Intel's Atom and CULV platforms accept been the mainstay of ultra-portable notebooks for the accomplished year or two, but there's now a new kid on the block that's acquisitive to agitate the accustomed order.

Launched aback in May, AMD's Nile belvedere - consisting of low-power Athlon processors accompanying with a new M880G chipset and chip ATI Radeon HD 4250 cartoon - created a band-aid that, on cardboard at least, shows affluence of merit.

And we're acutely not the alone ones who anticipate so. Following the accession of AMD's new parts, the industry's better names showed their abutment with the barrage of abundant acknowledging systems. One of which is the new Dell Inspiron M101z.

Launched as Dell's aboriginal AMD-powered notebook, the Inspiron M101z is article of an addition to the Intel Atom-powered Inspiron Mini 10 and Intel CULV-based Inspiron 11z.

Priced from £379, the arrangement can be configured with a dual-core processor, up to 4GB of RAM, 320GB of accumulator and Radeon HD 4000-series graphics; acutely aggregate you'd appetite in what's abstraction up to be the absolute ultra-portable.

Design

10in and 11in notebooks accept a addiction to attending bargain and plastic-like in appearance. Fortunately, the aforementioned can't be said for Dell's Inspiron M101z.

Adopting the aforementioned arced edges of the beyond Inspiron 15R, the new M101z is one of the tidiest 11in systems we've seen.

Available in a best of Clear Black, Peacock Blue, Tomato Red or Lotus Pink finishes - of which the closing leash back a £19 exceptional - the arrangement is glassy in appearance, with our atramentous analysis sample attractive decidedly acute with its smooth, bright lid and argent accents.

Though, admitting the actuality that AMD's gunning for the ultra-thin segment, the Inspiron M101z doesn't absolutely abatement beneath that accurate umbrella.

Like abounding of Dell's contempo notebooks, the six-cell array has been kept even aural the anatomy at the bulk of all-embracing thickness. Yet, admitting barometer a almost beefy 35mm at its thickest point, the system's baby abundant to be ultra-portable and it's light, too, belief in at 1.57kg.

On addition absolute note, the M101z's bulkier-than-normal anatomy has an accessible benefit; the anatomy is abundantly rigid, and there's nary a assurance of angle in the capital body. You don't apprehend light, artificial 11in systems to feel so sturdy, but this little Inspiron's able-bodied anatomy is a attestation to Dell's body quality.

And that affection is continued throughout the notebook. Inside, a brushed brownish approach blow is decidedly accessible on the eye, and both the keyboard and trackpad action a apparent advance over Dell's antecedent designs. Added on those later.

Specification and upgrades

The starting bulk of £379 ability accept bent your eye, but for that sum you're belted to a single-core Athlon II Neo K125 processor, 2GB of DDR3 anamnesis and a 250GB, 5,400rpm adamantine disk.

Our analysis sample - Dell's top-end archetypal - appearance a dual-core Athlon II Neo K325 processor, 4GB of DD3 memory, a quicker 320GB, 7,200rpm adamantine deejay and a exceptional £499 bulk tag. That's acutely added than your boilerplate Atom or CULV-based machine, and added in band with full-size notebooks such as the Intel Core i3-powered Inspiron 15R.

It's a aerial bulk for an 11in machine, but for your money you do get a advantageous 1,366x768 affectation resolution, stereo "SRS Exceptional Sound" speakers, a congenital 1.3 megapixel webcam and a 64-bit install of Microsoft's Windows 7 Home Exceptional operating system.

Three USB ports affection as standard, as do Ethernet, VGA and HDMI connectors, and you get Wireless N and Bluetooth connectivity as standard, as able-bodied as a 3-in-1 agenda reader.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but it's account canonizing that a arrangement of this admeasurement offers no allowance for an chip optical drive. Dell instead offers an alien USB DVD biographer as a £60 alternative extra.

As for end-user upgrades, a rear console provides accessible admission to the system's anamnesis slots, but swapping out the adamantine deejay is a little added catchy - you'll alone get admission to that by appropriation out the keyboard.

From the outside, it's aggregate you'd apprehend from an 11in arrangement delivered in a actual tidy package. Let's see how it fares beneath the lid.