Dell’s Inspiron range of 15-inch laptops are perfect choice if you are looking for laptop which is pretty good at basic computing. With the Inspiron range of laptops, you have the option to configure the laptop using Dell’s online configurator. If you go to a retail stores, you only have the option to buy fixed configuration laptops which might lack some important features.
Priced at $649 Dell Inspiron I15-157B is a powerful laptop which runs on Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, which works perfectly with 4GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM. The laptop provides storage space of 320GB on its hard drive which spins at 5,400rpm. The graphics are handled by Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics card which is integrated on Mobile Intel GM45 Express Chipset. The laptop comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Premium operating system.
Measuring 14.6 inches wide, 9.7 inches deep and 1.2-1.5 inches high, the I15-157B weighs 5.9 pounds. The AC adapter also adds 0.8 pounds to the total weight of the system. Though the laptop is a decently configured system but it lacks important feature such as touch-sensitive media controls, HDMI-out port. Both the features are present on its predecessor. However, the Gateway MD7818u provides you both the features and costs you just $50 extra.
The laptop boasts of 15.6-inch wide-screen LCD which has native resolution of 1366×768 pixels, which is typical to most budget laptops with 16:9 aspect ratio. If you configure the system online, you have the option of 15.4-inch 4:3 screen, which has native resolution of 1280×800 pixels.
The laptop offers plenty of ports and connectors which include VGA-out port, Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks, 3 USB 2.0, SD card reader, ExpressCard/34, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, and DVD burner. In addition to missing HDMI and media controls, the laptop also lacks Bluetooth. You will not find a fingerprint reader but the laptop provides built-in 1.3-megapixel Web cam. The Inspiron I15-157B uses a 6-cell battery which runs for nearly 3 hours on video playback.
The laptop comes with industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty from Dell. Dell’s Web site provides you with collection of support tools, such as online chat, a Flash-based question widget, and 24-7 toll-free telephone support.
