GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Dell Inspiron 15
(7000 Series)
SPECIFICATIONS
Core i5, 6GB RAM, 500GD HDD, 15-inch touchscreen (1366 x
768 pixels), Win 8, Nvidia GeFore GT750M (2GB DDR5), 4 x USB 3.0, HDMI, SD
slot, 2.6kg
Great performance, responsive touch, superb design, high quality fit and finish with chamfered edges Not a full HD display, keyboard area flexes too much, uneven keyboard backlight, no DVD drive
It takes just a few seconds for the new 7000 Series to take your breath away. Clad mostly in aluminium (which stays cool to the touch), it has softly rounded corners, diamond-cut chamfered edges & minimalist design which all contribute to the premium aura. The design seems to draw inspiration from Apple’s MacBook Pro.
Open it up and you see the edge-toedge touch display (albeit with a black border). The touchpad is extra large, accurate and has a nice textured finish. Since this is a fairly large (15-inch) machine, the keyboard includes a separate number pad. For connectivity, it has a total of four USB 3.0 ports (two ports on either side), HDMI, Ethernet, card reader and a headphone/mic combo port.
As is customary with Dell, the RAM and hard drive are user upgradable — a few screws on the bottom panel and it easily lifts off. Needless to say, your warranty is not affected by swapping out either the RAM or hard drive. Other manufacturers should also follow this example rather than placing ‘warranty void’ or tamper evident stickers all over the casing of a laptop. Also, unlike most laptops, the battery is not immediately visible — it is also located under the removable cover and remains user replaceable — this further contributes to the overall ‘clean’ look of the machine.
For the price, the machine has fairly impressive specs: you get a fourth generation Intel Core i5,6GB RAM and a potent graphics card with 2GB of DDR5 RAM. The only two things we could complain about are the screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels (it should be a full HD screen in this class of machine) and that it only has a 500 GB drive (with no SSD options). With the prices of hard drives as they are, we would like nothing less than a 1TB HDD or a few SSD (flash-based drive) options for those who like to keep their machine light and fast.
Most users will not be wanting for performance with this machine — it’s got enough grunt for all sorts of heavy tasks like video editing, gaming and HD multimedia. The touch screen is very responsive and the display offers decent brightness and good colours. Battery life is a very healthy 7 to 8 hours depending on your kind of use. After a few hours of use, a couple of things that irked us were the flex in the keyboard area and the keyboard backlight which was a bit uneven. Having said that, these are only minor quibbles and may not even be noticed.
Overall, we think the 7000 Series has a very desirable design and excellent performance. It should be at the top of your list when looking for a premium 15-inch laptop. If you are looking to spend about 70,000 for a touchscreen laptop, also consider Sony’s new Vaio Fit 15. Compared to the Dell, it weighs roughly the same (2.6kg), has a larger 750GB hard drive, a built in optical drive (DVD-writer) and a full HD touchscreen. PRICE 65,990 onwards
Great performance, responsive touch, superb design, high quality fit and finish with chamfered edges Not a full HD display, keyboard area flexes too much, uneven keyboard backlight, no DVD drive
It takes just a few seconds for the new 7000 Series to take your breath away. Clad mostly in aluminium (which stays cool to the touch), it has softly rounded corners, diamond-cut chamfered edges & minimalist design which all contribute to the premium aura. The design seems to draw inspiration from Apple’s MacBook Pro.
Open it up and you see the edge-toedge touch display (albeit with a black border). The touchpad is extra large, accurate and has a nice textured finish. Since this is a fairly large (15-inch) machine, the keyboard includes a separate number pad. For connectivity, it has a total of four USB 3.0 ports (two ports on either side), HDMI, Ethernet, card reader and a headphone/mic combo port.
As is customary with Dell, the RAM and hard drive are user upgradable — a few screws on the bottom panel and it easily lifts off. Needless to say, your warranty is not affected by swapping out either the RAM or hard drive. Other manufacturers should also follow this example rather than placing ‘warranty void’ or tamper evident stickers all over the casing of a laptop. Also, unlike most laptops, the battery is not immediately visible — it is also located under the removable cover and remains user replaceable — this further contributes to the overall ‘clean’ look of the machine.
For the price, the machine has fairly impressive specs: you get a fourth generation Intel Core i5,6GB RAM and a potent graphics card with 2GB of DDR5 RAM. The only two things we could complain about are the screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels (it should be a full HD screen in this class of machine) and that it only has a 500 GB drive (with no SSD options). With the prices of hard drives as they are, we would like nothing less than a 1TB HDD or a few SSD (flash-based drive) options for those who like to keep their machine light and fast.
Most users will not be wanting for performance with this machine — it’s got enough grunt for all sorts of heavy tasks like video editing, gaming and HD multimedia. The touch screen is very responsive and the display offers decent brightness and good colours. Battery life is a very healthy 7 to 8 hours depending on your kind of use. After a few hours of use, a couple of things that irked us were the flex in the keyboard area and the keyboard backlight which was a bit uneven. Having said that, these are only minor quibbles and may not even be noticed.
Overall, we think the 7000 Series has a very desirable design and excellent performance. It should be at the top of your list when looking for a premium 15-inch laptop. If you are looking to spend about 70,000 for a touchscreen laptop, also consider Sony’s new Vaio Fit 15. Compared to the Dell, it weighs roughly the same (2.6kg), has a larger 750GB hard drive, a built in optical drive (DVD-writer) and a full HD touchscreen. PRICE 65,990 onwards
HITESH
RAJ BHAGAT ET131202
No comments:
Post a Comment