Dell Inspiron 1420 Review: Laptop for all budget

After the Dell Inspiron 13, which was designed as a budget laptop for the lower-end user, Dell’s Inspiron series moves on to much greater customizability with the Dell Inspiron 1420, a laptop for all budget. With its various options and combinations, the Dell Inspiron 14 will suit virtually any mainstream laptop user.

Dell offers a choice of several processors, starting with Intel’s Dual Core and moving on to Intel Core2Duo T7500. This comes packaged with 2-4 GB of shared Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a choice between the  Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100 and the NVIDIA  GeForce  Go 8400M GS with 128MB DDR3, and upto 160 GB of SATA memory(either 7200 or 5400 RPM). The Core2Duo is the industry standard in processors these days - the same holds for the 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Watching movies or listening to music on the Inspiron 14 should be a breeze, though an external hard drive would probably be a good investment to supplement the inbuilt 160 GB.

The display also features three choices, ranging from the 14.1″ TFT WXGA Display (1280×800) to 14.1″ WXGA+ UltraSharpTM TFT Display with TrueLifeTM (1440×900), which offers a smooth, bright, colorful viewing experience. Don’t hesitate to pop your DVDs into this baby, which also features optical drives - from a DVD-R/CD-RW combo drive to a Blu-Ray. Also with 4 USB 2.0 ports (contrary to the usual 2 or 3), VGA video output, Stereo in, headphone/speaker out & Dual digital mics, you can watch movies on your TV, play around with sound recordings and do other fun things with your Dell Inspiron 14.

There are also multiple options for connectivity - 56K Modem (RJ11) & Integrated 10/100 (RJ45), 8-in-1 Memory Card Reader, Bluetooth, and a choice of several Dell Integrated wireless cards. The only problem is that the cost of the highest configuration can do up to $1698, so if you want a budget laptop with decent speed and features, shut your eyes and opt for the basic $819 model.

The Inspiron 14 is definitely an inspiration when it comes to looks - it offers soft, rounded edges, comes in subtly sophisticated metallic tones, and completely repudiates the legacy of the older, boxy pre-Inspiron models. While the keyboard remains nice to type on, the mouse buttons have been reduced to a size that users are more comfortable with.

The Inspiron 14 retains some of the good features of its predecessors - namely, portability and good battery life. At 13.1 X 9.6 X 1.5 inches and 5.5 lbs(on basic configuration), the Dell Inspiron 14 is not the lightest of laptops, but still qualifies for the “thin and light” category. A 6-cell Li-ion battery will easily offer 4 hours of net surfing or office use. So if you’re not uber-rich, but still really picky about what goes onto your laptop, give the Inspiron 14 a shot. Chances are, it’ll have the exact specifications you’re looking for!

Dell Inspiron  1420 Specifications

Processor:

Model: Intel Pentium  Dual Core T2310 Processor/Intel  Core2 Duo Processor T5250/Intel  Core2 Duo Processor T5450/Intel  Core2 Duo Processor T7250/Intel  Core2 Duo Processor T7500

Speed: 1.46 GHz/ 1.50 GHz/ 1.66 GHz/ 2.00 GHz/ 2.50 GHz

Front Side Bus: 533 MHz/ 667 MHz/ 667 MHz/800 MHz/ 800 MHz

Cache: 1MB L2/ 2MB L2/ 2MB L2/ 2MB L2/ 4MB L2

Screen:

Size: 14.1″

Screen Type: TFT WXGA Display (1280×800)/TFT WXGA Display with TrueLifeTM (1280×800)/WXGA+ UltraSharpTM TFT Display with TrueLifeTM (1440×900)

Graphics card:

Type: Intel Graphic

Version: Media Accelerator X3100/NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB DDR3 dedicated graphic memory

Weight: 5.39lb
Hard Disk:

Size: Upto 160GB

Type: 5400 or 7200 RPM SATA

RAM:

Size: 2-4GB

Type: Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Networking

WLAN: Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card Wireless / Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card Wireless / Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini Card / Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11 a/b/g Mini Card Wireless / Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card / Dell Wireless 5520 HSDPA / Dell Wireless 5720 EVDO

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0

OS (operating system): Windows Vista

Version: Ultimate/Home Premium

Pros: Offers Centrino Duo processors and colour choice, high customizable, many networking options, good battery life

Cons: All enhancements above basic model cost extra, laptop is nothing extraordinary in today’s market

Price: $724 (Starting range)