Two friends of mine have Dell Inspiron 3800. One bought a customized version at around $1700 a few months ago. The other bought the default version the other day. In this review, I focus on the default version, which is now offered for $999.

PRODUCT FEATURES
http://dell.com/

The following machine spec is basically copied from Dell's site.

Dell Inspiron 3800 Notebooks
Intel Celeron processor, 600 MHz
12.1" SVGA Display
Memory: 64MB, SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Color Choice/Pointing Option: Dark Grey,12.1"Dual Pointing
Primary Hard Drive: 5GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Floppy Drive: Modular Floppy Drive
Operating System: Windows Me
Internal Modem V.90 56K Modem
8X DVD/Software Decoding for Windows ME
Microsoft TM Works Suite 2001 with Money 2001 Standard
Anti-virus: Norton Antivirus 2001
Primary Battery: 26.5 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery with ExpressCharge
1 Yr Ltd. Warranty-1 Yr Mail-in Service + 1 Yr Phone Support
1-Year DellNet by MSN Internet Access Service

price: $999 (This price doesn't include tax and shipping charges.)

Note that this is the minimum spec. You can upgrade the parts with "customization". The basic customization includes:

Processor: pentium 3, 700mhz, and celeron 700mhz
Memory: up to 512MB
Hard drive : up to 20GB
Body color: blue, maroon, gray

Since this is a notebook, the memory size of 64MB is okay. But if you intend to replace your desktop with this notebook, I would strongly recommend you to upgrade the memory to 128MB or up.

For those who use this machine as a mobile tool, the memory size as well as the hard drive capacity are high enough. But if you can afford the cost, the higher, the better.

Display is not excellent. But it's at the okay level as long as you will not gaze at the monitor for several hours. Of course, this monitor is not good for the graphic designing job.

USB port is okay for mobilers. But if this machine is a replacement for a desktop, it might cause a big headache.

As is getting popular, this machine has the color selection. If you don't like the traditional black or while body colors, this availability will attract you.


EASE OF USE
Dell Inspiron 3800 is fairly light. It seems satisfactory level for mobilers.

One potential problem is the controllability of the keyboard and the mouse. They are very sensitive. If your brain-hand connection is not very good, typing might be a problem.

Another problem is that the body case doesn't seem very firm. None of my friends broke anything yet. But you have to pay a good attention when you carry this machine as a mobile tool.


SUPPORT
I personally didn't have any problem with their technical support. When you make a phone call, you should expect a long on-hold time. But on average, the customer support reps are well educated. (Note that "on average" doesn't mean all of them are good.)

Moreover, since this is a notebook, if you have any hardware problem, you should send the machine itself to the technical support. I don't know how quickly they fix the hardware problem to send back the machine to you. But as is usual for a big computer company, you should expect some frustration.

PRICE
Dell is now offering this machine at $999. This is more than 30% discount from the regular price a few months ago.

When I went to Dell's web site just before, I tried to customize the spec with 128MB memory (+$75) and 10GB hard drive (+$50). And I found the regular price is still as low as $1124.

This is simply the great price. Also, I checked Ebay, and found people are trying to sell this machine at least $1100. It's ridiculous to buy this machine under "almost new" condition at the auction sites.

Note that this machine comes with free internet access. This is another great saving.


OVERALL
Dell Inspiron 3800 is not a substitute for the serious user's desktop. But as long as this is used as a mobile tool, the machine spec is good enough. On the top of this, the price is almost unbeatable. If you are looking for a reasonable notebook, I recommend you to check Dell Inspiron 3800.


ADDITIONAL NOTE
When I checked Dell's web site, I found that they are offering Inspiron 3800 as a series model, and that no specific product number is available now. So, I am submitting this review to the most similar product spec category. (The only difference is the processor speed by 100mhz. Both types have Intel Celeron processor.) If Epinions changes the product line up, I might change the review location to the suitable category.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 999
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Celeron
Processor speed: 501-600
Screen Size: 12
RAM: 64