Received: Today. Super, duper fast. One week to the day I ordered.
Screen: the biggest danger is getting used to it, i.e., once you use it, other laptop screens will seem dim by comparison. I actually find myself using only 3/7 or 4/7 brightness. That is enough for me. And this is brighter already than a regular lcd's brightness. But the clarity is definitely improved. Esp with photos. They're not just more vivid; it's like the pictures cut through the screen more crisply or something. Anyway, good stuff, same raves as everyone else.
Hard drive: quite, not too warm, no complaints other than it's not 7200 rpm.
Battery: Well, it certainly lasts awhile with the 8 cell battery, and it doesn't jut out nearly as much as the 300m's extended battery did. It does jut out like 1 inch, but the system weight isn't that much more with it, and I made the right decision to get the 8 cell battery. I'd say battery life is around 4 hours surfing the web, etc. But I did not use any special modes other than laptop mode. So I don't think I slowed down processor speed or anything.
Wireless: I have the 802.11b/g truemobile 1350 card, and it's nice. It gets great range, better than any other laptop that I've had but on par with other dells. I have for some reaso always had the best range with dell laptops. Heck, even my axim had great range.
Keyboard: The one black mark on this machine. Like others have said, the . key is just too dang small. So is the"?" key> i keep missing it all the time. People say I'll get used to it, but I doubt it. Even one key being so small is going to cause problems. I have medium sized hands. I think even people with small hands are going to have some problems with the "." key. I'm a touch typist, so that's maybe why I noticed. If you're a hunt and pecker, you're looking at the keys anyway, so who cares? Not a dealbreaker, though.
Construction: As everyone said, a step up, actually 2-3 steps up, from the construction of priors. it's just solid and on par with the vaunted thinkpads.
Speakers: I actually thought it was very loud. Louder than my other laptops, so I'm very impressed.
A/C Adapter: A little bummed that it isn't a little smaller, but oh well. It's the same size as say, an 8600's ac adapter I think.
DVD burner: Haven't used it, but I am a firm believer in buying it now rather than upgrading later because you'll not really save that much money by waiting for prices to come down, not to mention the actual time right now that you don't have a dvd burner. I personally like the security of knowing that wherever I take my laptop, I'm able to play a dvd and burn one if need be.
Noise: quiet man. Pretty quite. The fan has gone on just a couple times, and it ain't no big deal.
Overall: if this notebook had a slightly larger keys, I'd be overjoyed. It's a little thick, but it makes up for it in the quality of the construction. I really feel when the 600m gets updated, THAT notebook could be where it's at. But if you want a true subnotebook form factor, at a great price, the 700m is your ticket. It's very speedy, too.
Thanks for reading. Sorry no pics.
Screen: the biggest danger is getting used to it, i.e., once you use it, other laptop screens will seem dim by comparison. I actually find myself using only 3/7 or 4/7 brightness. That is enough for me. And this is brighter already than a regular lcd's brightness. But the clarity is definitely improved. Esp with photos. They're not just more vivid; it's like the pictures cut through the screen more crisply or something. Anyway, good stuff, same raves as everyone else.
Hard drive: quite, not too warm, no complaints other than it's not 7200 rpm.
Battery: Well, it certainly lasts awhile with the 8 cell battery, and it doesn't jut out nearly as much as the 300m's extended battery did. It does jut out like 1 inch, but the system weight isn't that much more with it, and I made the right decision to get the 8 cell battery. I'd say battery life is around 4 hours surfing the web, etc. But I did not use any special modes other than laptop mode. So I don't think I slowed down processor speed or anything.
Wireless: I have the 802.11b/g truemobile 1350 card, and it's nice. It gets great range, better than any other laptop that I've had but on par with other dells. I have for some reaso always had the best range with dell laptops. Heck, even my axim had great range.
Keyboard: The one black mark on this machine. Like others have said, the . key is just too dang small. So is the"?" key> i keep missing it all the time. People say I'll get used to it, but I doubt it. Even one key being so small is going to cause problems. I have medium sized hands. I think even people with small hands are going to have some problems with the "." key. I'm a touch typist, so that's maybe why I noticed. If you're a hunt and pecker, you're looking at the keys anyway, so who cares? Not a dealbreaker, though.
Construction: As everyone said, a step up, actually 2-3 steps up, from the construction of priors. it's just solid and on par with the vaunted thinkpads.
Speakers: I actually thought it was very loud. Louder than my other laptops, so I'm very impressed.
A/C Adapter: A little bummed that it isn't a little smaller, but oh well. It's the same size as say, an 8600's ac adapter I think.
DVD burner: Haven't used it, but I am a firm believer in buying it now rather than upgrading later because you'll not really save that much money by waiting for prices to come down, not to mention the actual time right now that you don't have a dvd burner. I personally like the security of knowing that wherever I take my laptop, I'm able to play a dvd and burn one if need be.
Noise: quiet man. Pretty quite. The fan has gone on just a couple times, and it ain't no big deal.
Overall: if this notebook had a slightly larger keys, I'd be overjoyed. It's a little thick, but it makes up for it in the quality of the construction. I really feel when the 600m gets updated, THAT notebook could be where it's at. But if you want a true subnotebook form factor, at a great price, the 700m is your ticket. It's very speedy, too.
Thanks for reading. Sorry no pics.
