Laptop Details

Dell Vostro A840… Beyond expectations!

Dell Vostro A840 is light, quiet, the screen display is great, and it has been incredibly reliable. I use this laptop for hours every day, doing a ton of typing. I run websites from my home. Any time I travel, it accompanies me. The screen display is great. I do a fair amount of graphics work, including judging photo entries for a literary magazine. The Dells screen lets me accurately view colors and see images with sharp clarity.

It comes with a DVD burner to burn all your DVDs. The video card offer is good enough to handle the new Vista features. The 80GB SATA HDD (up gradable to 250GB SATA) offers plenty of space and the speed of the SATA is extremely fast. The 14.1 inch A840 has WXGA display. It also incorporates HD widescreen LCD with anti-glare coating and offers reliability with mobile business computing. Each system is engineered with reliable, industry standard components and goes through hours of rigorous testing to ensure it’s worthy to be called a Dell An exterior coating helps protect the system from scratches during normal use and a sealed keyboard helps guard against dust and spills. And the Dell experience goes beyond the purchase of your laptop—the Vostro A840 comes with excellent services designed for your growing business, including over-the-phone technical and diagnostic support, and a standard limited hardware warranty covering equipment repair or replacement, plus all parts and labor for 1 year.

Technical Features of Dell Vostro A840

Operating Systems

1. Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
2. Ubuntu Linux 8.04

Processor Type

1. Intel CoreTM2 Duo Processor T5670
2. Intel Celeron Dual-Core T1400
3. Intel Celeron 560

Memory

1. Dual-Channel DDR2 Memory 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB
2. Two memory slots offering up to 4GB3
3. Memory Bandwidth: 667 MHz
4. 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive: 80GB, 120GB

Connectivity Options

1. 802.11b/g Wifi standard
2. Integrated 10/100 RJ 45 Ethernet network interface
3. 56K v92 Internal Data/Fax Modem
4. Optional Bluetooth Module (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Expansion Slots

1. 3-in-1 media memory card reader SD/SDIO/MMC
2. Security cable slot
3. AC adapter connector



Pros

1. Ready for business with features optimized for everyday office computing
2. Keeps you connected and in sync for on-the-go collaboration
3. Compact, light weight 14.1” design travels easily
4. Worry-free services and support for your business

Cons

1. Shows bugs at times
2. Icons on the laptop get reset automatically

Conclusion:

The Vostro A840 laptop is an affordable, mobile solution that empowers you with the technology necessary to meet the needs of everyday business computing - no matter where you are. Discover the advantages of the Vostro A840 laptop.

Price: Approx. $500

Dell Vostro A840 Ratings:

Value for money


Our rating

The Dell Vostro 1520 is a budget notebook aimed at businesses. The Vostro 1520 is slightly thinner and lighter than its previous version Vostro 1510. It also comes with a better processor and graphic options.

System Specifications of Review laptop
The Vostro 1520 is available in a wide variety of configurations. The laptop under review had the following components.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5870 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Graphics: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
HDD: 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Memory: 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, 2 DIMM
Display: 15.4 inch WXGA Anti-Glare LED Display
Weight: 5.42lbs
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic

Build Quality, Keyboard and Touchpad
Build quality is excellent. Vostro 1520 has an extremely rigid case that shows no flex at all. The keyboard is also very sturdy. The full sized keyboard is good for a budget business notebook. The touch sensitive buttons for media control are very responsive. The touchpad is slightly smaller but it works well.

Ports and Slots
Port selection is OK. There are 4 USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, Modem, 8-in-1 card reader, 54mm ExpressCard slot, FireWire. Web camera and Fingerprint reader are optional. The options that could have been included are HDMI, DVI and S-Video.

Performance and Internal Components
As we said earlier Vostro is available in a variety of configurations. If your demands are modest you can opt for the basic configuration with Core 2 Duo processor. You can get up to 320 GB of HDD. If speed of the system is your concern, you may want to buy the 128GB SSD at an additional cost of $400. Alternatively you can opt for a $50 upgrade to a 7200 rpm to give performance a quick boost. You can play most games on Vostro 1520 but not certainly those high-end graphic games. If you aren’t particular about gaming or graphics performance, you can opt for the cheaper Intel Integrated graphics option.

Battery Life
The standard 6-cell battery will give up to 5 hours of up time. If you need more battery life, you can opt for the extended 9-cell battery which should give up to 8 hours of battery life.

Audio
Speaker quality is good for a business notebook. Volume levels are good and with touch sensitive volume controls, you can easily turn the volume up or down.

Conclusion
There is nothing fancy about Vostro 1520. It is a business class notebook that would meet almost all of your needs. It is neither too big nor too small; neither too powerful nor too week; neither too cheap nor too expensive. Vostro is a good choice for the budget-minded consumer. It is sturdy and should last you four or five years.

Pros:
Sturdy; good build quality
Good keyboard

Cons:
Tends to heat up