Dell Inspiron 1525 Review

The Dell Inspiron 1525 falls in the category of a little expensive budget notebooks offering good range of features and performance. It aims to handle everyday computing tasks with ease and looks good while doing them. It is an updated version of Inspiron 1520 which was a fatter and weightier brother of 1525. You can already see the 1525 making way into many homes and here is something that we experienced after using the device. Read on to find our opinion.

Design

People thought that the days were gone when the Dell laptops used to be bulky and unattractive, after the introduction of their slim and light XPS M1330 and XPS M1530. But with the introduction of Inspiron 1520 they were again criticized for its bulkiness. The Inspiron 1525 is 25% smaller and 30% slimmer and half a pound lighter than the previous but still it cannot be placed in the category of thin and light notebooks.
However, the design and build does not seem to be made of cheap materials and feels solid like other Dell laptops. There are also eight color options available and there are four new patterns on them.

Processor, RAM and HDD

The standard system comes with a Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 clocking at 2.0 GHz with 2 MB L2 cache and 800 MHz FSB. It also has a good 2GB DDR2 RAM with 667 MHz speed. The system performed very well with this configuration but the entry level options are very much slow and unfit to yield good performance. The 160 GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD also delivers far better speed than the 5400 rpm drives.

Graphics

There is no dedicated graphics option for Inspiron 1525. As Dell is trying to push this model to the budget buyers who look are looking for a mainstream laptop with sound performance but not cutting edge 3D graphics like the gamers. However, Dell could have thrown an option for at least an entry level graphics with 128 MB memory rather than the dedicated Intel GMA X3100 graphics. Consumers like more option after all. The dedicated graphics performs satisfactory results for general movie watching experience but do not expect it to run high def 3D games.

Display

There are three options of screen for Inspiron 1525. One is matte finish 15.4 inch Widescreen with XGA resolution (1280 X 800), a 15.4 inch Widescreen of same resolution but with TrueLife glossy finish and another with some extra resolution of WXGA (1440 X 900). The language translated to our verse is the standard resolution 1280 X 800 is simply low for a 15.4 inch size and it is only normal to get a 1440 X 900 in a 15.4 inch screen. However, the horizontal and vertical viewing angles were good and colors began distorting only at extreme angles.

Keyboard and TouchPad

The keyboard is firm and comfortable with good key travel and cushion similar to the 1520. The touchpad is also good and responsive. The buttons felt good with a decent click sound. We love the dedicated scrolling areas which are very useful scrolling through large webpages. There are also some touch sensitive media buttons with blue LED backlights. They stay lit only for a fraction of second after being pressed, so they’ll not distract you all the time.

Ports

The port selection is satisfying for a notebook of this size. On the front panel there is space for two headphone out, a microphone in and a memory card reader. On the left side there is a Kensington lock slot, the DC power jack, two USB Ports, Ethernet, modem, HDMI out and a FireWire Port. On the right side there is Express Card slot, WiFi, Optical Drive, S-Video out and two more USB Ports. Do you miss anything? Well we didn’t miss anything. In fact the addition of four USB Ports and also to have a space for HDMI Ports, two headphone jack and an Express Card slot is really impressive.

Audio

Don’t expect a built-in subwoofer for a budget notebook like this. The sound quality was reasonably good with minimal distortion at maximum volume. But to listen to great music you must have a good pair of headphones to use with it.

WiFi

The system is equipped with a 802.11n WiFi network card which manages to deliver a good throughput of 19 MBps from a 15 feet distance but from a greater distance the WiFi connection feels inconsistent.

Battery

The standard system comes with a 6 cell 56 WHr battery which provides excellent battery life. On normal condition expect it to run for 4 hours and on high workload it should run at least 3 hours as we tested it. There is also an option for a 9 cell 85 WHr battery which should run it for at least six hours in normal power saver mode. But the nine cell battery sticks out from its back which looks awkward. We should advice you to get the six cell batteries which seemed enough to run a movie without the cords plugged in it.

Pros

• Strong performance
• Good assortment of multimedia connections
• Thinner and lighter than the Inspiron 1520
• Long battery life

Cons

• Poor wireless performance
• Mediocre graphics engine
• Limited display options

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the Dell Inspiron 1525 is a wonderfully balanced system which offers something for everyone - except gamers. Its sleek design, strong dual core performance, long battery life and top-notch multimedia components makes it a good choice if you are looking for performance within your budget.