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Dell Inspiron 700M Review


I’ve been using the 700M for about a week now and would like to share my opinion of this little notebook.

After years of using a desktop, I finally decided it was time to go mobile. I was looking for a portable machine that would be able to do light office applications, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, itunes, and internet. I’m not a gamer so the video card was not a big concern to me, however, I wanted a good screen so I’d be able to watch DVD’s while on a plane, car or in the hotel.

I was not sure of which brand or size I wanted. At work we use Dell and Gateway business class notebooks (not sure of the models). I have not had too many problems with them. One thing that does bother me about Dell and Gateway is they seem a bit flimsy and that was one of my concerns in my search for the perfect laptop.

After numerous trips to Circuit City, Best Buy, CompUSA and many hours searching online, I came to the conclusion that I had no idea what I really wanted. The ultra compacts seemed too small, the 15” models seemed too big, and the 17” models were out of the question. At first I was leaning toward the HP’s dv1000. It felt sturdy and had good features, but even the 14” wide screen still felt like it would be a pain to tote around. So I decided on an ultra compact sized notebook, the 700m.

Here’s what I got:

1 Inspiron 700m, Intel Pentium MProcessor 755(2GHz/400MHz FSB)12.1 in WXGA
1 1GB,DDR, 333MHz, 2 Dimm, for Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 700m $0.00 1 Image Restore $0.00
1 Microsoft Windows XP Home Service Pack 2, English, for Inspiron $0.00
1 Integrated NIC for Inspiron $0.00
1 Internal 56k Modem $0.00
1 24X Combo DVD/CD-RW for Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g) Internal Wireless $0.00
1 65 WHr 8-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery $0.00

Total including shipping and tax: $1,216.00

It took 10 days to get the notebook to my door.

If I could do things different, I would have only gotten 256k memory and upgraded myself and would have kept the 4 cell battery and bought the 8-cell as an extra. Live and learn.

Now for the actual review:


My first thought was the 700m is a nice looking notebook. I’ve been staring at notebooks for about three weeks and none of them looked as stunning in person as the 700m. The silver and white trim of this notebook set it off nicely. I powered it up and WOW, this thing has a nice screen. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. It’s bright, clear and the perfect size. There is no light leakage or dead pixels. It’s in no way too small for what I’m using it for. Internet pages fit perfect and so do all the applications that I’m using.


The 700m feels solid, not flimsy at all. There is no felt keyboard flex and the screen secured tightly to the body of the notebook. The keyboard is not too small (it only takes minutes to get used to), there is no hard drive noise, the mouse buttons are loud, but feel solid. The touch pad works flawlessly as do all the ports and optical drive. The tiny speakers sound a bit thin, but are placed on the screen directed right to your ears so it’s not too bad for their small size.


Dell preloaded the 700m with a bunch of junk programs, I considered doing a complete reformat, but instead I just uninstalled as many of the unwanted programs as possible. I’m still going to reformat it so I can have a “Clean” system and get rid of the hidden partition, but that will have to wait until I have some free time. Performance wise, this is a little rocket! There is no lag and every thing loads up super quick. I’ve been trying to push it to the max with all the applications that I use and it has not failed or crashed once.

The WiFi is fast, I’m getting 2655 Mbit down and 501 Mbit up on my DLink DI-524 wireless router. When plugged in through Cat5 I get 4048Mbit down and 512 Mbit up.

My only gripe with the 700m is the extended battery. Not the runtime, I’m getting around 4 hours. It’s the fit; it doesn’t feel snug and sturdy. It wiggles a bit and I could envision it becoming looser during the life of the notebook.


Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase and have no regrets on my choice on the 700m. The whole Dell experience has been a good one; there was not single bump in the road.



Targus Groove Backpack

I purchased this backpack at Circuit City for $33.00. It’s not the smallest pack out there, but is a perfect size for my use. The 700m fits o.k. in the notebook compartment, there is a little extra space since it’s made to fit up to a 15” notebook, but it's enough padding to protect it. If you a student or travel a lot and a briefcase carrier is just not your style, this backpack will be perfect. It has plenty of pockets and enough room for books, magazines, extra batteries, cd/dvd’s and some snacks. It’s also small enough for carry on luggage while on the airlines. Here some photos:

Good stuff. You are definitly right about the RAM. 1gig in 1 dimm from dell costs like $400, I just ordered the same thing from newegg for $115 shipped. Anyway good review, I cant wait to get my 700m next week.

how the hell can u get this small laptop at such a good price like that??

probably coupons my friend. I ordered my 700m (1.6ghz, both batteries, 8x DVD burner) for $833 shipped, last week.

He's right, coupons. I used the $750 off $1899 or more. Damn good bargin.

yup.. my 700m(specs in sig) was 1130 shipped, and that's with the ram from dell

i have the same backpack for a i6000, fits perfect!!!

I could see how it would fit the i6000 perfectly, the 700m has a little bit of room on the sides and the top. It's not a snug fit at all.

Nice review.

Coupons are definietely the way to go with Dells. The 700m is my signature was less than $1000 (don't remember exactly how much). I too ordered a 1GB DIMM from Newegg.

For a case, I use the RoadWired APS Compact Sleeve and then carry it in my regular backpack.

haha man

you must be my twin or something

i got the exact same setup as you did (ordered it during memorial day weekend) for about $1250.

dude, i absolutly love this machine. I am not much of a gamer, so this machine fits me perfectly. I am so glad I bought this machine. Also i even have the same regrets as you do (purchase less RAM), but we probably wouldn't have hit the $1900 mark if we did that right?

anyways, this machine is awesome. I'll be traveling to europe this summer and can't wait to carry this baby around. I store this baby in a neoprene sleeve built for 15" lappys and in my messenger bag which can fit this comp and a couple notebooks perfectlly!

also about the reformatting... i was kinda forced to reformat last week due to some memory error when i ****** up trying to upgrade to Win XP Pro. Although I lost everything, it runs much faster now, so i'm kinda glad it happened. Since it was my first time troubleshooting a problem like this, i almost fainted from being so nervous during this long proccess, but it wasn't too bad.

oh yeah... here are some pics of it

Your right! Maybe that's why I did that, I still wish I would have gotten a second battery, your 700m looks sweet! I tried using the dell os recovery tool to make a cd, but it doesn't work, so dell is shipping me out the disks, I have a WinXP pro disk sitting here, it's tempting me........maybe this weekend. Have fun in Europe!

Be sure to backup the important stuff before you do anything... haha... installing Win XP Pro got me into this mess.

http://www.notebookforums.com/showth...light=scariest