Does the Job
Written: Mar 14 '06
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Pros: reliable, fast for office/spreadsheet work
Cons: cheap-feeling keyboard, screen average at best
The Bottom Line: I've been satisfied with this machine, though I would look around more next time
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| johnr55's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 1150 (i1150l2) PC Notebook |
I purchased this laptop after having 6 Toshiba Satellites, all excellent. Several of my relatives work for Dell and talked me into looking and buying this one. As I suppose happens with others, by the time I did all the upgrades I wanted it was about $1700.
I'm not a computer guy; I like them for just what I want to do. I wanted a machine that would internet surf well, run all the Office programs and the WP suite, and transport well. I don't do games or anything like that.
My last Toshiba was a $2800 Satellite purchased in 2000 with Windows 98. It was a great little laptop with a beautiful screen. I noticed immediately that this Dell screen, which was the best option I could buy for this, lacked the contrast and 'snap' of the Toshiba. I'm used to it now. And yes, I had one of my Dell cousins optimize it, thinking I'd set something wrong. It's satisfactory but not great.
The speakers really stink on this laptop. I was used to listening to CD's on my Toshiba's while I worked. These were completely inadequate for that. Went to Wal-Mart and bought one of those little $20 plug-in sets and these work very well.
The touch pad on this machine is okay, but I use a cordless mouse at home.
I type a LOT on this machine, and the keyboard feels cheap and flimsy compared to any of the Toshiba machines I've owned. I type well over 100 wpm and it keeps up with me, though. The keys are easy enough to pop off and scrub and put back on.
I think we all dread having to go through customer service, should something go wrong. Though I always got great support from Toshiba, I've been lucky with this machine and have had no problems whatsoever. None. I run two accessory hard drive, 4 different printers, two separate office programs, and have had no issues whatsoever. Again, though, I have relatives at Dell who have been able to help me with a couple of minor questions.
The biggest revelation for me with this machine is how well XP runs compared to W-98. Finally, I don't get crashes all the time and 'invalid page fault', etc. I still don't like not receiving the XP on disc when I buy the machine. I have found that the Dell DVD viewer works miles better than the one on the Toshiba, though the Jukebox is a pain to get through their music choices to actually play your own choices.
I had a Celeron processor, 488, on my last Toshiba and didn't mind it. I have some sort of one-point-something processor, Pentium of some type though not Celeron, in this, and it works just as well. Again, I don't do the game thing or video recording or any of that, so I can't testify to those capabilities. I enjoy having both regular phone modem and wi-fi built in for when I take this on the road.
Incidentally, my company provides me with a very compact HP laptop, but I find I travel with this one more even though it's much larger and heavier. I like having my drives built in the machine, and thank goodness for rolling briefcases!
In summary, this has been a satisfactory machine and I expect to keep it for the foreseeable future. It has proven reliable despite the cheap feeling of the keyboard and a few other parts. I live outside Houston and you might think it would be easy to find dealers to buy from, but mostly it's places like Best Buy, where your customer support will be the issue again. As always, you can't have the best support and the cheapest price all in one!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1700
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 41-50
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Epinions.com ID:
johnr55
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Member: JohnRichard Keistler
Location: Houston, Texas area
Reviews written: 87
Trusted by: 7 members
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