A laptop purchase usually means months of research on User Review sites, surfing product websites, evaluating purchase trends from eBay and calling up alleged experts to get the dope on ’’best Laptop kaunsa hai, boss??’’ I recently acquired a Dell Inspiron 700m, among the smallest model in the Inspiron series. After about a month of usage, I dare jot here a review of sorts. In a nutshell, I’d say it delivers on the promise. Dell talks to the young mobile executive or the MBA student with the Inspiron 700m. It offers the best of both worlds—personal benefits in a business laptop. With Integrated Centrino Wireless Access, powerful 1.3Ghz P4 processor and 512MB RAM it has enough juice to survive at work. The sleek design, small screen and light weight makes it a pleasure to carry around. With this series, Dell has taken on the likes of Acer by offering value for money model at much superior performance than Acer, Zenith and others. Now for the specifics: Display The screen is clear and bright, easy on the eyes. The Active Matrix Display, which is a standard in most laptops nowadays, allows clear viewing from various angles. I’d recommend keeping font size “large” wherever possible, since screen resolution is a higher than usual 1280X800 pixels. Keyboard The keys are large and comfortable despite the small size of the keypad. There is sufficient space to rest your wrist, allowing for extended period of tapping activity. The touchpad is convenient. It may take a while to get used to working with your fingers instead of the mouse, but the experience is cosy. Body As said before, the upshot is a strong, lightweight body. Another outstanding feature of the Inspiron 700m is the spindle design. There are no ports at the back, allowing easy accessibility. The 2 USB ports, an SD-Card reader, PCMCIA Card and Video port are on the left. The LAN and Modem jacks make up the right flank, beside the DVD/CD-RW Drive. Firewire and Audio ports are neatly placed on the front panel. There are no hardware controls for volume control and Wifi, but these are easily managed using Function (Fn) Key-combinations. Usual Specs 1.Intel Pentium M Processor 1.5GHz, On-die 2 MB L2 cache, 400 MHz BUS 2.Intel® 855GM chipset 3.512MB SDRAM 4.30GB ATA Hard Disk 5.Height: 1.2’’, Width: 11.1’’, Depth: 8.5’’, Weight: 2 Kg with DVD drive 6.Primary Battery: 32Whr - 4 cell Lithium Ion battery 7.Slots: Connectors: (1) Type I or Type II card, 3.3 and 5 V cards supported 8.Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 WLAN (802.11b/g) Card 9.1 Year Limited Warranty 10.Exhaustive details at https://notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2022 The Downside There are a few snags noticed in the 700m in this short usage period, which spot its otherwise perfect appeal in the following categories: 1.“Travelling Companion”—The Battery Life is very short for a business laptop. At just over 2 hours (when it is new!), recommended to carry extra set of batteries or pray sit near the AC socket at your favourite hotspot. 2.“Multimedia Powerhouse”—The Integrated Stereo Speakers are quite loud and clear. However the sound is tinny and there is a background noise at higher volumes. Headphones or external speakers are recommended for movie sessions. 3.“Wireless Connect”—There is no Bluetooth, Infrared or COM Port connectivity. This does limit your ability to sync with common handheld devices. USB adaptors are available now for these functions, but they add bulk to the carrying case. 4.“Creature Comforts”—The bright screen has amazing color reporoduction but the trade-off is in its high reflective nature. Similarly, the wrist pad tends to get heated after extended periods of working. The flipside is that the piece is miraculously silent and even the fan works noiselessly. Conclusion Haven’t had an experience with Dell service yet. In my opinion, that is the critical factor in selecting any brand. I do not expect it to be great, at least in India. Will be happy as long as they get my work done without hours of hold music! Hope to post a favourable update, if and when that dreaded day comes. The Inspiron 700m is recommended for students, travelling executives, sales presenters, multimedia enthusiasts and others looking to mix business with pleasure. The WXGA Display is wider than usual, for better DVD viewing. The thin, lightweight form-factor does away with all peripherals except the Optical drive. Being a modular bay one can plug in either a DVD Burner, CD-RW drive or Combo drive as per need—even when the notebook is running. The small size understates the speed and performance engine under the hood. The silver body with white trims completes the smart package with a subtle chic look. May cause envy ;-) ---------- DEC 2006 UPDATE- Dell has discontinued this model, eventhough it is among their most popular and successful models. The Dell 640M and 6400 models could be considered closest matches to someone looking for 700M specs. ----------