I will be expanding on the following review as i get time. (Sorry my camera sucks balls)
GENERAL
As soon as i opened the dell box, i was happy. The special black boxing ets you all excited before you open up the computer and begin to get REALLY excited. When i saw the computer, i let out a "sweeeet" and opened the sucker up. I really enjoy the sleek, black look and the nice lines and silver trim (with blue lights for kicks). I went for the extended battery, and the sticking-out part is really not a big deal.
Camera
Really cool. gets SUPER hot though (no complaints). Most people were pretty disappointed with what they got, but i really think its pretty good. Considering the size and what else you paid for in that $100 a/v package (headphones and broadband capabilities).
samples from the camera.
Screen
Holy freaking god! The trulife is absolutely stunning, and stunningly REFLECTIVE. Oh well, no REAL complaints. DVDs and "obtained" media are a blast on this thing. I thought the Dell Media Direct concept and capabilities were a real plus and will DEFENITELY come in handy, especially for saving battery. Back to the screen; what more can i say? The 1280x800 resolution is great. Thankfully i have the really wicked auo screen. Theres actually NO light leakage. The picture below kinda shows some but i dont really see it.
DVD Playback
Pretty darn good, i think. The best aspect for the screen is 16:10 and its pretty hard to find widescreen DVDs that arent 16:9. So, my viewing of V for Vendetta was pretty alright. I got two differents sets of black bars which is pretty bad. My Doom Experience was slightly batter. As mentioned above, the TrueLife is extremely cool, bringing a wonderful crispness that was otherwise non-existant with older lcd screens. *most pics show non-existant light leakage for some reason*
The Chancellor!/Menu
you can see my two sets of black bars in this image.
Doom menu
Speakers/Included Headphones
Tinny? What tinniness? My speakers are fantabulous. I actually hear bass. Also, the included headphones rock! I cant hear a bloody thing aside from the music. I found though, that sometime the earbuds will slip out a little bit. The placing of the speakers is a wee bit awkward. If dell decided they wanted to place them there, the should have put more on the front, that way, you would be able to listen to music with the lid down.
EDIT: Lately I've been getting quite a bit of static when the headphones are plugged in and no audio is playing. Additionally, i would like to know if the is a way to stop that annoying "CLICK" sound that plays when you double click a folder to open it. I HATE it.
Keyboard
NO FLEX! Or at least none that bothers me. This is my first laptop/ultraportable, so i guess i benefit from the regular-sized keyboard. The only real bother is the fact that the delete key is up in the corner. This will defenitely be dealt with as i keep using it and get used to it. I also noticed that the right side of the spacebar is somewhat loose. If i press down on the very top right part i dont get any spaces. Not that big of a problem but a minor annoyance.
Touchpad/Buttons
Better than i imagined. The pad doesnt have that awful bumby feeling that i felt on some dudes' 700m. I LOVE how the buttons arent "clicky" if you knowwhat i mean. Its nothing like the buttons on a mouse. Its closer to a gamepad button. I also noticed that the touchpad wasnt cramped whatsoever. The included synaptics software that allows you to customize all the areas for scrolling and quick functions (tap top left to go back etc..) was wickidlyawesome. Responsiveness and accuracy for the touchpad was also high quality.
SPECS
Build
Like a Rock! I really love how stiff the hinges are. As soon as you stop moving the screen, it stops, just like that. As i mentioned above, there was no keyboard flex present. The build of the touchpad and media buttons is great. They feel great to touch.
EDIT: after some use and carrying and suc, have found some apparent flex with the left palmrest. This is defenitely bad since it is directly above the tiny-ass hdd.
Speed
Really quick. Im coming from a 2.5GHz p4, so... Exploring folders and such is almost always instantaneous, depending on how many programs and processes are running. I LOVE the core duo processor. If i do benchmarks for gaming, they will be done by august 1st. I dont have enough monthly usage to download the 3d/pc mark stuff.
EDIT: I have downloaded 3dmark05 and will run some tests and get some numbers and stuff on the go as soon as i resolve my heat issue (see "Heat" section).
Weight
NOT a problem. One of the reasons i bought this notebook was because of its light weight and small form factor. The weight that it does carry though, is good. It gives you the feeling of having a very well-built computer. The magnesium is really nice. Some parts that would normally be plastic on most computers is now made from this magnificent alloy, contributing to the proper build and light weight.
Heat
Puh-lease. This laptop stays extremely cool. If it got hotter, it wouldnt bother me. Hotter still, then i probably wont mind. Having a possible heat issue though. Looking into it and will post the results when they're found.
EDIT: There is defenitely a HUGE heat issue with this laptop. Not one that would burn your lap or fry your palms or anything. The problem is that the graphics card is overheating (idle at 82 degrees celcius) and is bringing down the gaming performance quite a bit. HL2 at low/off settings gets a literal 4 FPS. I will be sending this one back for sure.
Ports
We have a buffet of ports on our hands. 4 usb, network card, svideo out, expresscard 54 slot, vga out, 1394, dvd burner, media card5-in-1 reader. Loving the selection. I ESPECIALLY love the media reader. Eventually when high capacity cards become dirt cheap, read-only versions may be utilized to distribute games. Imagine that.
All in all i am VERY satisfied with my computer. I think it was a great investment.
EDIT: It WOULD be a great computer if it played any of my games (it will soon. its getting replaced, remember?)
GENERAL
As soon as i opened the dell box, i was happy. The special black boxing ets you all excited before you open up the computer and begin to get REALLY excited. When i saw the computer, i let out a "sweeeet" and opened the sucker up. I really enjoy the sleek, black look and the nice lines and silver trim (with blue lights for kicks). I went for the extended battery, and the sticking-out part is really not a big deal.
Camera
Really cool. gets SUPER hot though (no complaints). Most people were pretty disappointed with what they got, but i really think its pretty good. Considering the size and what else you paid for in that $100 a/v package (headphones and broadband capabilities).
samples from the camera.
Screen
Holy freaking god! The trulife is absolutely stunning, and stunningly REFLECTIVE. Oh well, no REAL complaints. DVDs and "obtained" media are a blast on this thing. I thought the Dell Media Direct concept and capabilities were a real plus and will DEFENITELY come in handy, especially for saving battery. Back to the screen; what more can i say? The 1280x800 resolution is great. Thankfully i have the really wicked auo screen. Theres actually NO light leakage. The picture below kinda shows some but i dont really see it.
DVD Playback
Pretty darn good, i think. The best aspect for the screen is 16:10 and its pretty hard to find widescreen DVDs that arent 16:9. So, my viewing of V for Vendetta was pretty alright. I got two differents sets of black bars which is pretty bad. My Doom Experience was slightly batter. As mentioned above, the TrueLife is extremely cool, bringing a wonderful crispness that was otherwise non-existant with older lcd screens. *most pics show non-existant light leakage for some reason*
The Chancellor!/Menu
you can see my two sets of black bars in this image.
Doom menu
Speakers/Included Headphones
Tinny? What tinniness? My speakers are fantabulous. I actually hear bass. Also, the included headphones rock! I cant hear a bloody thing aside from the music. I found though, that sometime the earbuds will slip out a little bit. The placing of the speakers is a wee bit awkward. If dell decided they wanted to place them there, the should have put more on the front, that way, you would be able to listen to music with the lid down.
EDIT: Lately I've been getting quite a bit of static when the headphones are plugged in and no audio is playing. Additionally, i would like to know if the is a way to stop that annoying "CLICK" sound that plays when you double click a folder to open it. I HATE it.
Keyboard
NO FLEX! Or at least none that bothers me. This is my first laptop/ultraportable, so i guess i benefit from the regular-sized keyboard. The only real bother is the fact that the delete key is up in the corner. This will defenitely be dealt with as i keep using it and get used to it. I also noticed that the right side of the spacebar is somewhat loose. If i press down on the very top right part i dont get any spaces. Not that big of a problem but a minor annoyance.
Touchpad/Buttons
Better than i imagined. The pad doesnt have that awful bumby feeling that i felt on some dudes' 700m. I LOVE how the buttons arent "clicky" if you knowwhat i mean. Its nothing like the buttons on a mouse. Its closer to a gamepad button. I also noticed that the touchpad wasnt cramped whatsoever. The included synaptics software that allows you to customize all the areas for scrolling and quick functions (tap top left to go back etc..) was wickidlyawesome. Responsiveness and accuracy for the touchpad was also high quality.
SPECS
Build
Like a Rock! I really love how stiff the hinges are. As soon as you stop moving the screen, it stops, just like that. As i mentioned above, there was no keyboard flex present. The build of the touchpad and media buttons is great. They feel great to touch.
EDIT: after some use and carrying and suc, have found some apparent flex with the left palmrest. This is defenitely bad since it is directly above the tiny-ass hdd.
Speed
Really quick. Im coming from a 2.5GHz p4, so... Exploring folders and such is almost always instantaneous, depending on how many programs and processes are running. I LOVE the core duo processor. If i do benchmarks for gaming, they will be done by august 1st. I dont have enough monthly usage to download the 3d/pc mark stuff.
EDIT: I have downloaded 3dmark05 and will run some tests and get some numbers and stuff on the go as soon as i resolve my heat issue (see "Heat" section).
Weight
NOT a problem. One of the reasons i bought this notebook was because of its light weight and small form factor. The weight that it does carry though, is good. It gives you the feeling of having a very well-built computer. The magnesium is really nice. Some parts that would normally be plastic on most computers is now made from this magnificent alloy, contributing to the proper build and light weight.
Heat
Puh-lease. This laptop stays extremely cool. If it got hotter, it wouldnt bother me. Hotter still, then i probably wont mind. Having a possible heat issue though. Looking into it and will post the results when they're found.
EDIT: There is defenitely a HUGE heat issue with this laptop. Not one that would burn your lap or fry your palms or anything. The problem is that the graphics card is overheating (idle at 82 degrees celcius) and is bringing down the gaming performance quite a bit. HL2 at low/off settings gets a literal 4 FPS. I will be sending this one back for sure.
Ports
We have a buffet of ports on our hands. 4 usb, network card, svideo out, expresscard 54 slot, vga out, 1394, dvd burner, media card5-in-1 reader. Loving the selection. I ESPECIALLY love the media reader. Eventually when high capacity cards become dirt cheap, read-only versions may be utilized to distribute games. Imagine that.
All in all i am VERY satisfied with my computer. I think it was a great investment.
EDIT: It WOULD be a great computer if it played any of my games (it will soon. its getting replaced, remember?)
but to see which exe is needed to make the cam button works in m1210. I think the other thing to note is to ensure that "Logitech Process Monitor" service is running. I'm not yet sure on that as I haven't play disabling that service to see if the web cam button will still work without that service.
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