|
Dell Vostro V131 13.3in Core i5 notebook : A powerfull machine , a speedier version of Vostro line-up. Price from: £660 |
 |
Reviews
Most people expert something similar to Apple MacBook Air and its is fair that Windows users are catered for with a series of laptops that look the business, and, strange as it is to say, Dell’s recent machines certainly do that
The Design
The Vostro notebook's design is sleek and tidy design, the laptop really is a very nice piece of design, a harsher critic might describe it as “surprisingly” nice. Folded shut it’s a shade under 20mm high, and the back of the screen is finished in reassuring Inspiron metallic grey. The screen doesn’t hinge from the back edge, instead starting about half an inch from the back of the machine.
The chiclet keyboard is very solid, with the Function keys doing double-duty as system shortcuts such as media playback, controlling screen brightness, and turning the trackpad on and off to avoid unwanted inputs during typing. The only niggle on my review unit was the spacebar, which developed a deeply annoying squeak as soon as I started using it. A minor – but potentially very useful – highlight is the keyboard backlighting.
The laptop has nice solid, non-clicky mouse-buttons more akin to the high-quality fare you’d expect on a ThinkPad but itlacking a scrolling stripe on the side but Windows users might be able to live without pointless additions such as pinch-to-zoom on their trackpads, but a bit of help with scrolling would be appreciated. There’s a well hidden fingerprint reader on the right-hand side too.
The attractive chassis measures a dainty 19mm thick, apart from the slight bulge of the six-cell battery propping up its rear. The laptop weigh 1.82kg it makes for a beautifully portable machine.
Engine Room
There is two choices either i3 or i5. The laptop is powered with 1.1GHz Celeron 847 ULV with 2GB of RAM. There's a Core i3-2330M model too, the fastest machine has a Intel Core i5-2430M with 8GB of RAM; other options such as an SSD in place of a mechanical hard disk are also available.
OR you can get a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M CPU, with 4GB of RAM to give plenty of space to running applications. This configuration has only recently changed on Dell's website, now the Core i5-2430M CPU has come on stream. Still, it’s safe to say that any of Dell’s Core i5 Vostros will be up to virtually anything you can throw at them.
Connectivity
Expansion ports are reasonable in number, although the screen doesn’t cover it when it’s open it’s a pity Dell hasn’t used the space for a few more USB ports; as it is a single USB 2.0 port on the left-hand edge is complemented by two USB 3.0 ports on the opposite side. The laptop also has an HDMI port on the left and a VGA port on the right, plus a combined headphone and mic socket.
Storage
Vostro V131 costs a hefty £995 inc VAT, and for that money you get a Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard disk and integrated 3G. Only if you’re willing to forego processing power is it possible to configure a Vostro V131 for a reasonable amount of money. Do away with luxuries such as the backlit keyboard and 3G, and a model with a 1.1GHz Celeron 847 processor, 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard disk comes in at only £431.
The Display
The 13.3in screen doesnot have any shiny, reflective glossy panel. Instead, it’s a pleasingly old-school matte finish, and a decent resolution of 1366 x 768. Viewing angles are good, although neither this nor size of the screen lend themselves to crowding lots of people around.
The build quality isn’t perfect; there’s a reasonable amount of flex in the screen and base. Hence it’s not enough to suggest the Vostro is going to fall apart the first time someone knocks it off a train table, but it’s pretty much the only aspect of the V131 that will give away how little you paid for it.
Battery Life
The laptop comes 65wh battery clocking 7hrs 56mins in our light-use battery test, the Vostro V131 now has the stamina to match its go-anywhere proportions.
The battery is bulky, 65Wh battery in the back of the system proved its worth. Left idle, with the screen on at half brightness, and connected to a wireless network, the V131 ran for a highly impressive eight hours and 45 minutes. Left looping on PCMark Vantage with the screen at full whack it ran for nearly two hours, so most users should see a result somewhere in the middle.
Price
The cheapest Core i5 system, for instance, with Dell's current on-line discounts costs £660 - typically £800 - with 4GB of Ram and a 320GB hard disk
Share this post
