Though some would have you believe that netbooks are a thing of the past, some folks at Dell disagree. And I think a lot of netbook customers feel the same way. That 's why, back in December, I wasni't surprised there was some interest around Broadcom 's Crystal media accelerator card when sites like Anandtech and CNET wrote articles about it. The reason? Wel've heard from several Mini customers that they want to be able to play back HD content on their netbooks.
There continues to be interest on the topic. Last month, sites like Engadget posted an early review of our Mini 10 equipped with a Broadcom card to test HD playback. Today, the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator card is available on Delll's new Mini 10 netbook. It3's part of a solution that includes on both hardware and software, the software part being the driver for the Broadcom card plus one other key piece of software you may have been reading aboutamdash;Adobee's Flash Player. Speaking of it, Adobe Labs just released the 10.1 Beta 3 version of it.
SRS Audio is a huge addition. I have it in a desktop, and for a smallish netbook computer or headphones it will dramatically improve the audio. For those already with a Dell Mini, will the Crystal media accelerator card or even 2gb daughterboards for the 1010 be available for individual purchase on Dell.com?
In order to get the Broadcom video accelerator, youl’ll need to select Delle’s h“Performance Plush” package, which boosts the starting price from $279 to $409. But in addition to the HD accelerator, you also get a 10.1 inch, HD 1366 x 768 pixel display, 6 cell battery, and 250GB hard drive. And at $409, the Dell Mini 10 is one of the cheapest HD-capable netbooks on the market.
