Linux (Ubuntu) and higher-priced models are available with XP. These models all ship with hard drives (4-16 GB) and wireless. Ports include USB (3), VGA out, Ethernet, headphone, mic, and a 3-in-1 media card reader. A web cam is optional.

Stay tuned for more info as these begin shipping. We’ll also be posting a comparison grid of the many new low-cost laptops soon.