Buying a laptop from Dell is like making your own assembled PC. Dell gives you amazing amount of freedom to customize this laptop starting from the processor, ram, graphics card right upto the colour of the laptop. My notebook has core 2 duo 2.0 Ghz processor, 2 GB ram, 256 MB graphics card and 160 GB hard disc. I had the option of going for many colours but i’ll be using this one for office purposes so I chose the black colours. You have options of white, pink, blue, brown and many others. Now I want to point out one thing very clearly. I have often read laptop reviews where people complain about thier systems running slow or hanging.
These are typical examples of software issues. So the next time your OS screws up, go throw an egg on Bill Gates face and leave Mr Micheal Dell alone. Buying a new laptop is not all about choosing the colour of your laptop and the screen size. Now would be a good time to call that geek friend of yours, whose calls you have been avoiding for a long time. Depending on your demands and OS you want to use, he will suggest the right configuration you should buy. If you want to buy vista, dont go for a configuration less that what I have bought. If you try to run vista on a 1 GB RAM, you will throw your laptop to floor, write a really bad review of the machine and go on to hang yourself. All that apart, how IS this notebook.
FEEL AND WEIGHT: It has a very classy feel to it(unlike the plastic exteriors of most Acer notebooks) The alloy used to make this notebook is very smooth and light, but it still gives you a very robust feel. It doesn’t feel like you are playing with a toy. Since I went for a 9 cell battery along with rather high configuration, this laptop is slightly on the heavier side. But I was willing to compromise on portability, as compared to processing power. So I cant really complain about that. The keyboard is great. The keys are the right size. They dont make any annoying noises as well. The touchpad is placed very well. Some might complain that it is slightly small in size(esp in height). But once you get used to it, its hardly a constraint.
The touchpad buttons are also very steady. There is no loose movement(play) in them. A very amazing feature of this laptop is how silent it is. the fan noise or the hard disc noice almost negligible. Even at high usuage, you have to pur your ears to the case to hear it humm away to glory. The heating is not too much either. Thankfully, the fan exhaust is placed on the left side of the laptop. So if you are using an external mouse, it does not toast your hand. The speakers are surprisingly loud for thier size. They are placed right under your palms when you are typing. However, if this laptop is the only machine you have at home, I would suggest a set of speakers for your music or movie experience. This is not so much about this laptop, its about getting your expectations right. The screen does not have any dead pixels.
The viewing angles are also quiet good. Much better than the compaq I was using earlier or the Acer my friend is currently stuck with. The multimedia experience is a very satisfying one. The media keys infront of the laptop are well placed and very useful. My recommendation for this product is as follows: This is meant for people who want high processing power for gaming or other graphical activities, dont necessarily move around with their laptop too much and are ok with carrying around a laptop thats about 3 and half kgs. If you are a student or an executive who walks around with the notebook a lot, then go for something with a smaller screen size and lesser weight. You might want to look at Dell XPS or Sony Vio.