Dell Vostro 1320 Review

Overall Rating

Being the technologically minded person I am my father-in-law asked me to order him a Laptop/Netbook to be used for DVD viewing, email and internet browsing whilst they're out travelling. He is a huge Dell supporter and has privately owned Dells for +10 years now. I received the Laptop and my father-in-law asked me to go through the steps of setting it up, so I did and I thought I'd write this review of it.

The specs are as follows:
Product - Dell Vostro 1320 NB (N0713203)Vostro 1320
Price - English £ 414.00
Item Description:
Microsoft Operating System - Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - English
Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6570 (2.1GHz, 800MHz FSB,2MB L2 cache)
Memory - 3072MB 800 MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x2048+1x1024)
Hard Drive - 160GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
LCD - 13.3 inch WXGA Anti-Glare Display
Primary Battery - Primary 4-cell 37 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Keyboard - Internal Keyboard - English (QWERTY)
Video Card - Integrated GMA X4500 HD Graphics RED
Optical Devices - Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Tray Load Drive including Software
Wireless Networking - Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) European
Cables - Meter Power Cord (3 Wire) - UK
Standard Warranty - 1 Year Collect and Return
Camera Integrated 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera
Colour Choice Deep Cherry Red
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft Works 9.0 - English
Power Supply 65W AC Adaptor (3 Wire)

I ordered the laptop direct from the Dell website towards the end of June and was suitably impressed when it arrived no more that 10 working days later. All delivery scheduling was very well communicated via email and we were notified 2 days before the delivery took place.

The packaging of the laptop is bog standard but very sound and sturdy and I wouldn't have a problem ordering or shipping via most couriers. In the box came the foloowing items:

Laptop (Thank goodness)
Power cable and transformer (equally thankful)
2 X printed manuals\safety guides
CDs of OS, Dell recovery and drivers, Roxio Creator and Norton's Security suite.
When unpacking the laptop I have a good look at it and the dark cherry red does look very nice.
The external ports\accessories visible are:

1X Firewire port
Mic and Headphones
SD/MMC card reader
1 Single PCMCIA slot
4 X USB ports - 2 per side
Ethernet port
VGA port
Wi/Fi on off switch
DVD +/- RW driver
The undercarriage has 2 locking clips that stop the battery falling removing the battery is easy enough but child proof and clipping it back in is quite sturdy and self locking.
All other compartments have screws keeping the plates in place so no unwanted access to memory area.

Connecting of the power cable, the 3 pin connector does mean you can't put it in wrong, to the transformer is a bit naff as the cable has to double back on itself thus loosing an inch or so and doesn't spread out nicely. The power connector into the Laptop is secure and straight forward.

The lid opens nice and solidly and on first appearance the laptop really does look just like a slightly smaller version of a full laptop. The layout of the keyboard is neat but nothing has changed since I first saw a Dell laptop back in the early 2000s. The Audio buttons are of a good size and not tiny as you would have expected. There is very little space wasted but still room to rest your wrists.

The Laptop initially powered on without need of the PSU showing that it is shipped with some battery life as would be expected as it was pre-configured with OS before leaving the Dell factory but it didn't seem to be running in lower power saving mode as connecting the power didn't shoot the brightness and contract up.

The touchpad is very sensitive, possibly overly sensitive, and would take a bit of getting used to. Being a touchpad user I know this can be adjusted it's just it was a bit too "touchy" to start with.

The keyboard feels likes it's nearly standard size and the key press is very typical Dell Laptop feel but nice and responsive.

The display seems to belie it's true size and I can see that after using it for a few houtrs you'd hardly notice it was only 13" and moving to anything bigger would be like a cinema screen.

Power, HDD and WiFi LEDS above the keyboard are clear and bright but look good on the black background and the power and charge LEDs in the front also look quite snazzy.

First power up required the standard initial windows configuration steps of Country, keyboard and language and to set the regional settings as this was United States default.

The initial Dell start-up screen only has one use but 3 sections and setting up the WiFi with my BT HomeHub was as simple as typing in my WEP key. Going through the steps of configuring the various software packages like Norton, Roxio and Microsoft Works and obtaining the latest updates for them was quick and painless and no sooner had I started this than the first Windows updates started coming down. The only problem I have with the pre-loaded software is the Nortons Security suite as I have never really been a big fan and I can assure you that as soon as the free years subscription ends that Laptop will be moving to Avast. I do wish they wouldn't ship Nortons by default but that's obviously the deal done between Dell and Symantec.

In summation I can say that this is a true travellers laptop and is light and compact enough to take anywhere and look good at the same time. The performance makes you thinkyou're working on a bigger machine and the clarity of the display is on a par to any bigger laptop. Watching a video clip was much better than any portable DVD player I've seen and definitely leaves the small plane\car back of seat screen far behind. After having the Laptop on my lap for an hour plus my legs weren't cooking and buckling.

I would definitely recommend this for anybody looking for a compact Laptop as a good buy and good value.