Product Review: Dell Inspiron 1501 Notebook

I purchased my Dell Inspiron 1501 Notebook around Mother's Day of 2007. We ordered it through the Air Force BX online website. Dell graciously offers a discount to military and those using a Star Card. We paid only about $500 for it. We have had this laptop for about four months now. It has its strong points and drawbacks, and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. While I would prefer a better model, I'm satisfied with this computer given what we paid for it. I am especially impressed with its durability.

It Comes With:

Windows Vista

512 MB Ram

Sempron or Turion Processor

14.1" or 15.4" Monitor

60 GB Hard drive

24x CD/DVD Burner/Reader Drive

Wireless Card

Design & Durability

I find this laptop to be attractive, but I am not picky. It is silver with a white outline. I don't mind the silver, but the white outline is kind of odd. It doesn't have any of the convenient function keys that my Gateway notebook offered, but those aren't necessary. It has lights to tell you when it is on, when it is running off of the battery or power adaptor, when the battery is charging, when caps lock is on--the usual. It is easy to open the computer, and the keypad is a breeze when typing. Removing the battery is quick and easy.

As for durability, I find this model to be more than satisfactory. I have a two year-old, so this laptop has been dropped and banged on quite a bit. It has no visible scratches anywhere. I had concerns about the hinges where the screen connects to the computer base, but they have held strong. Of course, like with most laptops, the keys snap off easily. They also snap back on easily, with the exception of that pesky space bar. I lost my space bar weeks ago and don't know how to repair it, but I am sure this could be easily fixed by someone more knowledgeable than me.

Speed & Performance

I have never been impressed with the speed and performance of this machine, unfortunately. It takes a long time to boot up, to open and close programs, to wake up from sleep mode, and to turn off the screensaver. As time has gone by, it has gone even slower, often hanging programs. Some attribute this to Windows Vista, and some claim it is because of the small amount of RAM provided.

There are times when, for no reason, the computer will lose functionality. For example, suddenly links that open in new windows will not work or will only work one at a time with me having to close one before I can open another. Sometimes, I lose the ability to right click. There are other processes that the computer will just stop doing, and it does freeze on occasion. It just runs weird and is tempermental. I have to reboot often. These issues may be caused by Windows Vista, not the notebook itself.

Monitor & Graphics

Well, the monitor is definitely big enough! It is also bright and brilliant. I see everything beautiful and clear on this screen. My husband has told me that onboard video cards typically aren't that great, but I think the graphics are fine with this one. Then again, I don't play World of Warcraft and haven't really challenged the video card much. I do imagine that some of the issues I mentioned with its performance could be related to the video card.

Sound Quality

I don't rock out to mp3s as much now as I did when I was 16, so perhaps I'm not the best person to review this feature. All I can say is that I don't have a problem with the sound quality. I think it is just fine. Although, I do have a problem with the volume bar sometimes remaining on my screen long after I have made the desired adjustments. That's annoying, but it's more to do with the OS than the sound card and speaker quality.

Problems We've Had

I hate to be a downer, but this really isn't the best laptop I've owned. It's more durable than my last, but it is really a pain. It gets hot very fast. I don't think the fan works very well. This has only started to happen in recent weeks. I have to turn the computer off for a while, because it sometimes gets so hot that it burns my leg if I've got it in my lap. Moreover, I've also had issues with the fan occasionally being quite loud, which is annoying. I haven't contacted Dell Customer Service about it just yet but probably will soon.

Also, my AC adaptor suddenly stopped working. I contacted Dell about it. That was an annoyance in and of itself. The woman wanted to troubleshoot with me, of course. She wanted me to remove the battery and try to run it off the AC adaptor without the battery. I explained to her that there was nothing wrong with the battery, as the computer was at that moment running off of the battery just fine. The power cord itself, despite being plugged into the wall, had no power; the light on the adaptor was not on. The computer did not detect the adaptor when it was plugged in. That made the problem quite obvious. She had to put me on hold several times but was very polite. After a few minutes she informed me that a new AC adaptor would be sent to me within 3-5 days free of charge. I purchased a temporary replacement for $125 from Best Buy.

Conclusion

The Dell Inspiron 1501 notebook is worth the low price, but if you can, spend a hundred extra for a nicer model. It meets my needs adequately, but its problems are a mild hinderance. I can surf the internet, e-mail, and write on this laptop just fine, but I don't think it could handle much more--like gaming. You may want to consider changing the OS to Windows XP or upgrading the RAM at the very least. I wouldn't recommend buying it if you will need to use it without the AC adaptor, as my battery tends to not hold a charge for very long. Overall, I give this computer three stars; it's decent, but it could be a lot better.