Sunday, September 18, 2011

Dell Vostro V131 13-inch Review

The Dell Vostro V131 is a 13-inch notebook that is affordable and offers an update to Dell's small-business laptop line. The V131 starts with a basic configuration that will be attractive for budget shoppers, but for a little extra money, you get good Dell Vostro V131 battery life, a Core i5 CPU and 4GB of RAM.

Dell Vostro V131 comes in different configurations, just like any other Dell machine. The particular one that I am talking about has a core i5 CPU in it, paired with 4GB of memory. If you aren’t doing anything heavy that requires a lot of memory, you can settle for 2GB version of the laptop, which significantly cuts the price. The laptop comes in different hard disk configurations too, if you want a lot of storage space and money is not an issue, head out for the 500GB version, otherwise you can stick to the version which ships with 300GB hard disk space.

Get the beauty, form and function to suit your discriminating taste. The stunningly crafted Vostro V131 has an anodized aluminum casing and comes in Aberdeen Silver, or opt for striking Lucerne Red. Choose the optional backlit keyboard and you’ll be ready to work in virtually any lighting condition. As thin as 16.05mm (0.63”) and weighing just 1.82kg (4.0 lbs), the ultra-portable and optional 128 GB SSD, the ultra-portable Vostro V131 travels well anywhere you do.

The feature of note is the option to support Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi), allowing users to project the Vostro V131’s display to a TV or projector wirelessly. The Dell Vostro V131 AC adapter full laptop computer, including media and applications, are captured and sent to the display in full HD (1080p) resolution using a dedicated Wi-Fi (802.11n) connection. This is great for watching movies or sharing documents or Web pages with lots of people without the need for cumbersome wires. The downside, of course, is that Wi-Fi isn’t as fast as a wired connection, so users will likely experience interruptions to their video streaming.

4-cell battery should also be offered for the Vostro, but for now, not in Europe. We could surf the Internet via WLAN for about 8 hours with 6 cell battery. It would be a multiplication of the results of the V130 battery 30Wh. Further tests will follow. Unlike V130, maintenance of cover that can be opened in a simple way to allow access to the RAM modules and hard drives.

The Dell Vostro V131 is designed primarily for business users, but its price and features are compelling enough that some casual users will want to check it out. Dell Vostro V131 reviews praise the laptop's tough magnesium case and full-size keyboard. Reviewers are especially impressed with the longer-than-average battery life.

As some of you might have noticed, there has been no mention of an optical drive. Well that’s because the Dell Vostro V131 doesn’t come with an internal one and in as much as they think it ain’t so necessary, I STILL DO think it is! I just don’t like external optical drives.

Two USB 3.0 ports are the big news in the connections category. However, as part of a growing trend, the V131 forgoes a microphone input in favor of utilizing the dual-array mics on both sides of the webcam. There is, of course, a headphone jack, plus VGA and HDMI output, a SC/MMC card slot, and a gigbit ethernet port. Also included is one of the least ostentatious fingerprint scanners you'll run across--it's barely noticeable just below the right side of the keyboard.

The standard one year warranty has business hour phone support and next day servicing, and can be upgraded up to three years. More expensive is the ProSupport warranty (also up to three years) has all year round phone support and more thorough remote support, which is useful for those that need their V131 operational all the time no matter what.

One thing to note here is that the Vostro v131 doesn’t have a true life (glossy) display like the regular consumer notebooks,instead it has a matte (anti glare) display which is great when used outside or inside a room with many lights as it doesn’t reflect the light back on to your eyes but it doesn’t have rich contrast and colors like that of a glossy display,also called as true life display.

The built in operating system is Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium. It is designed in such a way that it fulfills all the needs of a business. It is business solution. The weight of this notebook is 1.64kg which makes it easy to take with you wherever you go.

The Vostro V131’s configurability is its greatest asset: if you’re after a light, portable, low-cost laptop, a frugally equipped model would make a tempting option for small companies with tight IT budgets. However, a fully loaded Vostro with all the trimmings doesn’t make financial sense. For a higher-spec business portable, there’s no doubt the Sony VAIO S Series makes a better choice.

As the name suggests, the Vostro V131 is a refresh of the Dell Vostro V130, whereby the case has been slightly changed and the inside has been completely renewed. At first glance, the Dell Vostro V131 charger appears to look exactly like its predecessor. At a closer look, you'll find that the connectivity (new: USB 3.0) and the bottom side have been altered. The keyboard lights up in the dark. However, you have to order this option for an extra charge.

The biggest complaint about the Dell V130 was its small 30WH battery, which lasted a paltry 3 hours in our MobileMark 2007 battery test. Dell addressed this with a bigger 65Wh battery in the V131, and the payoff was huge. Its MobileMark score of 8:27 doubled that of the HP 5330M (3:49) and nearly tripled that of the V130 (3:02). Its impressive display was only bested by the Dell 3350's 80WH battery, which lasted 9:32.

A 4-cell battery is standard, but can be upgraded to a 6-cell Dell Vostro V131 battery pack if you want the longer runtime. Intel WiDi rounds out the main specs. The Celeron machine is $499 but expect to pay $100 more for a Core i3 chip or from $799 for a Core i5.

Specifications of Dell Vostro V131 :
  • Processor : Intel Core i5 2410M 2.3 GHz
  • Mainboard : Intel HM67
  • Memory : 4096 MB, DDR3 1333MHz, max 8GB
  • Graphics adapter : Intel HD Graphics 3000
  • Display : 13.3 inch , 1366x768 pixel, AUO312C, LED Backlit LCD, glossy: no
  • Harddisk : WD5000BPKT-75PK4T0, 500GB 7200rpm
  • Soundcard : HD Audio
  • Connections : 1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: Kopfhörer/Mikrofon Kombiport, Card Reader: 8in1 card reader (SD, SDXC, SDHC, MS, MS-Pro, MMC, MMC+, xD-Picture Card), 1 Fingerprint Reader,
  • Networking : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit), Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 (bgn), 3.0+HS Bluetooth, optional (Dell Wireless 5550 HSPA Mini Card)
  • Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 21 x 330 x 238
  • Weight : 1.85 kg Power Supply: 0.35 kg
  • Battery : 65 Wh Lithium-Ion
  • Price : 780 Euro
  • Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit

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