dell inspiron e1405 laptop review

The Dell Inspiron e1405 (dell inspiron e1405 battery), a recently released portable notebook that includes the relatively new Intel Core Duo CPU, seems designed for those who value a combination of significant processing power and portability but don't want to spend a lot of money to get it. This model, also named the Inspiron 640m on Dell's Small Business website, replaces the non-business XPS M140 (which, by the way, was named the Inspiron 630m when sold as a business model), and its primary advantage over its predecessor is the dual core option. Like the Inspiron e1705, a large desktop replacement notebook that I recently purchased and reviewed, and the Inspiron e1505, a mid-size entertainment notebook, the e1405 can be configured with a glossy screen and comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition, which includes a host of entertainment and multimedia features that appear to target those who desire a computer that will readily and capably handle the ever-increasing entertainment possibilities of our world. One significant difference between the e1405 and its older and larger siblings is the absence of a dedicated graphics option that would allow for intensive gaming. But you can't have everything, including portability, for a mere seven or eight hundred dollars, which is about what a well-configured e1405 will cost you if you're careful about your purchase and do a little preliminary research.

The Dell e1405 is a brand-new entry in Dell's Inspiron line of entertainment notebooks (it's also marketed as the 640m on the business side of Dell's offerings). With a 14" widescreen display, a Core Duo CPU, a 100GB hard drive, and a gig of RAM, the machine's no slouch in the performance department. But when you can get a system like this—including an extended battery—for US$800, corners have to be cut somewhere. Right?

To find out, we put the laptop through its paces for a few weeks in an attempt to answer the burning question: can such an inexpensive piece of kit really stand up to computers twice its cost? Think of this review as dialoguing with our earlier investigations of two other Core Duo machines: the Thinkpad X60 and the new Macbook. How does the e1405 stack up? The answer might surprise you.

Dell has finally received the memo—you know, the one that Apple has been circulating for the last few years, the one that argues for the importance of style to consumer electronics. Dell, as much as anyone, typified the "beige box" syndrome that afflicted PC vendors for a decade or more, but the company now tries to atone for past design sins with sexier laptops like the e1405 (dell e1405 battery). Whether you like the design or not is a notoriously personal decision, but I'm willing to go on the record with my own opinion: it looks pretty good.

The new Inspiron lineup will never be as hawt as the MacBook Pro, for instance, with all that shiny metal and that smooth silver underbelly, and it will never be as svelte as the X60. Most components are made of a silver-speckled plastic and the machine weighs in at around six pounds with extended battery, but the overall effect is quite pleasing. Looked at from above, the machine has fine lines and an attractive silver/white/black color scheme. It won't be the slickest machine at your local Starbucks, but you'll look pretty decent without dropping more than a grand—no small feat. And compared to the older generation of Dell machines, the e1405 is like an 18th-century allegorical painting about the Triumph of Design.

Take a closer look at the picture above. See that one-inch bulge protruding from the back of the laptop? That's the extended battery. To my eyes, the bulge actually looks pretty decent, more like a beauty mark than a goiter, but opinions may vary on this. If you plan on getting the extended battery, make sure the machine still fits in your laptop case.

Actually, I didn't buy this laptop; it is a review model. But as noted, I did recently buy an e1705 (dell inspiron b130 battery), and will therefore be viewing this e1405 within that context, paying particular attention to portability, an area in which the e1705 is decidedly lacking, and performance, where the e1705 really shines. And although I have no plans to buy an e1405, I often recommend notebooks to friends and family. As I use the e1405 (dell inspiron b120 battery) I find myself wondering whether it would be a good option for them. I would definitely recommend this notebook if someone were to say the following:

"I want a notebook that's pretty easy to carry around and can even be used on a plane. I'm on a tight budget and don't want to pay more than eight hundred dollars or so, but I really don't want to sacrifice performance. I have no plans to play the latest games, but I want good multimedia capabilities and a pretty high resolution. I'd also like it to be sturdy."

The key here is the price; which is, admittedly, what often enhances the appeal of Dell notebooks. In the case of the above-stated requirements, I consider the e1405 to be an excellent choice now that I've tested it fairly thoroughly with particular emphasis on word processing, audiovisual performance and the Internet.

Because a number of purchasers of the e1405 have complained in this sites forums of excessive light leakage, I thought I should address this issue and therefore devoted some time to unearthing the problem in this particular machine, both with the naked eye and the digital camera. Waiting patiently for nightfall to come, I turned off all the lights, got rid of the Windows Taskbar, and looked as closely as I could at the screen, then took scads of digital pictures. At the risk of appearing to be a sensory dullard, I must say that at first I could really see no problem when using eyesight alone, though the camera did reveal light leakage at the base of the LCD. Subsequently there were occasions when I noticed some leakage, but only when the background was dark or when I used Dead Pixel Buddy to set the screen to black. Having said all that, I should add that during my actual use of this notebook, I never once noticed a problem. Of course, others may well be more sensitive to light leakage than I am, and certain screen configurations might be more affected.

I consistently got just over 3 hours out of the 6-cell battery. This rate of discharge seemed a little disappointing, but during these 3-hour periods I was frequently accessing the hard drive and always running the LCD at maximum brightness, with the wireless card enabled as well. With lighter use, the battery lasted for a little more than 4 hours, though the wireless card was still turned on. I find that power savings features are largely a matter of personal preference and tolerance, as well as usage, so some people will undoubtedly be able to squeeze a little more time out of the battery, while others will get less.

The main charm of the Inspiron e1405 is that it manages to provide good portability, pleasurable viewing and high performance at a low cost. With this particular model, there were very few flaws, and none of these was sufficient to warn against this notebook. What impressed me most was the display, though I had recently made a decision to go with a lower resolution matte screen when actually purchasing a notebook for myself. I really enjoyed watching a DVD on the e1405 and found the display surprisingly easy to work with during normal usage, too. What strikes me about the e1405 (dell vostro 1000 battery) is that it accomplishes so much in a small package and does so at such a low cost. There's no way I would purchase a non-dual-core machine, now that I've used a couple of dual cores, and though some people might think it's worth waiting for 64-bit dual core, for my own purposes I consider two years to be a reasonable life for a computer, and figure 32-bit is good enough for this period, provided multiple applications can be run with speed and efficiency, which the Yonah accomplishes. When looking to purchase a notebook computer, it can be useful to think in two-hundred-dollar increments, I find. While there are notebooks available for five or six hundred dollars, these generally have severe limitations and I wouldn't consider any of them, whereas the e1405, at the next step up on the price ladder, has very few limitations, especially when its portability is factored into the mix.

dell inspiron 1501 laptop review

When we last reviewed the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell e1505 battery), the notebook's rich multimedia features, wireless performance, and strong battery life garnered it an Editors' Choice award. Now, Dell follows up the E1505 with the 1501 ($844, as tested here), a low-priced alternative and the first Dell machine to house an AMD processor. It's also Vista capable and Premium ready--something you're not going to find with run-of-the-mill value notebooks. The 1501 (inspiron 1501 battery )gives you solid performance at a decent price, but what you gain in savings you lose in functionality.

The inexpensive Dell Inspiron 1501 doesn't have all the extra media-centric features or quick-launch keys you'll find on similarly priced notebooks from Acer and Hewlett-Packard. This $974 laptop does have other things going for it, however—namely, respectable performance and a superb display.

Decked out in silver, white, and dark gray, the Inspiron 1501 won't be mistaken for a business notebook, but its looks are suitably understated for the meeting room. The laptop measures 1.4x14x10.5 inches and weighs 6.2 pounds, straddling the line between travel companion and stay-at-home desktop replacement. It has a sturdy build, too, and feels like it could take a few knocks.

The 15.4-inch WXGA (1,280x800-resolution) display, which uses Dell's contrast-improving TrueLife technology, is definitely a highlight. Text was sharp, and DVDs and Vista's Aero interface looked great. An integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 (dell d820 battery )adapter that shares up to 256MB of system memory powers the graphics. Casual gamers won't be disappointed with this chip.

The 1501 came configured with a six-cell battery, which enabled us to go unplugged for a solid 3 hours and 16 minutes of life with Wi-Fi on, and an additional two minutes with the wireless connection off. Wireless throughput measured a robust 12.6 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point, and 13.2 Mbps from 50. This is a slight improvement over the E1505's measurements of 12 Mbps and 9.9 Mbps from the same distances.

Despite the missing multimedia controls, the 1501 offers plenty of other ports and jacks: four USB, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks, and a 3-in-1 memory card reader. This is a step down from the E1505, which featured all of those connections plus S-Video, FireWire, a 5-in-1 card reader, and optional Bluetooth. You'll also find an ExpressCard slot, but nothing for a PC

Most of the owners of Inspiron laptops criticize the design of their computers. Not surprisingly, most of the modified laptops are Inspirons e1505/1501 (dell b120 battery , dell b130 battery). In my opinion, designers were having an "off day" when they created those white bumpers. Maybe the most annoying thing about the design is that certain parts of the notebook do not match others. For example, the keyboard, touchpad, and screen have a "keep-it-simple" design (nothing shinny, nothing stylish) while the back of the lid makes a quite different impression.?Despite these style blemishes, the Dell Inspiron 1501 (apple ibook g4 battery )has some charm in its design.

The overall build quality is quite good. The chassis feels sturdy, it does not creak when lifted on any of the corners. Applying even a quite strong force on the back of the lid does not make ripples on the screen appear. The screen hinges are tough and keep LCD in place. You will need to use both hands to open the lid. That said, there are places which deform when excessive pressure is applied, but this isn't an issue. The one negative might be that the screen latch does not feel sturdy -- it has a “floating” feeling as you can both move it up/down and left/right -- but it holds the screen perfectly well.

A very nice feature is that you only need to remove two screws to access the memory modules, WiFi card or HDD. A little more effort is required to access the CPU (I was not that curious).

Other budget notebooks we've seen have dedicated media-player controls, independent buttons for switching off wireless radios, and a healthy assortment of input/output options, but the Inspiron 1501 falls very short in this area. If having extras like these (and a few more configuration options) is important to you, we recommend stepping up to Dell's Inspiron E1505 (dell c640 battery). For a couple of hundred dollars more, you get slightly improved specs and lots of extras. Most users, however, will be satisfied with the basic array of connectivity here: four USB 2.0 ports, mic and headphone jacks, a VGA monitor out, an SD/MultiMediaCard slot, and Ethernet and modem ports. Also aboard are an ExpressCard slot and a double-layer DVD±RW drive.

The keyboard function keys are marked with icons for easy access to actions such as adjusting volume and screen brightness, switching to an external monitor, and turning on and off the built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking. The keyboard itself is a bit mushy for our tastes, as are the touch-pad buttons, though all are a comfortable size. Speakers at the front of the notebook push (dell 1420 battery) out clear, loud sound.

Dell did a good job outfitting our review model with capable core hardware. Its dual-core 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor, aided by 2GB of DDR2 memory, turned in impressive results in our tests and certainly has enough pep to run Vista Home Premium. Battery life was comparable with that of other notebooks in its class, which means it'll get less than two hours on a full charge (1 hour and 41 minutes, to be exact).

For storage, our test unit had a 60GB hard drive. Factor in formatting, as well as the space taken up by the OS, its applications, miscellaneous software Dell includes, and the partitioned section for the built-in system restore, and you're left with only 40GB. The other notebooks in this roundup have the same problem, but because they have 120GB drives, plenty of room is still left over for files. If you're not using the notebook as a primary computer, you can get by with 40GB, but an extra $35 will buy you an upgrade to an 80GB drive.

Dell includes a standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, as well as 24/7 tech support.

Although the Dell Inspiron 1501 (dell d410 battery )demonstrated stronger wireless performance than the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell d400 battery)and has a lower price point, we can't recommend the notebook over its far more functional predecessor. If you're looking for a decent machine that won't break the bank, it's worth a look. Just remember, you get exactly what you pay for.

Anyone buying a PC from a well known manufacturer like Dell, HP or IBM hopes to get a good customer support. No surprise, Dell provides fast and pleasant-to-use support. I had to contact them about several minor questions and replies came back very fast.

After several weeks I noticed that my laptop did not have a DVD-RW, it only had a DVD Combo. Since DVD-RW is a necessity nowadays and the optical drive cannot be changed in this PC, I went directly to the retailer. They contacted a local Dell office and I got my refund in two days. Sadly, I had to buy a new laptop or risk losing a tax refund from the government. Because they did not have any Dells left in stock, I had to go with another PC. ?

dell latitude d420 laptop review

The Dell Latitude D420 is the smallest notebook currently offered by Dell. It is a fusion of the discontinued Dell Latitude D410 (latitude d410 battery )and X1. It combines notable traits from both and offers great portability, power and versatility. Starting at $1199 it also offers great value featuring an Intel Core Duo ULV processor, 12.1in widescreen LCD, ExpressCard slot, a host of wireless options, and great battery life.

Dell's business-minded Latitude notebooks have always been more about function than form, but the Latitude D420 (latitude d420 battery )manages to pack some decent specs into a package that is both small and attractive, making this ultraportable the smallest laptop Dell currently offers. With almost a full workday's worth of battery life, the Latitude D420 stands up admirably to other similarly configured systems in its price range, such as the Lenovo 3000 V100. The 3.7-pound system has just gotten an upgrade to include Intel's Core Duo processor, and at $1,534, it's a solid choice for both consumers and small business users who need power and portability at the same time. Dell's business-minded Latitude notebooks have always been more about function than form, but the Latitude D420 manages to pack some decent specs into a package that is both small and attractive, making this ultraportable the smallest laptop Dell currently offers. With almost a full workday's worth of battery life, the Latitude D420 stands up admirably to other similarly configured systems in its price range, such as the Lenovo 3000 V100. The 3.7-pound system has just gotten an upgrade to include Intel's Core Duo processor, and at $1,534, it's a solid choice for both consumers and small business users who need power and portability at the same time.

Like most laptops of its size, the Latitude D420's wide-aspect 12.1-inch WXGA UltraSharp display has a native resolution of 1,280x800. The small screen at that resolution makes for some potentially hard-to-read text, but we didn't have any trouble with basic Web surfing or word processing. The display's crispness partially makes up for the loss of impact that comes from a smaller display. While not the brightest notebook screen we've seen, it was easy to see in a brightly lit office environment.

The build quality of the Dell D420 is great overall. It feels very solid and the steel hinges are very tight though not as tight as the X1's. The magnesium alloy casing felt rigid and when pushing the back of the LCD it did not cause LCD distortion. Unlike the X1 which uses the hinges to keep the LCD shut the D420 goes back to the more common latch design.

Another major change was the placement of the battery. On the X1 it was placed to the back of the notebook. This offered a number of advantages. When using the extended 6 cell battery the battery protrudes a little and can be used as a grasp for holding the notebook with one hand. On the D420 (inspiron b120 battery , inspiron b130 battery )the battery is placed in the front. The 9 cell battery sticks out a bit. Unlike the X1 battery the D420 battery does not serve a secondary function. There are some benefits however. I for one like to have my ports in the back and the front placement of the battery enable you to open the LCD with one hand which was very hard to do on the X1.

Aesthetically the D420 is a smaller version of the current line of Dell Latitudes. I prefer the darker, more business-like feel to this laptop however it is nothing to write home about. An interesting difference between the X1 and D420 lie in the placement of the power, hard drive and battery indicators. On the X1 they were placed at the bottom of the palm rest. When the LCD was closed the LED were hidden which was rather inconvenient. On the D420 the indicators are on the right hinge which is a small but definite plus.

Even without benchmarks the performance difference was obvious compared to the X1. The D420 (xps m1210 battery)runs everything I throw at it fine including some light gaming. The Core Duo U2500 at 1.2GHz processor is very fast for its clockspeed. In fact, it is comparable if not faster than the Pentium M 2GHz in my Inspiron 710m for everyday computing. I can easily run a virus scan and watch a HD movie (720p) at the same time. The other two options for processor are the Core Duo U2400 at 1.06GHz and the Core Solo U1300 at 1.06GHz. The U2400 is a sweet spot for those looking to have a Core Duo system yet also wants the lowest power usage and heat output.

Memory is extremely important in today's computing. The D420 (xps m1330 battery )offers up to 2GB of DDR2-4200 (533mhz). This, however, is an extremely expensive option. 2GB is achieved by using a 2GB stick in addition to the 512MB soldered onto the motherboard. Due to motherboard limitation only 2GB instead of 2.5GB is addressable. A more realistic upgrade is 1.5GB of RAM. This is highly recommended for running this system under Windows Vista due to the integrated GMA950. 1.5GB will cost an extra of around $90 if upgraded aftermarket which is a very reasonable price.

The D420 uses Toshiba's 1.8' hard drives. The spindle speed is 4200rpm. While this is rather slow it is not a huge drag on the system. Hard drive capacities come in 30GB, 60GB, and 80GB. 100GB may be an option soon.

In terms of optical drives the D420 is very similar to the X1. It features no internal optical option but does provide an external D-Bay. To some the lack of an internal optical drive is a deal breaker, however it lowers the weight and size of the system significantly. For important discs I use imaging software to copy it onto the hard drive as an ISO. This way I can access these discs even if I don't have the D-Bay on hand. The MediaBase also has an optical drive and with the D-Bay the D420 can be turned into a 3 spindle system.

Unlike the X1 which is dead silent, the D420 (inspiron 1501 battery )is rather loud. In a quiet room the fan is noticeable at medium speed. However it is no where close to being an annoyance. I can work comfortably in the library with the fan on max without being a disturbance. What is an annoyance is the placement of the vent. The vent blows hot air directly at the hands of a right handed user which becomes uncomfortable rather quickly. When the notebook is doing intensive work, the right side of the notebook gets much hotter than the left. However, it is a lot better than the X1 even though the Pentium M ULV on the X1 ran a lot cooler. I tested the temperature of the CPU under load with CoreTemp and it topped out at nearly 90C while the highest the X1 got was around 70C. Still, working on the D420 (latitude d620 battery )is a lot more comfortable over an extended amount of time than on the X1.

The Dell Latitude D420 (latitude d820 battery )is a great notebook for those who want an ultraportable design without sacrificing computing power. The build quality of this notebook is excellent and the price very competitive. Despite some design flaws, notably the location of the vent and the useless brightness sensor, this notebook excels in its primary function as a business ultraportable. Compared to its predecessor the Dell Latitude X1, the D420 (latitude d820 battery )is a great upgrade that will be all ready to handle the demands of newer software and Windows Vista.

dell latitude d410 laptop review

The Dell Latitude D410 is a 12.1" screen portable business laptop. It shares some similarities with the ultra light Latitude X1, such as having the same 12.1" screen size and no built-in optical drive to keep weight down, but it is overall quite different and more of a cross between an ultraportable and thin-and-light workstation. With its optional 2.00GHz Pentium M processor (using the latest Intel Sonoma chipset), 512MB of RAM (upgradeable to 2GB), a full size keyboard featuring dual navigation and nice overall design and build, the Latitude D410 is an enticing portable laptop.

In the litter of refreshed Dell Latitude business laptops, the D410 (hp pavilion dv6000 battery)is the runt--but by no means is it meek. On the strength of its new Intel Sonoma parts, the updated Latitude D410 raced through CNET Labs' benchmarks, earning our fastest mobile performance score to date for an ultraportable. With a reinforced frame and new features such as a Trusted Platform Module chip, the Latitude D410 is a speedy, secure, and smartly designed notebook for executives.



At 1.3 inches thick, the Latitude D410 is slightly stockier than its predecessor, the D400 (dell latitude d410 battery). Otherwise, the two laptops are about the same size, measuring 11 inches wide and 9.4 inches deep. Weighing 3.9 pounds, the Latitude D410 still falls within the range of ultraportable laptops.

First of all let me say this is hands down the best looking Dell laptop I've used. I last used the Dell Latitude X1 and was quite impressed with the simple non-flashy design. But I really dig a bit of a darker look to a laptop, and the Dell D410 with its dark charcoal grey and silver finish is rather striking. It reminds me a bit of the Fujitsu LifeBook styling, which I like a lot. The dark finish and industrial looking fan vent also gives the D410 a bit of a muscular look, the Ford Mustang of notebooks if you will. The silver latch on the screen adds a nice finishing touch and professional look.

The build is sturdy, this notebook doesn't flex. The chassis uses a tri-metal blend of aluminum, magnesium and steel while the case shell is constructed of a very rigid plastic on the body and keyboard area. The lid is constructed of magnesium alloy that offers great protection of the screen and a great look as well. The screen hinges are sturdy, you won't get any wobble on the screen unless you're on one heck of a bumpy plane ride...or if you're like me and push the screen back and forward to test how much it wobbles, just to be picky. So the build is overall good, but then instead of using a nice flap over the PCMCIA slot Dell put a dummy piece of plastic in there as a dust protector when you're not using a card. This shouldn't be the case with a business notebook, that's a cheap finish and solution and it kind of ruins a perfect 10.0 on the overall build.

The layout of this notebook is rather odd in a few ways. The battery is located at the front of the notebook, this is a first for me. Here's the good thing though, the battery doesn't get very warm at all, and since it is located under the palm rest areas you won't get any warmth there. That's right folks, no complaints of "my right hand is getting sweaty because the palm rest is a 110 degrees". The back of the notebook is a different story, but I'll get that to later (see heat and noise section). When you have the extended life battery in it sticks out at the front. My first reaction was to think that's really dumb, and to be honest it does look a little odd to have a lip at the front of your notebook sticking out. But now I'm used to it I think it's a great area for providing extra support for the wrists and resting them while typing.

Another odd layout move is that the headphone jack is all the way at the back of the right hand side of the notebook. What a bad location, it's hard to fumble and find and you have to stretch the headphone cord all that much farther, plus there's no color coding between the headphone and microphone jack so it's hard to see which is which until you get used to it. Also, the number and size of air vents on this notebook is rather impressive, there's 5 total. On the Latitude X1 there are zero. But with a Pentium M 2.00GHz processor and the cramped nature of internals in an ultraportable it does require this number of vents, so the D410 certainly looks a lot more industrial than your average ultraportable.

Like with the desktop-replacement d810 and thin-an-light D610, Dell (dell latitude d820 battery)has made some satisfying enhancements to the D410's design. For one, the lid's been reinforced to better protect the screen. The keyboard has also been made sturdier, resulting in a more solid feel as your fingers strike the keys; as with many ultraportables, the D410's keys may be too small for some users. The decently sized touch pad and pointing stick each have two matching mouse buttons; unfortunately, the touch pad's mouse buttons are somewhat cramped. Helpful status lights show when Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are activated. Finally, the D410 has a double dose of security: a Trusted Platform Module chip, which sits on the motherboard and serves as a virtual storage locker for your data, and a dedicated slot for smart cards, which can carry clandestine information such as passwords.

The Dell D410 does a good job of providing a nice number of mainstream ports, but unfortunately we don't get FireWire (which is available in the X1), and we don't get any type of media card reader...which is a real shame. We do get 3 USB 2.0 ports, which is very generous for an ultraportable computer. I like the fact there's a PCMCIA card slot for accessory expansion, something the Latitude X1 lacks. Let's just take a tour around this notebook to see everything that's available in terms of ports.

The system offers an average number of connectors, with Ethernet, modem, two USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, and one PC Card slot, as well as headphone and microphone jacks. If you're looking for an ultraportable with more built-in connections, check out the Sony VAIO VGN-T150P/L. Dell also sells a $219 Media Base which adds a parallel, video, serial, Ethernet, and two more USB 2.0 ports, in addition to a headphone jack.



You won't find the Latitude D410 on retail shelves or Web sites, as Dell sells the system only through its own Web site and toll-free number. CNET's Latitude D410 series review includes a discussion of the various configurations.

The 2.0GHz Pentium M processor configured in this notebook doesn't just race past the 1.1GHz ULV processor in the Dell Latitude X1, it laps it. This notebook is in truth probably overpowered for the use of Office and web type applications. So your next question might be, well that's great, so I can use this thing as a gaming notebook right? Hmm, well you're still strapped with an intregrated graphics solution in the form of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (integrated graphics). If you have 512MB or more, the graphics solution will borrow up to 128MB of system memory, if you're under 512MB then it will only borrow 64MB. So I recommend boosting memory up to 1GB so it has plenty to share with graphics. Even then you're not going to be able to play Doom 3, but there are 3D games and almost any game that's 2-years old will run on this system. As far as using everyday applications, this notebook effortlessly runs those and makes it easy to keep multiple applications open for switching between (I'm guilty as charged for having 20 things open at once, and luckily the D410 doesn't mind this).

I mentioned before that the D410 was a champ in terms of the wrist rest area staying cool and comfortable. I also noted there were a lot of vents on this notebook, certainly more than typical on an ultraportable. The Dell X1 has no vents, it uses passive cooling. With a 2.0GHz processor, the insides of the D410 would melt without a fan and vents. And so while these vents do a good job of keeping the notebook cool where it counts (keyboard and wriste area), the underside at the back of the D410 does get toasty, especially if you're pushing the notebook. I was converting a bunch of wma files to iTunes format and after 30-minutes of that there was some serious heat buildup on the bottom, I certainly wouldn't have wanted the D410 in my lap at that point. Also, the temperature of the room environment plays a big role in the notebooks ability to cool, so keep that in mind. If this notebook is on a flat surface (not your lap or bed), in a cool room and is being used for typical business applications then heat buildup isn't a problem. But if room temperatures creep above 75 and you're blocking vents by having the notebook in your lap, all while maxing the 2.0GHz processor out at 100% CPU usage, then you might experiment with getting some bacon to sizzle on the notebook's bottom surface.

As far as noise goes, I'm a bad tester to go by, but for me it wasn't a problem. I'm always either listening to music or I have some kind of background noise to keep my sanity and that most certainly blocks any fan noise. Having said that, I can say this machine is definitely not as whisper quiet as the Inspiron X1 -- that thing was silent. You experience a low volume electrical whirrr noise as the notebook works to cool, but it's so quiet that if you put a pair of headphones (normal basic headphones) on without even playing music the noise is blocked (I just tried this, a spontaneous non-scientific experiment).

Like with the desktop-replacement D810 and thin-and-light D610 (dell inspiron b120 battery,dell inspiron b130 battery) , Dell has made some satisfying enhancements to the D410's design. For one, the lid's been reinforced to better protect the screen. The keyboard has also been made sturdier, resulting in a more solid feel as your fingers strike the keys; as with many ultraportables, the D410's keys may be too small for some users. The decently sized touch pad and pointing stick each have two matching mouse buttons; unfortunately, the touch pad's mouse buttons are somewhat cramped. Helpful status lights show when Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are activated. Finally, the D410 has a double dose of security: a Trusted Platform Module chip, which sits on the motherboard and serves as a virtual storage locker for your data, and a dedicated slot for smart cards, which can carry clandestine information such as passwords.



The system offers an average number of connectors, with Ethernet, modem, two USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, and one PC Card slot, as well as headphone and microphone jacks. If you're looking for an ultraportable with more built-in connections, check out the Sony VAIO VGN-T150P/L. Dell also sells a $219 Media Base which adds a parallel, video, serial, Ethernet, and two more USB 2.0 ports, in addition to a headphone jack.



You won't find the Latitude D410 on retail shelves or Web sites, as Dell sells the system only through its own Web site and toll-free number. CNET's Latitude D410 series review includes a discussion of the various configurations.



Though its $2,254 (as of April 2005) price is on the high side, our Latitude D410 test unit included a few standout components as well as some average parts. The unit featured a 2.0GHz Pentium M 760 processor, 512MB of 400MHz memory, an Intel 915GM chipset with an integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 900 engine that borrows up to 128MB of video RAM from the main memory, and a slow, 4,200rpm 40GB hard drive. Our test unit also included an external DVD/CD-RW drive that connects to the notebook via USB 2.0, as well as Intel's newest integrated 802.11a/b/g card.



In CNET Labs' tests, the Latitude D410 wrung every drop of speed from its Sonoma-class Pentium M processor and chipset, earning the best mobile performance score we've seen to date from a laptop of its size. The Latitude D410 surpassed other corporate and consumer ultraportables, such as the HP Compaq Business Notebook nc4010 and the Dell Inspiron 700m, by 9 percent or more, though both the nc4010 and the Inspiron 700m had slower processors and memory than the Latitude D410. Despite its exceptional performance in our tests, the Latitude D410 (and most of the other Sonoma-based laptops we've tested) did not deliver the explosive speed burst we'd hoped to see in Sonoma-based systems. The D410's 11.1V, 4,800mAh battery triumphed in our Labs' drain tests, lasting more than three and a half hours--at least 50 minutes longer than the nc4010's and 700m's much smaller cells.



Our Latitude D410 test unit shipped with a decent software package, including Windows XP Professional and Dell's OpenManage, a program that lets a company's IT manager monitor system stats, install software, and more from a remote location. The system also included the useful Sonic RecordNow 7.3 Deluxe, which takes care of disc-burning tasks, and CyberLink PowerDVD for viewing DVDs. As with many business systems, Dell doesn't bundle a productivity suite with the Latitude D410.



Dell backs the Latitude D410 with a long, three-year warranty that features onsite service. The company's 24/7, toll-free tech support line is available for the life of the laptop. Your Web support options depend on whether you're using the Latitude D410 for home or business use--Dell has different sites for each purpose--though both offer the same satisfying resources, including downloads and FAQs. And all users can access the handy forums, which are organized according to specific components and are moderated by Dell's own tech reps.

The Dell D410 offers great battery life. With just the standard 6-cell battery I achieved 3:40 minutes of battery life using screen brightness at 6/8 level, using the computer to write a document and surf the web (so wi-fi was on). If battery life under 4 hours isn't enough, then the extended life 9-cell battery is available. I used the 9-cell battery during a 35 hour trek back from Hong Kong (many flight transfers and delays involved in that trip) and squeezed 7 hours of use out of the 9-cell battery. That was while using wi-fi at the various airports, using IM to chat, MS Word to write this review and with 6/8 level brightness.

hp pavilion dv6000 laptop review

Hewlett Packard is one of the most prominent manufacturers of notebook computers today, and any trip to Best Buy will make that abundantly clear. Well, as of this writing, one of the notebook PCs they have on sale right now at Best Buy is the HP Pavilion DV6000. I picked one up a couple months ago for $800. I was in Best Buy a couple weeks ago and it was on sale for $749. So, this is certainly an affordable notebook PC. So, how does it perform in everyday use? Let’s check it out.

HP has slowed down in notebook manufacturing but at least they do announce a new notebook once in a while. Introducing the new mobility high-end notebook from HP, the HP Pavilion DV6000 which is powered by Mobile AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processer running on Microsoft Windows XP Professional (optional Windows XP Home). It has one more choice of processor for you to choose, the Mobile AMD Sempron processor which is for the budget users. DV6000 (dell inspiron e1705 battery )boasts a 15.4-inch widescreen TFT LCD with HP BrightView technology. An optional graphic cards is added if you like: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200, standard NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 and NVIDIA nForce Go 430 chipset with AMD processors which I think is the most expensive among three. On the connectivity side, it has integrated wireless support for 802.11b/g, configurable 802.11a/b/g, Wireless LAN and Bluetooth technology, An IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port is added to support most of the future devices, three USB 2.0 ports can be found at the back of the notebook and ExpressCard/54 slot is located at the side. Watching movies on this notebook should be great with the integrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers. You can add-on a HP Pavilion WebCam and dual stereo headphone jacks if you have extra cash. It only weighs 6.5 lbs. DV6000 (hp pavilion dv6000 battery)is now available on HPStore with the starting price of USD879.

First, The Specs

In my eyes, the DV6000 is proof that PCs are affordable as hell today. These specs compare quite favorably to my desktop, all in a sub $800 notebook.

• AMD Turion 64, dual core processor


• 2 GB DDR2 memory


• 15.4″ WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)


• 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200


• 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive


• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support


• 1.3 Megapixel Webcam with mic built into screen


• Altec Lansing speakers built in


• 3 USB ports, ExpressCard/54 Slot, Video Out, Integrated Consumer IR, 1 RJ-11, 1 RJ-45


• Windows Vista Home Premium

Now, when you look at this unit on HP’s website, you will see there are different spec configurations for this model. The above happens to be what I have in the unit I am typing this review on.

Use in the Real World

Now, I am not and never have been a big benchmark guy. If you are into computer reviews that load you up with benchmark specs, go to another site. What I am interested in is real world use. I bought this notebook to get work done, not win any contests. So, how does it perform in that regard?

One of the things that sold me on this laptop was the screen. The screen is gorgeous. It is wonderfully bright and clear, and provides a respectable 1280×800 resolution in a widescreen format. Yes, there certainly are notebooks with higher resolution. It really comes down to preference. While other units may give you higher resolution, some may find it hard to read on small screens. For me, I thought 1280×800 was a good resolution to use for a 15.4″ screen. My only complaint with the screen is that the glare is really bad when trying to use the unit outside. It gets so bad that it’s more like looking in a mirror than into a computer screen. Inside, however, the screen is beautiful.

The fact that this unit uses AMD rather than Intel means that it generates more heat. Intel processors just seem to run cooler in notebook computers. All benchmarks aside (because I don’t care), the performance of this notebook is quite good. It actually opens many apps much faster than my desktop PC, which is using an Intel Pentium Core Duo. So, I have no complaints about speed, however, yes, it does generate some heat.

The built-in Altec Lansing speakers will certainly not compare to the larger speakers you would plug in externally, but they do generate a nice sound for the size. For multimedia use, the speakers will get the job done.

The DV6000 comes with a thin, little remote control for use in controlling HP’s multimedia player. HP (dell latitude d820 battery)is using a proprietary multimedia player for playing DVDs called QuickPlay. It ties in with the remote control as well as the QuickPlay buttons on top of the notebook. The player is decent, but many times I found myself simply wanting to use Windows Media Player rather than the QuickPlay popping up full screen. Also, the fact that it is tied into the QuickPlay buttons can be a little annoying at times. Several times I have rested my fingers on the top of the notebook and accidently pressed the DVD button and launched Quickplay. No matter what I’m doing, that interrupts the workflow badly.

 

For digital photography, I find the built-in card reader really convenient. Since my Canon camera uses SD cards, I can just pull the card out and plug it directly into the notebook to pull images onto the computer. This means I don’t have to track down the USB cable that came with the camera. Nice and easy.

But, It Uses Vista

Like almost every PC on the market today, this unit comes with Windows Vista. Now, on my desktop, I can rattle off a bunch of annoyances with Windows Vista. Many of us that follow technology all the time have many complaints about Vista, and I still stand by the fact that Vista was NOT ready for market upon it’s release. But, judging by the DV6000, Vista does seem to run better on completely proprietary machines. I do have occasional annoyances with Vista on the DV6000.. For example, sometimes it will lose it’s screen resolution settings when coming out of sleep mode. This is an issue with Vista and will be fixed. Other than that, though, Vista runs significantly better on this notebook machine than it does on my desktop. No complaints, really.

Like all pre-built computers, it comes with some pre-installed software. It comes with a 60-day trial installation of Office 2007. Since I don’t care to fork out several hundred dollars just for a ribbon interface, I opted to install OpenOffice, which gets me 95% there for free. The DV6000 comes with some other pre-installed crap, much of it I ended up removing from the computer.

Note to HP

I am pretty happy with the DV6000, but I need to mention a few annoyances for the benefit of HP. When I was at Gnomedex recently, HP was there and we had a lengthy discussion about notebook design. HP does indeed listen to feedback, so here is mine on the DV6000 (dell inspiron 1525 battery).

• The QuickPlay buttons at the top are too easy to hit by accident, as I mentioned above. Some obvious way to control or disable those buttons would be nice.


• We need some kind of anti-glare surface to the screen. It’s practically unusable in sunlight. I realize that the surface it does have plays a role in the crystal clear colors I see indoors, but something has to be done to make this thing more usable in sunlight.


• AMD is good for economics, but it generates a lot more heat.

Conclusions

The HP Pavilion DV6000 is a really nice, solid notebook computer and you really can’t go wrong with this unit. The price tag makes it very affordable. The unit sports a nice, sleek design and good all-around performance. It also offers a solid balance of features which really makes this entertainment notebook usable as a desktop replacement. In fact, I enjoy it so much I find myself spending more time working on the DV6000 now than I do my main desktop computer.

So, despite a few annoyances, you really can’t go wrong with the DV6000 if you are looking for a solid, balanced work notebook without spending too much money.

dell latitude d820 laptop review

Traditionally Dell has had two primary sections in the notebook department, one for business and one for consumers. The business section, unsurprisingly, would consist of notebooks right for business, a spartan or basic configuration containing only those options truly needed to do your work. Consumers, on the other hand, had more choices in terms of options for multimedia enhancements, different designs, or maybe even more cutting edge technology built-in. But now times have changed and both selections have overlapping configurations for each notebook flavor.
The business section is basically divided into two series, Precision and Latitude. Precisions are more cutting edge technology, sacrificing some stability for the latest features, which might have some instability possibly caused by new drivers. Latitudes are the more conventional choice for businesses offering increased stability due to being built on a proven platform.

Today we have the pleasure of reviewing the Latitude D820 (dell latitude d820 battery)series which falls into the high-end of the Latitude range and it’s our very first of many new notebook reviews here at TweakTown. While this notebook is listed under Dell's business section it actually boasts some nice features for an entertainment system, including a WUXGA display (that is 1900x1200 pixels to you and me) and HD audio.

Is this a perfect all round notebook for work (boo!) and fun (yay!)? Let us get cracking on this review and find out

As a high school graduation gift, my parents bought me a Dell Latitude D820 15.4" widescreen notebook. While Dell's Inspiron line is squarely aimed at the consumer market, the Latitude line is geared more towards the academic, small business, and corporate user. This is evidenced by the Latitudes' superior build quality, sober styling, lack of media-centric features, and higher price. Price-wise and size-wise, the Latitude D820 (dell latitude d620 battery)sits atop the thin-and-light 14" widescreen D620 and the budget oriented 14" standard-aspect D520 in the Latitude lineup. The D820 is an updated version of the D810 and features the Intel Core Duo processor to replace the D810's Pentium M as well a significant weight reduction from the D810. According to CNET Labs

Features Overview

While the HP had the nicest graphics card of them all (ATI Radeon x1600) and would have allowed me to play the latest games, I ruled it out because of price (>$2,000). My budget was limited to ~$1,500 max.

The IBM ThinkPad has long been legendary in the corporate world for its durable portability, excellent support, and strong management software suit. I came to the decision, however, that I did not want to pay the significant premium for the ThinkPad's class-leading ruggedness, which I probably had no use for anyway. The ThinkPad T60 was aimed more towards the road warrior. I, however, was not going to be traveling much with the laptop save for the occasional trek from the dorm to the library and back.

That left me with the perennial value-king Dell. For hundreds of dollars cheaper than a similarly spec'd 14" ThinkPad T60, I was able to price out a 15.4" Dell Latitude D820. A comparably equipped D620 checked in at about $150 less. I settled on the D820 (dell inspiron 1525 battery)because I figured I wouldn't be traveling much with this notebook and would not be carrying it to class on a daily basis. Thus, I thought I would benefit more from the increased productivity of the D820's 15.4" screen (and higher resolution) than the increased portability of the D620.

Shopping Experience

When we purchased my machine, Dell was having a sale which involved a $350 instant rebate on all Latitudes, sweetening the deal some more. I configured the machine on the Dell Small Busines website. Almost every component of the machine was highly configurable, something that IBM/Lenovo and HP could learn from, and the online shopping experience was, overall, very pleasant. After having pulled the trigger, I realized that I did not select the option for the Bluetooth card. I called up Dell Small Business and asked them to add the card. It was too late to modify my original order but the associate was very helpful. Though the sale price was no longer in effect for the new order, she let me add the discount retroactively. The wait times to speak to an agent were negligible (definitely not the case with my past experiences with Dell Home) and the agent herself was polite and helpful. The total price for my D820 (after adding the Bluetooth card) came to $1496.25, which I felt was a good deal, especially since the Latitude line rarely goes on sale.

First Impressions

When I first uncased the D820 from its Styrofoam packaging, I was impressed by the solidness of its build. It felt sturdy and the laptop casing didn't flex when handled. The case is billed as being magnesium alloy and most of the notebook's body looks as if it is. The laptop was about as thin as I expected but it was a bit heavier than I thought it would be. It's not an uncomfortable heft but one that implies a certain quality of build. At first glance, the notebook is not awe-inspiring but it is pleasing to the eye with an understated charcoal gray finish. At first blush, a tastefully styled (though by no means beautiful) and well-built notebook. Also included in the packaging were the user manual, software and OS CDs, and the AC power adapter.

Build & Design

The D820 has a magnesium alloy body that is supposed to protect the laptop from flexing and the wear-and-tear of corporate travel and use. The whole underside and lid of the laptop feel like metal but, unfortunately, the wrist rests are plastic. Thus, there is some amount of flex when handling that area but by no means is the amount of flex disturbing. The rest of the notebook, however, is very rigid.

Screen

The screen is most likely the Achilles heel of the D820, if it has one. The screen is 15.4" diagonal and is matte, not glossy. The trend in most consumer notebooks is towards the glossy screens which feature vivid colors and higher brightness for the benefit of gaming, movie-watching, and photo-viewing. Most business machines, however, still come with the old-style matte screens which are more suited for office rather than multimedia tasks. Unfortunately, the D820's matte screen is not very bright and the higher brightness settings drain the battery quickly. A cool feature is the automatic light-sensor which adjusts screen brightness based on ambient light conditions. This is useful when running on battery power or when using the notebook in different settings but I ended up turning this feature off because it oftentimes results in an unacceptably dim screen.

My D820 came with the WSXGA+ (1680x1050) screen. The other options were the base WXGA+ (1280x800) screen and the ultra-high resolution WUXGA (1900x1200). I am used to the WSXGA+ resolution on my Dell monitor and I chose it because I thought it was a good balance between screen real estate and legibility of fonts and icons. I could have gone with the highest resolution option and increased the Windows DPI and font sizes (indeed the WSXGA+ and WUXGA models ship with 120 DPI setting out of the box) but browsers and other applications do not always adhere to Windows settings. I changed the 120DPI setting to 96DPI because it made Windows fonts too large and screwed up graphics on web pages. I think I made the right choice here because the WUXGA display would have yielded fonts and icons too small for even my young eyes.

Sound & Multimedia

It is no secret that laptop speakers are bad. They usually feature tinny sound, distorted highs, and nonexistent bass. The Latitude D820's speakers are no exception though admittedly not the worst I've heard. The D820 (dell inspiron 1520 battery )being a business machine, I didn't expect any better. At least on the D820 you get stereo sound with a speaker on either side of the keyboard; on its cousin the Latitude D620 there is but one speaker. The volume is adequate for me but I don't like to listen to music at high volumes. Using Sennheiser HD-202 headphones plugged into the side-mounted headphone jack, the sound improves significantly and is clear, accurate, and mostly distortion-free. The sound subsystem on the D820 is controlled by the Sigmatel audio chipset.

The D820 provides just volume control and mute buttons above the keyboard as opposed to the various media buttons found on most consumer laptops. While not absolutely necessary on a business notebook, it would have been nice to have a few more control buttons like play, pause, etc. for controlling Windows Media Player, PowerDVD, or WinAmp.

Processor & Graphics Performance

My D820 came with a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor and by all measures it's a speed demon. I choose two 512MB sticks (total 1GB) to take advantage of dual channel memory capability which in theory doubles the bandwidth of the pipe from the RAM to the memory controller. I also chose the 667MHz RAM over the standard 533MHz. I wasn't sure of the utility of this faster memory but my logic was that the Core Duo has a 667MHz front side bus and I would need the RAM to match that speed if I were to maximize performance. Startup times on my D820 (dell inspiron b120 battery )(dell inspiron b130 battery)are fast but not as fast as I expected. The machine takes 28.34 seconds to reach the login screen from a cold boot. Thus far the laptop has been snappy in every day usage such as internet browsing and word processing as well as during benchmarking. Applications load quickly as do Control Panel and My Computer and there's a good degree of responsiveness to all user inputs. I have not had a single hang, lockup, freeze, or BSOD so far. I haven't installed any games on this machine so I cannot attest to the performance of the Quadro NVS 120 graphics solution, the workstation version of NVIDIA's consumer GeForce 7400 graphics solution. Do not expect stellar game performance out this card however my D820 received 670 3DMarks on the 3DMark06 benchmark.

Heat & Noise

For the most part I was very pleased by the amount of heat and noise emitted by the D820 (dell inspiron e1705 battery ). When idling or performing everyday tasks the fan speed is very slow resulting in relatively silent computing. When performing more demanding tasks (such as during the Battery Eater Pro burn-in and battery life test or rendering 3D graphics) the fan speeds up but it is not at all offensive. The only caveat is the Philips DVD-RW drive. Compared to the rest of the notebook, it sounds like a turbofan engine spooling up when it reads a CD or DVD. Moreover, the drive is not well damped causing the whole notebook body to shudder as the drive spins.

Dell has designed the D820 for excellent heat dissipation. There are two exhaust vents: one on the side and one on the rear. The left wrist rest heats up a tiny bit after a long period of operation and the right wrist rest stays completely cool throughout. Touching the underside of the laptop after the ~2 hour Battery Eater Pro stress test I found that the laptop was warm but certainly not hot enough to preclude lap-top usage for an extended period of time. The power brick stays cool even after days of keeping the notebook plugged into the wall. In short, Dell has done a superb job of managing the heat emitted by the D820's high performance components.

Conclusion

In summary, the Latitude D820 is a very nice choice for the desk jockey professional or student. This machine, with its 15.4" widescreen, is not meant for world travel but for flexibility, productivity, and a little bit of portability. At a pinch it can be used on a plane or on a lap but, for the most part, I would not travel extensively with the D820. For its form factor, however, I do not think you will find a better balance between portability and build quality than the Latitude D820. I would wholeheartedly recommend this notebook to anyone looking for an effective tool to get some serious work done.

dell inspiron 1525 laptop review

Dell has been on something of a roll recently. Its new range of XPS notebooks, the M1330 (dell inspiron 700m battery )and M1530 were both great machines, while its desktop offerings, like the XPS 420, haven't been half bad either. But let it not be said that Dell has had things all its own way, because there have been a few turkeys lodged in there too - the XPS M1730 springs to mind.

Another underwhelming effort was the previous Inspiron laptop, the Inspiron 1520. Though it introduced some new elements, such as a range of colourful finishes, it was bulky and uninspiring in a time when notebooks were becoming slimmer and easier to handle. Indeed, the new XPS notebooks were very much the response to such criticisms and Dell seems to have taken the lessons learnt there and applied them to its replacement, the Inspiron 1525.

If you don't like the specifications of the particular Dell Inspiron 1525 (dell inspiron 1525 battery )we tested, you can easily configure your own online. That's an important difference between this unit and most other inexpensive laptops: you can customise it down to the smallest detail - even lid colour - before finally clicking the 'Buy now' button .

Our review unit will please those for whom good performance is a priority.

Equipped with 2GB of memory and the best notebook CPU Dell offered for this model at the time of our review (a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5450), our £429 Windows Vista Home Premium machine earned a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 78. That's 17 percent faster than the average sub-£500 laptop's score of 65.

The Dell Inspiron 1525 is wedge-shaped but svelte at 2.8kg, including a 15.4in 1,280x800 resolution screen, a DVD writer and a good keyboard. The port variety and layout is fine (the Dell Inspiron 1525 is one of the few notebooks in this price range with an HDMI connection).

And the Dell Inspiron 1525 gives multimedia lovers lots of entertainment features: an instant-on button, a webcam, and even dual headphone jacks. Alas, the raspy-sounding speakers take some of the shine off the 1525's entertainment appeal.

The real beauty of the Dell Inspiron 1525 (dell inspiron 8600 battery )is its customisability. For instance, our glossy screen (a no-extra-cost option at the time of our review) was pretty reflective, so you might be happier with Dell's standard antiglare screen. From a base configuration of £329 inc VAT, you can build your perfect sub-£500 laptop that includes a lid in any one of 11 different colours (£30 usually), Bluetooth (£30) an integrated mobile broadband card (£89), and so on.

An entry level 15.4in notebook, the 1525 (dell latitude d600 battery )shares a very similar wedge shaped base to that of the XPS M1530. This is definitely not a bad thing. Dell quotes a starting weight of 2.7kg with a four-cell battery, but we found it weighed exactly that with a standard six-cell battery. This is a very decent weight for a notebook of this size, while the quoted thickness of 25mm to 37mm, front to back, means it feels slim and elegant.

An entry level 15.4in notebook, the 1525 shares a very similar wedge shaped base to that of the XPS M1530. This is definitely not a bad thing. Dell quotes a starting weight of 2.7kg with a four-cell battery, but we found it weighed exactly that with a standard six-cell battery. This is a very decent weight for a notebook of this size, while the quoted thickness of 25mm to 37mm, front to back, means it feels slim and elegant.

Overall, initial impressions of the Inspiron 1525 are almost entirely positive. Its new slimmer and lighter frame is a massive step forward, while the selection of lid designs is exhaustive. Inside things look good too; with nice textured sliver plastic and handy touch-sensitive media controls ripped more or less directly from the XPS range. Dell has also borrowed a trick from HP by sinking the touch pad into the chassis, and the keyboard is truly excellent, with light, crisp and responsive keys that make typing a breeze.

Again, the keyboard is identical to that found on the XPS range, but not everything is the same. You don't get a slot-loading optical drive and the battery packs lack the useful little battery meter that the premium line has. But, though the 1525 (dell latitude d800 battery )is noticeably cheaper, it doesn't look or feel like a cheap laptop, so you needn't feel embarrassed to own one - quite the contrary, in fact.

Dell received some much needed attention in 2007 with the introduction of the sleek, high performance XPS M1330 (dell latitude d610 battery )and XPS M1530 notebooks. Although these more expensive notebooks in the Dell lineup were praised for their looks and low weight, the Dell Inspiron 1520 was criticized for being yet another bulky and unattractive laptop. Dell listened closely to this criticism when they designed the new Inspiron 1525. The Inspiron 1525 is in fact 25% smaller, 30% slimmer and almost half a pound lighter than the Inspiron 1520.

In addition to the eight color options available on other Inspiron notebooks, the 1525 (dell latitude x200 battery )offers four new patterns. These designs are inlaid molds so there's no risk of the design coming off.

The 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the 1525. With Vista's power management running in "high performance" mode, screen brightness set to maximum and wireless on, the 6-cell battery delivered 2 hours and 53 minutes of battery life. We're certain that the 6-cell could deliver three and a half hours of life with the notebook set to "balanced" or "power saver" mode and the screen brightness turned down.

There is also an available 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion battery for those users needing extended battery life. One thing to mention is that with the 9-cell battery in you get an overall larger dimension for the notebook as the 9-cell battery sticks out of the back of the notebook.