Dell's latest netbook, which has been the source of much online speculation, was officially announced today.

Classing it as 'Mini' may be something of a stretch, because the latest model has the largest screen for a device of this type, breaking the 12in barrier. However, Dell backs this up with a very thin and light design.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 has a 12.1in display, 1GB of RAM and a choice of hard drive sizes – 40GB, 60GB or 80GB – as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.

Also included are three USB ports, a multicard reader, Ethernet, VGA-Out and Windows Vista Home Basic. The device has a starting weight of 1.23kg and is less than an inch thick.

At the moment the Inspiron Mini 12 is only available in Japan. UK availability is set for mid-November via regional Dell stores, while support for Windows XP and Ubuntu are also due later this year.

Although Dell is aiming the Mini 12 at "teens, tweens, travellers and social networkers to surf the web, chat with friends, blog, stream content, upload photos or enjoy online videos, music and games", it will no doubt be of interest to mobile workers as a new mini laptop option.

Dell did not offer pricing information, though current speculation suggests that it could cost users about £350.