OVERALL REVIEWS
*If you’re looking for a stylish and portable notebook that doubles as a tablet, Dell’s latest, the Inspiron 13 7000 will definitely catch your eye. This 13-inch convertible combines a 6th Generation Core i5 processor with strong sound, a sharp display and, on the Special Edition, a soft-touch finish and brushed-metal deck. However, a sluggish SSD and unpredictable battery life curb our enthusiasm.
The Inspiron 13 7000’s 360-degree hinge allows users to rotate the display from the traditional laptop angle to the tent, display and tablet positions. While it’s a fairly thin notebook, at 0.75 inches, it had no trouble staying put in the tent position during my tests.*
Dell’s placed a security lock slot, HDMI port, the notebook’s headphone jack and two USB 3.0 ports on the Inspiron 13 7000’s left side. Over on the right side, you’ll find a third USB 3.0 port, an SD media-card reader, and volume and power buttons.
The Dell’s keys have a shallow 1.2 millimeters of travel, but since they require 65 grams of force to actuate, the typing experience is acceptable. I clacked my way to a rate of 75 words per minute with 100 percent accuracy, a slight dip from my average of 80 wpm and 99 percent accuracy.