Sturdy Notebook with Great Price
Written: Feb 23 '05
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Pros: Works as hard as the high-dollar machines without the high-dollar cost.
Cons: Technical Support for Dell notebooks.
The Bottom Line: Inspiron 1000 is a workhorse machine without the workhorse price. It is sturdy, dependable, and offers wireless internet access. The screen size and weight are within acceptable ranges.
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| paisleyplace's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 1000 (i1000S1) PC Notebook |
Background:
As far as computer users go, I am an avid computer user and highly experienced. In addition to running a home network of six computers, I also keep the computers of numerous family and friends running smoothly including three notebooks. Other than repairs, the only notebook computer experience I had was during a two week vacation in Daytona Beach, Florida after flying down to visit my aunt and uncle. At that time, I was working as a medical transcriptionist for a major national company. Since I worked as a contractor with statutory employment status, vacation was not something included in my employment contract. I brought along the transcription machine and software so I could get in a few hours of work a day while visiting. My uncle's desktop could not run the work software so I had to use my aunt's notebook. It was needing a clean install so the day before I left, I reformatted the drive and did a fresh install.
Some years later, I left the MT field for health reasons. Systemic Lupus and a joint disease forced my hand. After boredom set in, I picked up writing newsletter and magazine articles. As more time passed, I began working on my first book. It was painful sitting at my desk even considering the excellent ergonomics. My joints could not take the endless hours of abuse as I banged out plots and characters before weaving stories. It was painfully obvious a chance was necessary.
Research:
My research found many notebook prices beyond my reach. Freelance writing does not pay that well when you spend much of your time waiting around bored out of your skull in the endless doctor office waiting rooms. I googled my computer desires and the Inspiron 1000 came up. It offered low pricing, functionality, and portability. In addition to writing, there is research. There are many hours devoted to research alone. The wireless internet connection has proved handy in doctor offices as well. I can plug into a nearby wireless network to get onto the internet. I love watching movies. The Inspiron 1000 came with a DVD player combined with a CD burner. This was great because it allowed for movie watching and CD burning.
Other comparable notebook prices were too high or did not carry the same options. Adding the options ran the price even higher. My option was to contact Dell about the purchase of this model.
Inclusions and Extras:
The Dell representative was very kind. I was hoping we could do a little dickering and after about forty minutes, we came to an agreement with benefits for both. The Dell Inspiron 1000 weighs in at 6.37 pounds, includes a 30 gigabyte hard drive, initial 256 megabytes of ram upgradeable to 512 megabytes of ram, internal cache memory of 256 kilobytes, processor speed of 2.2 gigahertz, a fax modem, internal Ethernet/Fast Ethernet 10/100 card, internal microphone, 24x CD/8x DVD drive, PCI slot, two USB ports, a 2.5 hour battery, and a 14.1 inch display monitor. Software with my system included Microsoft XP Home Edition, Corel Word Perfect Suite, Microsoft Money, Dell Experience including Power DVD, among many others. The only thing lacking was Microsoft Office. Since I already had Microsoft Office, this was no loss. I simply installed this myself. A year of Norton Antivirus was also included. The Dell representative made claim it included an internal Ethernet card but this was not the case.
Experience, Experiments, and Upgrades:
As every other computer I own, I put this one through the paces. It passed all tests I put to it including watching hours of movies, playing audio CDs and MP3s, word processing, staying on, running the battery down, and even upgrading though the upgrade left a lot to desire.
Technical support via the telephone is a joke. It seems Dell has gone the way of Gateway and many others when it comes to technical support. The internet chat was better to some degree but I will elaborate on that in a minute. Each time I contact telephone support, I manage to get a foreigner. It seems Dell contracts out to India for technical support via phone. Each time I call, I always manage to get a person I cannot understand. It is like pulling teeth to get a decent answer. If I were a new computer user, it would drive me crazy. The internet chat support is much better. The internet technicians seem to know more about the inner workings of the computer systems by Dell. I am not sure if the desktop techs are any better or not since my machines other than the notebook are not Dell machines.
The battery life of 2.5 hours is wrong. The most I can get out of the notebook is about 1.5 to 2 hours and that is without watching movies of any kind. Two hours is pushing the limits of the battery. After running the battery dead a few times, I finally broke down and bought another one. Warning: If you plan to stay mobile, buy the battery while you are purchasing the computer. The price goes up and it takes an act of congress to get one for this machine as an after-purchase even if you do get a nice salesperson. Dell made me jump through hoops to get my spare battery. Another tip is to change out your batteries frequently because of discharge.
Upgrading ram is a pain in the butt as well. The sales rep again made assurances it was not difficult to order an upgrade ram chip. The Inspiron 1000 only takes two chips. Despite Dell’s claim, an engineer is not necessary to install the second chip. It is simply a matter of opening the bottom chip door to put the chip in by sliding it in at an angle. It is cheaper to buy the chip from Dell. The 256-megabyte chip was $41 and some change in December of 2004. After talking to phone support, internet support, and email support, all said an engineer was necessary to install the chip. This reasoning is supposedly due to the chip being integrated on the board. It’s hogwash. The chip is not integrated. All you do is open the door marked M for memory then slide the chip in at a 90-degree angle and snap into place. Everyone except for the supervisor of the sales department swore this was so. I think they just want to get more money by having their customers send the machines in for installation.
Repair Service:
My epinion of repair is mixed. After accidentally breaking the DVD/burner tray over Christmas, I contacted support. It was under warranty and my warranty included damages that I may cause. They shipped a box to me for packing and provided a prepaid shipping label. It was gone about a week. They did a great job replacing the player but nobody bothered to check the Ethernet card as I requested. In addition to letting technical support know of the problem and including a note inside the box, they did nothing.
I am having problems staying connected to the internet. Since the repair people did not check the card, I have no idea if the problem is the card, my networking, or the cat5 cable. My home computers are all networked using a Linksys router. It is a hardwire connection even to the notebook. The cat5 going to the notebook is rather long so I can either sit on the couch or in the recliner to write. The internet connection drops out after a few hours requiring me to reboot the system. I have found no instances online of anyone else having this problem and I have changed any reference in the system setup that might cause it to turn off or stop working after an amount of time.
The repair service gets kudos for speed but low marks for actually reading their orders since they did not check the Ethernet card while it was in the shop.
Portability:
This was touched on briefly above but I felt it deserves a category of its own since this is a notebook computer and portability is the reason for owning one. The machine gets high marks for portability. With a fairly inexpensive case, the machine can go anywhere. The square touch pad serves well as a mouse though I use a wireless mouse instead of the touch pad for personal reasons. My fingers get too warm to work the touch pad adequately. It stops working on me when this happens. I believe my body temperature must match the pad’s temperature.
With a wireless Ethernet card placed in the PCI slot, the machine easily picks up outside WiFi networks. It is simple to piggyback onto a company’s wireless network and I do this often. Systemic Lupus and joint disease requires numerous checkup appointments with doctors, even dentists. I often find myself waiting for hours in a waiting room with nothing to do. Now, I bring the Inspiron with me and I write. The computer takes very well to one of those power inverter boxes too. This is useful if you travel and only have a cigarette lighter. I have actually charged my notebook battery using a power inverter. It is not necessary if you have a car adapter. The newer vehicles with the always-hot plugs are wonderful for notebooks.
Overall Epinion:
I am sure the powerhouse machines with powerhouse prices can probably do more than the Inspiron 1000 but for me, it does everything I want to do. All I can imagine anyone doing beyond what I do is graphic design but it stands to reason that a desktop would be better suited for that type of computing need. The Inspiron let’s me watch movies, write, surf the net, check email, play games, internet chat, and burn disks without ties to home. I cannot imagine the need for more than this one provides. It is a workhorse. After almost nine months of heavy use, it is still kicking strong.
Tips, Tricks, and Suggestions:
Here are a few suggestions to make your Dell Inspiron buying experience better. If you know for certain you are planning using this notebook away from home, opt for the higher quality battery and get a spare at purchase. Even if you are not sure you want the maximum ram, buy it. In time, you will need it. Notebooks are more difficult to upgrade when it comes to processors. On many, it is impossible. You will eventually want to upgrade the ram chip to the max. Get it when you order. If by chance you did not do this, know that you can get the 256 megabyte chip but it will take constant pressure to get it and get them to tell you how to install it. Fortunately, when I bought mine, the brochure in the box did a great job of explaining how to install the chip despite their claims of necessity of an engineer install. It’s malarkey. Don’t let them fool you into thinking this model requires an engineer to install the ram chip. Some may require it but this model, the Dell Inspiron 1000, does not.
Last but not least, get the extended warranty. This is a portable device. It will do a lot of moving with you. It is not difficult to crack a screen, break a drive, or chip the machine somewhere. Get the warranty that covers everything even if you break it. It’s worth its weight in gold. I broke the DVD/burner drive when I got up to get the phone. It was on the hook charging. At that time, I was burning a disk of music and had just taken the disk out. The phone rang before I had time to close the tray. When I got up, my foot hit the tray not only breaking the tray but breaking it completely out of the slot.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 800
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Celeron
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
paisleyplace
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Member: Samantha Thomas
Location: NC, US
Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
Mother of two, freelance writer who enjoys movies, computing, and spending time with good friends.
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