<p>The Vostro 1400 has two tiny speakers on the left and right side above the keyboard. They appear to be quite a bit smaller than the previous Insprion e1405 speakers. For their size they really do quite well, and on max volume get loud enough to easily fill a small to medium room. The quality of the speakers is just average. The volume these speakers put out is more than enough for one to enjoy a game or a DVD.</p>
<p>The included speakers were good compared to other budget models, with clear high-range audio, but little low or midrange coming through. Peak volume levels were enough to fill a small room, but if you plan on sharing a movie inside a dorm room, it might be wise to connect the laptop to a set of external surround speakers. For enjoying music or movies by yourself, headphones are still a must-have accessory.</p>
<p>Keyboard and Touchpad<br />
The Inspiron 15 keyboard is very comfortable to type on, offering excellent support and a very good layout. The keys are of normal size with a light matte finish for excellent traction. Spacing is spot on compared to my ThinkPad keyboard, so no adjusting was necessary. Support underneath the keyboard is excellent, with no flex anywhere, even under very strong pressure. Individual key action is smooth with a very quiet “click” emitted when a key is fully pressed. It might not be the quietest keyboard I have used, but it still ranks up there. The function key layout is interesting compared to other notebook models, with use of the function keys backwards. Normally to adjust the brightness or volume, or toggle the WiFi settings you press the FN-key, then the appropriate function key. Dell went with a setup where the secondary command is now primary. To put it another way, if you want to hit F5 to refresh a webpage, you now need to press FN+ the brightness up key. For normal uses this might be more intuitive, but for advanced users who love using commands like window close, page refresh, full screen, and other function key commands, it is more confusing and complex.</p>
<p>I said no to all of the freebies and trial software. I did go ahead and opt for installing a couple of Dell utilities. Even though I didn’t select much, the computer booted up and was running about 60 processes! In the past when I have purchased a Dell notebook, the first thing I always did, and advised others to do, was to reformat. Dell would just install so much junk that it made a new computer seem slow. Out of the box, the machine booted up in about 35 seconds. After adjusting the startup processes using Microsoft’s “msconfig” utility I was able to shave that number down to about 30.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-inspiron-1300-battery.html"><strong>Dell Inspiron 1300 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-d620-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude D620 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-d630-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude D630 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-inspiron-1564-battery.html"><strong>Dell Inspiron 1564 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-inspiron-1764-battery.html"><strong>Dell Inspiron 1764 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e6400-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude E6400 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e6410-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude E6410 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e6500-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude E6500 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e6520-battery.html"><strong>DELL Latitude E6520 Battery</strong></a> </li>
</ul>
<p>The Inspiron 15 is the back-to-basics mainstream 15″ notebook from Dell, offering good performance at a value price. Consumers can configure this notebook with basic lid configurations, or go all out with the customized lids from the Dell Design Studio for an additional cost. If you are just looking for a basic system to meet your needs at school or home, read our full review of the Dell Inspiron 15.</p>
<p>Battery<br />
Battery life was below average compared to other notebooks, and we had expected slightly better results from the 48Wh battery Dell included with it. In our tests with screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Vista set to the Balanced profile the Inspiron stayed on for 2 hours and 38 minutes. Power consumption varied between 12 and 16 watts during our battery test. A more efficient processor and power management system could have yielded much better results. To put this in perspective, the ThinkPad T400 with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor and X4500 graphics consumed as little as 8.5 watts of power.</p>
<p>Conclusion<br />
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a decent mid-size budget notebook with good looks and average build quality. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on with excellent support, but has a weird function key layout that may annoy more advanced users. The touchpad offers an excellent surface texture with buttons that have great feedback and throw distance. Basic configurations start as low as $379, making it a reasonable choice if you are working on a budget. Overall it might not be the best notebook on the market, but it still offers great value and a reasonably attractive design.Dell continues to try and update their notebook designs this year, and the new Dell Studio 15 is the latest consumer 15-inch notebook that highlights these new designs. Is it possible to take design elements from the 13.3" XPS M1330 and the 15.4" Dell XPS M1530 and make a budget notebook that keeps consumers happy? Take a look at our full review of the Studio 15 to find out for yourself.We purchased our review unit of the Studio 15 from Staples where they offer set configurations of the Studio 15. Our budget configuration cost $799. Fully customized configurations are available at Dell.com.Issues like lack of VGA cable screw posts, dedicated docking station connector, or lack of a simple RAM expansion cover are minor, and many experienced users may find the all-in-one access panel on the bottom of the notebook to be extremely helpful. The pre-configured model we tested suffered from weak integrated graphics that ruined an otherwise enjoyable experience, but configurations with dedicated graphics are available from Dell.com.</p>
<p>That said, we are a little upset over the delayed shipping of our original order from Dell.com and if other customers can expect a delay of a month or more then some back-to-school shoppers will be disappointed this year. Hopefully Dell can resolve these shipping delays.</p>
<p>Bottom line, if you’re in the market for a 15-inch desktop replacement notebook with nice multi-media options then the Dell Studio 15 deserves serious consideration. Although the budget configuration we reviewed is far from being a multi-media powerhouse, it still makes an excellent laptop for average use.Dell introduced its first AMD based system, the Inspiron 1501, about half a year ago, which has become one of the best selling notebooks in its economic segment. The Inspiron 1501 is a low-cost version of the top selling Inspiron 6400/e1505 series to keep budget-minded customers happy. While both systems are quite similar, there are some noticeable differences between them. For example, the e1505 has media buttons and specially dedicated media software. In addition, the 1501 does not feature some technologies, such as a dedicated video card or 802.11n. Most potential buyers could consider the 1501 as a less expensive option.Weighing more than 2.8kg, the 1501 will never be an “ultra-portable.” In any case, carrying it around is quite comfortable and does not strain the shoulders too much. You should be able to carry it from point A to point B on your campus.Luckily, since Dell did not make the diodes too bright, the LEDs will not disturb your sleep if you spend nights with your computer turned on. This can’t be said about certain HP’s models (DV6000, DV2000 for example) and several Toshibas.</p>
<p>Overall, the Dell Inspiron looks strange, but is tough despite the fact that the body finish does not seem to be long-lasting. Anyone looking for more lasting paintjob should think about “Road Ready” PCs from Dell.Speakers are loud and clear. When I was watching a movie in a cafe, I had to turn the volume down to 20 percent of normal, because other visitors started "coughing." A very nice feature is that speakers are directed to the front, so watching a movie together with a friend is comfortable. Of course, like most laptop speakers, no bass could be detected. Plugging in my AKG headphones or Altec Lansing speakers gave some additional power, but clarity remained the same. Clearly, integrated speakers are enough or more than enough to show the capabilities of the sound card.The Dell in this review had a Turion X2 TL50 1.6GHz dual-core CPU. The TL50 is the slowest of the Turion X2 series and has only 2x256kb memory installed, which looks miserable when compared to 2mb or 4mb in Intel Core 2 Duo. In any case, the Turion TL50 was as much as I needed. I did not experience any slow action in my daily usage. Few computer users need anything more unless you intend to play modern games or use some “heavy” software. In addition, the TL50 is quite good at conserving power, but more on that later.</p>
<p>It took about one minute to boot Windows Vista and everything ran fast enough, even with quite a lot of programs in background.The Dell Inspiron 1501 is not one of those “ultra-quiet” or “ultra-cold” notebooks. The fan buzzes quite frequently, but silently enough to not disturb you. Kudos to engineers for a great heat-management system. Just look at all those air vents! The bottom of the laptop gets a bit warm sometimes, but not uncomfortable. One strange item of note: the bottom of the screen gets really warm, probably due to the lamp for screen illumination.</p>
<p> By the way, there is no need to turn the computer on if you want to check battery status. Simply press the red button on the battery and LEDs will inform you about charge remaining (short press) and battery health (5 sec or longer press).I got my PC with Windows Vista Home Premium intentionally. Personally, I liked the new OS very much — fast searching, indexing, media center (not present in most of the Windows XP distributions) and so on. Sadly, there are a lot of compatibility problems with older software. Vista liked the Dell Inspiron 1501 as well — it did not crash a single time, but Fn+Volume Up/Down got stuck several times after hibernation. Most likely some drivers needed to be renewed.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, I did not find a lot of bloatware pre-installed. There was an evaluation version of Anti-Virus software (I uninstalled it as soon as I found it) and Roxio. That’s all. A recovery DVD was inside the box.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e5520-battery.html"><strong>DELL Latitude E5520 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-inspiron-duo-battery.html"><strong>Dell Inspiron DUO Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-inspiron-1370-battery.html"><strong>Dell Inspiron 1370 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-latitude-e6510-battery.html"><strong>Dell Latitude E6510 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-studio-xps-1645-battery.html"><strong>Dell Studio XPS 1645 Battery</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-studio-1745-battery.html"><strong>Dell Studio 1745 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-studio-1747-battery.html"><strong>Dell Studio 1747 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-studio-1555-battery.html"><strong>Dell Studio 1555 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-vostro-1710-battery.html"><strong>Dell Vostro 1710 Battery</strong></a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dearbattery.co.uk/dell-vostro-1015-battery.html"><strong>Dell Vostro 1015 Battery</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>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.dell vostro 3400<br />
The bottom of the notebook features the battery and single access plate for the RAM, hard drive and wireless card. I appreciate the fact that you can make all of the standard internal upgrades simply by removing two screws. The matte black plastic used on the bottom of the 3400 is textured and provides a good grip surface if you’re holding your laptop while you run to catch a meeting. Again, the metal sides of the chassis provide extra durability and should help protect the notebook in the event that you drop it on the side or corner.dell vostro 3400 dell vostro 3400<br />
It’s important to note that the screen on the Vostro 3400 never failed to function during our stress tests. Still, this degree of flexibility may have a negative impact on the longevity of any LCD panel.</p>
<p>In terms of audio performance, the built-in speakers on the Vostro 3400 are adequate for listening to a webcast or system alert sounds, but this clearly isn’t a multimedia entertainment notebook. Music sounds tinny with limited range and you will notice significant audio distortion if you increase the speaker volume to the maximum setting. Once again, the speakers are probably fine for the intended market of small business owners. Still, you’ll probably want to use a good set of headphones with this notebook if you plan to listen to music while you work.dell vostro 3400<br />
The multi-touch, gesture-based touchpad is pretty average for a 14-inch notebook and the dual touchpad buttons have deep feedback with quiet clicks. The touchpad itself is a Synaptics model that uses Dell proprietary touchpad drivers. The touchpad was reasonably responsive with good sensitivity and very little lag. Touchpad accuracy was a bit off at times, but that may be correctable by tweaking the drivers. Since it is a Synaptics touchpad you can probably switch to the standard Synaptics drivers if you don’t like the settings under the Dell drivers. My only issue with this touchpad is the size. It’s not particularly small but we’re starting to see some 11-inch and 13-inch notebooks with larger touchpads and it makes the touchpad on the Vostro 3400 look and feel inadequate.</p>