You may recall the battery problem I had with my IBM ThinkPad and the resulting customer service inquisition. It turns out the the battery was OK - it was the ThinkPad that was broken, refusing the charge batteries in general.
As it was busted and getting long in the tooth, I did a bit of research to find a new notebook that could take the punishing Microsoft corporate environment. I needed something with the following criteria:
- Not too big and heavy, under 4 lbs.
- Decent size screen, widescreen a plus
- Serious horsepower and storage
- Good battery life with extended battery options
- Cool-looking a plus
I ended up with a Dell m1330, loaded up with a 2.2Ghz processor and 4Gb of RAM. It also came with an LED backlit screen, 13" wide screen and 3.8 lbs. It also has a slot loading DVD drive. I bought an extended battery for it on eBay. As a bonus, it's red with brushed aluminum keypad area.
As soon as I ordered it I started reading about production delays - problems with white paint and red paint, LED part shortages. Mine was supposed to show up August 8th and the day before it was supposed to arrive I was informed it would be two weeks late. Several days later, however, it showed up "early." Nice trick, Dell.
I took off the various apps and stripped it down to its Vista Ultimate goodness before getting it on the Microsoft domain and loading up the corporate apps. Net net, it is a screamer. Going from my old ThinkPad to the Dell m1330 is like going from a tricycle to a Harley. It boots fast, it runs fast - the index searching on the PC and in Outlook 2007 is basically instantaneous. Jaysus!
Battery life is solid -a few hours on a standard battery and about six hours on the extended. The screen is very readable, sharp and bright. It has an integrated camera in the screen that I haven't used yet. It also has a fingerprint reader that I set up and is an easy way to log in. I use the HDMI out to connect it to my 24" widescreen display - nice.
It doesn't have a docking connector (the "docking station" that Dell sells is useless - it's really just a USB port replicator), but i created a poor man's docking station by bundling the HDMI, power, USB and the ethernet cable into one big cable with a twist-tie. I just plug those four in the side and it works. Frankly, the IBM doc was always a hassle to undock and dock anyway.
So far, so good!
Then you find, when battery goes dead, it costs 194.00 for a battery. Now, that's how they get people and make more money.
You'll know what I mean when your battery dies just like that and you realise, you always something is up. Something very fishy.
Dave
Posted by: Dave | April 27, 2008 at 04:34 PM
It sounds like a great system, so great that I've ordered one, but if I was you I would buy it direct from somewhere like Tesco's or PCWorld, ANYTHING other than deal with dell.
Posted by: refurbished computers | June 29, 2009 at 07:44 AM
This Dell m1330 is a good piece of technology, it performs good, it has a nice look, and not that heavy. Good choice.
Posted by: generic laptop | March 12, 2010 at 08:53 AM
ti's too heavy for a laptop in today
Posted by: dell d410 akku | August 15, 2011 at 06:58 PM