I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop in July 2008. Although Dell allows you to customise your laptop as per your needs, I liked the default configuration on the website and ordered the same. It is as follows:
Intel Core2Duo T5750 Processor
Genuine Microsoft Vista Home Premium(SP1)
14.1" Widescreen WXGA(1280x800) Display with TrueLife
2 GB(2x1024MB) DDR2 SDRAM
250 GB SATA Hard Drive(5400 rpm)
8x DVD RW with dual layer write capabilities
2 MP Webcam
Intel integrated GMA X3100
Wifi 802.11g
Bluetooth
10/100 Fast Ethernet
56K modem
8-in-1 media card reader
6-cell Li ion Battery
65W AC Adapter
Travel Remote Control
Noise Isolation Ear Buds
1-year limited warranty
Lightweight Nylon case
The above configuration was priced at Rs 40K. I purchased a few extras:
Including these, the price came to Rs 42.5K.
I have purchased this laptop for home use only. I don't carry it around much and don't run any heavy applications on this laptop. My friends advised me to go for a 15.4" model, but I prefer 14.1" size as it provides the best tradeoff between portability and usability.
The build quality is quite good. But that makes this laptop slightly bulkier and heavier compared to similar models from other brands. If you need a thin and light laptop, this is probably not the right one for you.
Dell Inspiron models come in a choice of colours, but I decided to stick with the black lid. One problem with the black lid is that it smudges very easily and is virtually a magnet for fingerprints.(This problem is not there in the coloured lids.)
This laptop had an option for dedicated graphics card, but I decided against it as I do not intend to use it for 3D gaming or heavy graphics applications. Integrated graphics is cheaper, runs cooler and consumes less power.
Display options include 1280x800 anti-glare, 1280x800 TruLife and 1440x900 WXGA+. I went with the 1280x800 TruLife display as it provides better brightness, contrast and viewing angles as compared to the anti-glare display. Horizontal viewing angles are pretty good, but vertical viewing angles could be better. I got 2-3 dead pixels on my display, which is quite normal. Thankfully, they can't be spotted easily unless you look very closely.
The WEI calculated by Vista is 3.5(limited by graphics). I am not a big fan of Windows Vista which came pre-installed on the laptop.(More Windows Vista bashing promised in the next review).
I liked the keyboard on this laptop. The keys have good travel and provide a nice tactile feedback. The trackpad needs improvement though. It is not very sensitive and lags sometimes when the machine is busy processing. The scroll areas(vertical and horizontal) are very useful. The buttons are soft and do not produce any irritating clicking sound.(I prefer to use an external mouse, so trackpad is not an issue for me). When using external mouse, the trackpad can be disabled using trackpad settings. A small push button would have been very handy to quickly disable the trackpad.
The dedicated media buttons are quite useful. As far as I know, these can be used only with the Windows Media Player(and Dell Media Direct), and not with other applications like WinAmp. A handy remote control is also included, which fits snugly in the ExpressCard slot. Dell Media Direct is a utility which allows you to access multimedia files(like music, video, pictures) without starting windows.
The 4 USB ports are very useful for attaching external mouse, pen drives and other peripherals. One firewire port is also present.
I did not observe any issues related to heat or noise. There is no noise produced from the moving parts such as optical drive, hard disk or the fan. Even in a very quiet place, you won't be able to make out whether the fan is running. The laptop does not have a tendency to heat up. After prolonged use, some portions may get slightly warm, but the temperature always remains within manageable limits.
It has a decent pair of inbuilt speakers. The volume is good enough to watch a movie in a reasonably quiet place. Sound quality is nothing worth mentioning. It has 2 audio outputs in the front side for connecting headphones/external speakers. I didn't like the placement of audio outputs and external microphone input at the front side, but thats a matter of personal choice. The Creative earbuds supplied with the laptop produce crystal clear sound.
It has an inbuilt 2 MP webcam and stereo microphone which can be used for video chat. No need to connect any external mic/headphone.
Bluetooth and memory card reader work properly and are very useful for transferring files to/from a mobile phone or digital camera. The 8-in-1 card reader supports both SD cards as well as Memory Stick PRO. Apart from Sony, Dell is perhaps the only manufacturer which provides support for Sony's proprietary memory stick. This feature was very important for me since I use a Sony Ericsson mobile phone and a Sony Cybershot digital camera.
I have never tested the battery life, I keep the charger connected most of the time. I had ordered a standard 6-cell battery, but a 9-cell battery was delivered to me by mistake. I never bothered getting it corrected since the 9-cell battery gives a 4-5 hrs backup as compared to 2 hrs for the 6-cell battery. Note that the 9-cell battery protrudes from the back and will add extra weight to the laptop. The 9-cell battery seems slightly wobbly.(Nothing to worry about, but worth mentioning)
Reputed manufacturers like Dell also provide some additional utilities which are generally not mentioned in the specs. Some of the most useful ones are wifi catcher and in-built charge indicator in battery, which allow the user to instantly search for wifi networks and check the battery status even without starting windows.
The five LED indicators placed on the front provide a quick visual indication of power, activity, charging, wifi and bluetooth. The LEDs are blue coloured and glow very bright. They can be very unpleasing to the eye if you are watching a movie on the laptop in a dark room.
There is a SIM card slot under the battery. I have no idea what it is meant for. If anyone knows about it, please leave a comment.
Some other reviewers have criticised this laptop by comparing it with HP/lenovo business class notebooks(which cost twice as much). It is not fair to make such comparisons, you can't compare apples with oranges. Also, you get only what you pay for. If you are looking for better quality and have more money to splurge, why bother with Inspiron series, you could choose from Dell Studio, XPS, Latitude or Precision series.
To conclude the review, I would say that Dell Inspiron 1420 is a well balanced laptop which provides you value for money. It may not be the best laptop for frequent travellers or hardcore gamers, but it is still recommended for anyone who needs a laptop for general everyday use.
