Product Reviews

Dell may not have the style cachet of an Apple or Sony, but it's not averse to setting trends. A few years ago, its computers turned black while all around were beige. Now, it seems, colour is the new monochrome. While the underside of the new Inspiron laptops remains indistinguishable from the Ace of Spades, the rest of the computer has a curvy silver finish and the rubber-textured lid comes in a variety of hues. How you'll react to the overall appearance is inevitably a matter of taste, but it seems pleasing enough to us.

The Inspiron 1520 is fairly heavy at 3kg, but its chunky case feels sturdy, with no flexing parts. Dell is known for offering generously specified PCs at low prices, and the 1520 is no exception. Unlike many affordable laptops, the configuration we tested, with nVidia's GeForce 8600M GT graphics chip, proved capable of playing the latest 3D games with detailed graphics settings, managing a smooth 26.5fps (frames per second) in our highly demanding Call of Duty 2 test. Although you'll have to settle for less detailed graphics if you want even faster frame rates, that qualifies it as a capable games machine.

The 1520 can also be used for more serious work thanks to its fast Core 2 Duo processor. It did very well in our Windows benchmarks. The optional 2GB of RAM fitted in our test unit would let you work in multiple applications simultaneously or manipulate large photos without slowing down. The battery gave us just under three-and-a-half hours of light use, enough for most trips between power sockets. Playing a DVD, it only went for two hours and 20 minutes - the DVD drive's moving parts tax the battery - so your favourite director's cut might be cut a little short.

On display

Glossy screens are in vogue at the moment, and can look wonderfully sharp and crisp, but the 1520's matt anti-glare finish is more practical if you're likely to be working in starkly lit rooms, where reflections can become very distracting. The screen is still by no means gloomy, although it's not particularly suitable for colour-critical photo or video editing; colours looked a little washed out, and there were shifts in colour accuracy at different viewing angles. Gradients in our greyscale and colour transitions tests looked fairly smooth, though.

The 1520's large and spacious

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keyboard wasn't the most responsive we've used, but it felt firm and comfortable to type on. The touch pad was accurate, but the buttons felt indistinct, giving little feedback when pressed. The speakers are loud for a laptop, but they sound harsh and boomy, especially at the loudest setting, which won't please music fans. The roomy 160GB hard disk would provide plenty of space for programs and documents though, although if you have a particularly large collection of music, video and photos you might want an even bigger drive.

As you'd expect these days, wireless networking is built-in, although there's no support for the emerging draft-n WiFi standard (we reviewed draft-n routers last month: click Labs at www.computerbuyer.co.uk). You could add a draft-n wireless card later, though, using either one of the four USB ports or the ExpressCard/54 slot. ExpressCard/54 is the intended successor to the PC Card expansion slots usually found in laptops, and the number of ExpressCard/54 peripherals is gradually increasing, so you should have no trouble finding compatible devices in the future.

Late additions

Our Inspiron came with a built-in webcam, a modern 2 megapixel device that's streets ahead of the low-resolution units that gave online video its traditional reputation for near illegibility. This is another of the 1520's options. One extra feature that's standard is a small switch on the side of the laptop that activates Dell's 'WiFi catcher' utility. This shows the signal strength of nearby wireless networks and is supposed to make it easier to find public WiFi hotspots. It doesn't do anything that Vista's wireless manager doesn't, though, and you still have to use this to connect to a network once you've found one.

Dell has suffered some delays in shipping these new models, exacerbated by high demand and reportedly caused partly by the difficulty of producing the colour finishes. At the time of writing, Dell's UK website was quoting up to five weeks. Things should have improved considerably by the time you read this.

The positive side of 'just in time' manufacturing, as opposed to product sitting on shelves, is that you can customise most parts when ordering. If you like the look of the 1520 but feel you'd be just as happy with a smaller hard disk, for example, or don't need so much 3D graphics power, you can reconfigure it, with prices for this model starting at just £599 including VAT and delivery. If you want to order the exact configuration we tested, at the reduced price of £750, you'll need to enter the correct Dell e-value code: NPUK5 - N0915205R.

As a travelling companion, Dell's Inspiron 1520 isn't the lightest of laptops, but it does offer decent battery life. It has plenty of oomph for Windows, and gamers will be pleasantly surprised to find a credible machine at this price.