Dell has announced a new version of the Inspiron Mini 10. The new case is designed for a six-cell battery that will deliver nine and a half hours of use without all the bulk. Inside it features that next-gen Atom which can be paired with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator for HD video playback.

You also have four case colors to choose from, Bluetooth, WWAN, GPS, a TV tuner, and a 1366 x 768 display. Prices start at $299 when it becomes available in early January.

Netbooks continue to be the hottest segment of the computer industry. Netbook growth is impressive given that most other computer segments are dropping significantly. Dell has proven to be one of the few computer makers to offer a successful Linux-based netbook with its Mini line.

Dell has now announced new Ubuntu options for its Mini 10 netbook. Dell started offering the Mini 10 running Ubuntu Linux this week along with some new storage options including 32GB and 64GB HDDs. The storage options will cost $75 and $125 respectively and are not offered on XP-based Mini 10 netbooks.

I really like netbooks, the small systems are perfect for the light work I and many others need to do on the road. Moreover, they are cheap, small and light making them easy to carry and fit into the budget. I haven’t used a Dell netbook yet, but I may consider one now that a new 10-inch version is official.

I was never a big fan of the Mini 9 or Mini 12 netbooks; they were too small and too large. As the antagonist of the three bears would put it, the Mini 10 is just right. Dell says that we will be able to buy the Mini 10 directly from Dell.com on February 26 and that QVC is offering pre-orders on the netbook right now.