Compare Laptop

Details of – Dell Multimedia Laptop – Inspiron 6400:-

If you don’t like the specifications of the particular Dell Inspiron 1525 we tested, you can easily configure your own online. That’s an important difference between this unit and most other inexpensive laptops:

Buy now’ button.Our review unit will please those for whom good performance is a priority. Equipped with 2GB of memory and the best notebook CPU Dell offered for this model at the time of our review (a 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7250), our $999 (as of 2/7/08) Windows Vista Home Premium machine earned a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 78.

That’s 17 percent faster than the average score of 65 earned by the five under-$1000 laptops in this roundup, and even 13 percent better than the average of 69 earned by 16 recently tested all-purpose notebooks in any price range. With the battery upgraded from the standard four-cell to a six-cell ($15 extra), our notebook lasted a fairly generous 4 hours, 4 minutes on one charge, about 10 minutes longer than our five budget laptop test group’s average.

About the only thing the Inspiron 1525 can’t handle is 3D graphics; with an Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 and no dedicated video card option, it’s limited to simple games and other 2D applications.

The 1525 is wedge-shaped but svelte at 6 pounds, including a 15.4-inch 1280 by 800 resolution screen, a DVD writer, and a good keyboard. The port variety and layout is fine (the 1525 is one of the few notebooks in this price range with an HDMI connection). And like the excellent HP Pavilion dv2600se, the 1525 gives multimedia lovers lots of entertainment features: an instant-on button, a Webcam, and even dual headphone jacks.

In fact, I like the Dell’s MediaDirect button more than the HP’s QuickPlay because it has Instant Office, an application viewer that lets you access your calendar, contacts and PowerPoint presentations. Also, Dell’s volume gauge is easier to use. Alas, the raspy-sounding speakers take some of the shine off the 1525’s entertainment appeal.

The real beauty of the 1525 is its customizability. For instance, our glossy screen (a no-extra-cost option at the time of our review) was pretty reflective, so you might be happier with Dell’s standard antiglare screen. From a base configuration of $500, you can build your perfect sub-$1000 laptop that includes a lid in any one of 11 different colors ($25 usually, but included in our test model’s price), Bluetooth ($20), an integrated mobile broadband card ($150), and even built-in wireless USB ($150).

If choice of features is paramount in your budget laptop, the Inspiron 1525 is your best bet among the models in our test group.

Dell is already taking orders on its new Latitude E-series business laptops. The new laptops are based on Intel’s brand new Centrino 2 technology.

Although there is nothing revolutionary about Centrino 2, it offers slightly improved performance at the same clock speeds but with a lower power draw, which translates into improved battery life.

According to Dell, some of the new latitudes may offer an impressive 18-hour battery life, provided you can carry around dual 9-cell batteries (the heavier type). In total, there are seven new Latitude models, ranging from the thin-and-light 12-inch E4200 laptop with Intel’s ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors, embedded DDR3 RAM memory and solid state drives, up to the 15-inch E6500 “mainstream” laptop.

The E4300, E5400, and E6400 are 13.3 and 14.1-inch laptops that can be customized with a variety of components. For example, you can get them with an LED screen and a backlit keyboard, and choose between the latest integrated Intel graphics or a discrete and more powerful Nvidia GPU.

As you can see (click on image), the design has changed dramatically from the previous D-series models with a new and allegedly more durable magnesium alloy construction and a new trackpad. Just like the previous models, however, it has a relatively low-key yet stylish design that will surely sit well with most corporate users.

Dell made a serious effort in 2007 to listen to customer feedback criticizing Dell’s older, thick and heavy laptops. The result was the amazingly thin and light XPS M1330, one of the sexiest looking notebooks of 2007. The new Dell XPS M1530 is an impressive 15.4″ screen notebook designed similar to (just larger than) the very successful 13-inch XPS M1330.

Our pre-production XPS M1530 is equipped with the following specs:

* 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL glossy screen

* “Crimson” red paint (also available in “Tuxedo” black or “Alpine” white)

* 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, Santa Rosa chipset (up to 2.4GHz available)

* 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)

* 160GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD (32GB SSD drive available)

* Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive

* NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3

* WWAN option for Verizon

* Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n (Intel 4965), Bluetooth option

* Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam

* HDMI, VGA, S-Video, Firewire/1394, three USB 2.0 ports, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), fingerprint reader

* Media Center remote located in ExpressCard slot

* Windows Vista Home Premium

* Dimensions (with 6-cell battery): 14.06″ x 10.34″ x 0.93″ – 1.38″

* Weight starts at 5.9 pounds with 6-cell battery (6.29 pounds with 9-cell)