Early in March, I took advantage of a 35% coupon for Inspiron laptops and ordered a 700m. All things considered, it probably isn’t actually 35% off, but it sure helps to think it is. This is my try at a review. It was the least I could do in return for all the help I've gotten. I might have some pictures up later this week, but I'm on dialup during Spring Break so it's not so fun. I was gonna post this on my site but it seemed a bit out of place.
Why I chose it
Screen quality and portability were the two most important factors to choosing a system. Of course, price was an issue. Though I wanted a speedy machine, graphics weren’t huge on my list since I don’t even play games on my desktop anymore.
There weren’t too many choices. The real considerations were a 600m, an iBook, or a Powerbook. The 600m was not the size that I was looking for. The 12” Powerbook was a few hundred too expensive. And I just wasn’t a huge fan of the screens on iBooks. I read a good number of reviews and forum posts, and decided on the 700m.
First Impressions
I was planning on taking a bunch of pictures of the unraveling and the first power-up, but it just didn’t happen. And there wasn’t much to see other than cardboard and plastic (it was no Apple extravaganza). Upon opening the package, the first thing that struck me was that it was really small. The system feels solid. The silver and white color scheme looks ok. I wish it was either all white or all silver, but I don’t think it looks tacky by any means. The extended battery sticking out the back is not pretty, but it is still plenty portable, and the extra battery life is definitely worth it.
After powering on and making sure that everything seemed ok, I reformatted and installed the essential programs.
Screen
Nearly everyone says the same thing about the screen. It’s great. I haven’t had any problems with glare yet, and I don’t plan on using it outside. Other than that, the screen is very bright and very sharp. It’s small at 12”, but it really doesn’t feel as small as it sounds, likely because of the widescreen ratio. Icons and text are small, but I haven’t had a problem reading anything and I don’t have great eyesight. The size is great for general work, but there’s not much space in Photoshop to do heavy work. The palettes spread out nicely.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Many people hate the undersized keyboard. Honestly, I haven’t had any serious problems with it so far. I do see how it could bother other people though. The size works really well for me, though my hands are pretty small for a guy. I’d rather have the Page Up and Page Down as primary keys with the Home and End as their secondary functions, but that’s just a minor annoyance.
There isn’t much to say about the touchpad. As most reviews state, the buttons feel a bit cheap compared to the rest of the system. The pad itself feels and works similar to other notebooks.
Conclusion
I’m extremely happy with the purchase. I’m not too sure that this review will be helpful at all, as I haven’t really said anything bad about the system. Integrated graphics are the worst part of the specifications, but I’d assume that probably keeps the cost down. For my needs, the Inspiron 700m is small, quick, and has an awesome screen. Having a laptop is really nice, and so far I’ve only used it to type this out and watch some episodes of Family Guy.
Why I chose it
Screen quality and portability were the two most important factors to choosing a system. Of course, price was an issue. Though I wanted a speedy machine, graphics weren’t huge on my list since I don’t even play games on my desktop anymore.
There weren’t too many choices. The real considerations were a 600m, an iBook, or a Powerbook. The 600m was not the size that I was looking for. The 12” Powerbook was a few hundred too expensive. And I just wasn’t a huge fan of the screens on iBooks. I read a good number of reviews and forum posts, and decided on the 700m.
First Impressions
I was planning on taking a bunch of pictures of the unraveling and the first power-up, but it just didn’t happen. And there wasn’t much to see other than cardboard and plastic (it was no Apple extravaganza). Upon opening the package, the first thing that struck me was that it was really small. The system feels solid. The silver and white color scheme looks ok. I wish it was either all white or all silver, but I don’t think it looks tacky by any means. The extended battery sticking out the back is not pretty, but it is still plenty portable, and the extra battery life is definitely worth it.
After powering on and making sure that everything seemed ok, I reformatted and installed the essential programs.
Screen
Nearly everyone says the same thing about the screen. It’s great. I haven’t had any problems with glare yet, and I don’t plan on using it outside. Other than that, the screen is very bright and very sharp. It’s small at 12”, but it really doesn’t feel as small as it sounds, likely because of the widescreen ratio. Icons and text are small, but I haven’t had a problem reading anything and I don’t have great eyesight. The size is great for general work, but there’s not much space in Photoshop to do heavy work. The palettes spread out nicely.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Many people hate the undersized keyboard. Honestly, I haven’t had any serious problems with it so far. I do see how it could bother other people though. The size works really well for me, though my hands are pretty small for a guy. I’d rather have the Page Up and Page Down as primary keys with the Home and End as their secondary functions, but that’s just a minor annoyance.
There isn’t much to say about the touchpad. As most reviews state, the buttons feel a bit cheap compared to the rest of the system. The pad itself feels and works similar to other notebooks.
Conclusion
I’m extremely happy with the purchase. I’m not too sure that this review will be helpful at all, as I haven’t really said anything bad about the system. Integrated graphics are the worst part of the specifications, but I’d assume that probably keeps the cost down. For my needs, the Inspiron 700m is small, quick, and has an awesome screen. Having a laptop is really nice, and so far I’ve only used it to type this out and watch some episodes of Family Guy.
