Inspiron 1525, Notebook for Grandparents. Thoughts?

"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
m...

snip


That's great information on the 1525. I appreciate it.

A 4-cell battery? Good grief.

Between that and the graphics, clearly a budget/price point machine.

RnR said something like:
On Sun, 6 Apr 2008 21:26:33 -0700, "Me" wrote:

I don't like the true-life screens. They are reflective, and the
whole time people use a computer, they look at the screen. And don't
get the higher resolution screen. That makes text even smaller.


When I first got one, I wanted to send it back but after you get use
to it (for me about 1 day) and use it for viewing photos, that's where
you really appreciate the screen. If you don't use it for much
photos (magazines, etc...) then I guess you may not appreciate it.

Does vista still suffer from the classic hard-to-read dialogs (etc.) that
plagued xp and earlier?

I specifically bought my inspiron 6000 with only 1280x800 to get around that
UberSuperDuperXGA (or whatever it was called) res.

On Apr 7, 6:51 am, "Christopher Muto" wrote:
the inspiron 1525 is only offered with x3100 integrated video. it is a
thin, relatively light (about a half pound ligher than the inspiron 1525 or
vostros 1500), and economical machine. an entry level machine. the top
processor offerings have only 667mhz fsb. there are no displays with
resolution higher than 1280x800 (xga). it is only sold with vista. not a
bad machine, but not a great performer. but if cheap *and* thin is the
goal, or you just happen to need a pink laptop, it delivers. one thing to
really not like about it is that it is offered witha 4, 6, or 9 cell
battery. most other machines come with only a choice of 6 or 9 cell. i
think these 4 cell battery are designed to allow for atractive pricing of
the system but will ultimately leave the buyer disapointed and paying more
to replace it in short order. and i wonder how much the 4 cell batter
contributes to its relatively low weight stated in the specs (is the spec
weight based on the 4 cell battery?), and how disapointitng its performance
will be in the real world. on the basic $499 machine with celleron
processor, they want $79 more to jump from the 4 cell to the 6 cell
battery... the $599 system includes the 6 cell, a faster processor, and a
larger hard drive. which do you think is a better value?
inspiron 1525, 5.9lbs, 14.05" w, 1.00" h, 10.08" d (0.9" to 1.47" h per
owners manual)
inspiron 1520, 6.4lbs, 14.12" w, 1.47" h, 10.59" d (6.6lbs per the owner's
maual)
vostros 1500, 6.33lbs, 14.12" w, 1.65"h, 10.59" d (6.61lbs per the owner's
manual)

"S.Lewis" wrote in message

.. .



"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
om...
i remind you that this machine is heavier than the inspiron 1525 you
starting this thread, but for the same money this vostros 1500
configuration is a much more powerful machine that in my opinion translate
into a longer life cycle.

snip

I've not yet seen an Inspiron 1525 with a dedicated display adapter -
integrated video only.

Am I wrong here?

Stew

This has been a great thread and I've always wanted to see, in person,
a Vostro. I wanted to check out the finish, the construction, and how
the 9-cell battery sticks out. Do you know if there's anyway to do
that, other than ordering one for a look-see?

I've seen the Inspiron laptops at BBuy, and didn't care for the finish
at all.

the only reason they are asking for a tax id is if you are stating that you
are a non profit and want tax exemption status or if you are trying to buy
with a purchase order instead of credit card.

"Rider" wrote in message
...
Chris,
thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. There is a section
where they ask for a tax number, how do you get around that?

I don't know why they make this so hard to get a Vostro, there should be
something where you just pay the tax. But, I did see something in there
asking for a tax number.

thanks


Christopher Muto wrote:
operating system, drivers, and related software purchased are included
with the system (all systems sold today as far as i know). shipping is
clearly displayed once your in the shopping cart view and have entered
your city/state/zip. click on 'shipping and handling's found below the
sub-total in the shopping cart view and either sign in to your dell
account or enter your city/state/zip). there are different shipping
methods available, but regular ground shipping is $19.99 followed by a
shipping and handling discount of $19.99. when you order online you will
receive an email that acknowledges your order followed by another email
that accepts your order once your form of payment has been approved. you
can then track the order online, and you can continue to view all of your
orders in your account for years to come. call if it makes you feel
better, but i suspect you will pay more and get less and it will take
more of your time.

"Rider" wrote in message
...
Chris,
How do you order online the backup drivers and operating system CD's, I
didn't see anything for that? And, I looked and didn't see free shipping
either, I thought that was offered too.
It seems to me that ordering this online is more scary than on the
phone????
thanks



Christopher Muto wrote:
a. i recommend that you order on line. whenever you call in the sales
people seem to try to sell you things you don't want, will argue that
the deal is for online only, and then will capitulate and give it to
you, but will likely screw up some part of the order and you will be
worse off for the wear. the only thing i might order on the phone is a
server because there are some options not available on line.
b. anyone can order from dell small business. you can just echo your
name in the business name box if it is demanded of you. i find it
interesting that people always seem to worry about this. everyone,
every company had to start somewhere. heck, michael dell started dell
from his college dorm room and so his first parts order were for a
'business' and he probably didn't even know it at the time.
c. anyone can order them.

"Rider" wrote in message
...
I guess I should have asked...
a. if this has to be ordered online or can it be phoned in?
b. I've also heard you have to have a business to get this,
c. or can anyone get a Vostro?
thanks

Christopher Muto wrote:
brand new, and being in the vostros line they have a 30 day total
satisfaction (return) policy unlike other dells that only have 21
day. but i have had to remind dell about their own policy about
vostros machines when speaking with customer support.

"Rider" wrote in message
...
Chris,
Are these recondition units?
thanks

Christopher Muto wrote:
i would recommend spending the $50 more and upgrade the processor
from the t2370 (1.73mhz/533mhz/1mb) to the t5550(1.83mhz/667/2mb)
processor. but having said that, i am not a big fan of the inspiron
1525. it is thinner/ligher than the inspiron 1520, but not as well
built, and i dislike the two tone look of both models (one color on
the outside, silver on the inside). for the best bang for the buck
check out the vostros 1500 with your choice of operating system (xp
or vista)... starting at $599
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...qdwkbf&s= bsd
base configuration has xp home but for $29 more you can have vista
home premium if you must, $0 more for glossy true life screen, 2gb,
dvdrw, $0 more for 128mb nvidia gforce 8400m gs, 250gb, $30 for
integrated webcam if you want. this machine is definately hevier
than the 1525, but the processor is better in the vostros
configuration and the video card takes the whole machine to a
different level.


"Thomas G. Marshall"
. com wrote in
message news:CU7Kj.1896$bQ1.1828@trndny09...
The Blurb:

Powerful Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core T2370 Processor
2GB memory* and an enormous 250GB* hard drive
Plays and creates CDs and DVDs


*Basically $649 after $270 off*

Any notions as to how well vista will manage on this guy, and if
casual grandparent-level usage will work well with it?

Thanks!

"Boris" wrote in message
...
On Apr 7, 6:51 am, "Christopher Muto" wrote:
the inspiron 1525 is only offered with x3100 integrated video. it is a
thin, relatively light (about a half pound ligher than the inspiron 1525
or
vostros 1500), and economical machine. an entry level machine. the top
processor offerings have only 667mhz fsb. there are no displays with
resolution higher than 1280x800 (xga). it is only sold with vista. not a
bad machine, but not a great performer. but if cheap *and* thin is the
goal, or you just happen to need a pink laptop, it delivers. one thing to
really not like about it is that it is offered witha 4, 6, or 9 cell
battery. most other machines come with only a choice of 6 or 9 cell. i
think these 4 cell battery are designed to allow for atractive pricing of
the system but will ultimately leave the buyer disapointed and paying
more
to replace it in short order. and i wonder how much the 4 cell batter
contributes to its relatively low weight stated in the specs (is the spec
weight based on the 4 cell battery?), and how disapointitng its
performance
will be in the real world. on the basic $499 machine with celleron
processor, they want $79 more to jump from the 4 cell to the 6 cell
battery... the $599 system includes the 6 cell, a faster processor, and a
larger hard drive. which do you think is a better value?
inspiron 1525, 5.9lbs, 14.05" w, 1.00" h, 10.08" d (0.9" to 1.47" h per
owners manual)
inspiron 1520, 6.4lbs, 14.12" w, 1.47" h, 10.59" d (6.6lbs per the
owner's
maual)
vostros 1500, 6.33lbs, 14.12" w, 1.65"h, 10.59" d (6.61lbs per the
owner's
manual)

"S.Lewis" wrote in message

.. .



"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
om...
i remind you that this machine is heavier than the inspiron 1525 you
starting this thread, but for the same money this vostros 1500
configuration is a much more powerful machine that in my opinion
translate
into a longer life cycle.

snip

I've not yet seen an Inspiron 1525 with a dedicated display adapter -
integrated video only.

Am I wrong here?

Stew

This has been a great thread and I've always wanted to see, in person,
a Vostro. I wanted to check out the finish, the construction, and how
the 9-cell battery sticks out. Do you know if there's anyway to do
that, other than ordering one for a look-see?

I've seen the Inspiron laptops at BBuy, and didn't care for the finish
at all.


If you've seen the Inspiron(s), then you're essentially looking at a Vostro.
Other than the Inspiron color on back/silver on front & keyboard, the
Vostros are almost identical except fully black front/back.

Very nice notebooks imo. I've placed both the 1400 and 1500 models and I
actually have a 1400 here right now (sealed in the box).


Stew

On Sun, 6 Apr 2008 21:26:33 -0700, "Me" wrote:

I don't like the true-life screens. They are reflective, and the whole time
people use a computer, they look at the screen. And don't get the higher
resolution screen. That makes text even smaller.

How a person uses the laptop impacts whether they will experience the
reflective naturs of True Life screens.

One of my computers has a True Life screen. It is so brite that I
sometimes turn it down a few knotches. Whether that helps with
battery life, I don't know. It's great for everything -- text,
pictures, movies, etc. As someone else noted, if one takes it
outdoors or is in a highly reflective environment then it can be a
drag. But even then, most of the time, the angle can be adjusted to
reduce the glare.

I have stated before that I like the non-glossy (are they called
matte?) screens more. I won't list all my laptops like I've done in
the past but I'll use the Latitude D520 as an example. I use it as a
business laptop to take notes in meetings. In meeting rooms there are
times when a window to the outside is there which produces glare, so
the matte screen helps me focus on the meeting not on repositioning my
laptop.

Also, some of the standard-aspect displays only come in matte. Again,
I'll use the D520 as an example, although I haven't checked the D530.
The standard resolution gives more verticle space which is better for
web pages and word processing, but not as well as movies.

For grandparents, I would think that True Life would be better because
it gives a brighter, higher contrast, screen. I am 45 and I am
already appreciating how sight changes as one gets older. I do agree
that larger text size is helpful.

It sounds like the Vostro discussed in other posts is the way to go.

On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:15:09 GMT, "Thomas G. Marshall"
. com wrote:

RnR said something like:
On Sun, 6 Apr 2008 21:26:33 -0700, "Me" wrote:

I don't like the true-life screens. They are reflective, and the
whole time people use a computer, they look at the screen. And don't
get the higher resolution screen. That makes text even smaller.


When I first got one, I wanted to send it back but after you get use
to it (for me about 1 day) and use it for viewing photos, that's where
you really appreciate the screen. If you don't use it for much
photos (magazines, etc...) then I guess you may not appreciate it.

Does vista still suffer from the classic hard-to-read dialogs (etc.) that
plagued xp and earlier?

I specifically bought my inspiron 6000 with only 1280x800 to get around that
UberSuperDuperXGA (or whatever it was called) res.

I just brought up some dialog boxes and the text is fairly small on
the ones I brought up. I think the setting in display properties to
show a larger dpi might help with dialogs.

If the user has any difficulty seeing small type then I'd err on the
safe side and get the resolution that shows the text the largest when
ordering.

I do like the 1525, very stylish look - like a Vaio - but the speakers
are terrible, really really bad - tiny, no bass, no volume. I can't
understand why Dell would put such poor quality in, my 7 year old
laptop has a better sound than this..#

"t8769" wrote in message
...
I do like the 1525, very stylish look - like a Vaio - but the speakers
are terrible, really really bad - tiny, no bass, no volume. I can't
understand why Dell would put such poor quality in, my 7 year old
laptop has a better sound than this..#



My 7 year-old laptop cost $3500.00. What'd the 1525 run you?

Christopher Muto said something like:

....[snip]...

[...] the
true life screen has very deep blacks and very rich color saturation.
pictures (photos) and movies look amazing on it. there is no
comparison of the image to that of regular lcds. yes, it is highly
reflective, but that is really only a problem when outdoors where you
can not control the lighting. i had disliked them for a long time
but ended up getting one because it was the only thing offered in an
amazing special configuration offered on the 1500 some time ago. i
have surprisingly grown to really like it.

Ok, the display specifications on the dell website irritate me a little.
The specifications for the vostro displays does not show the brightness and
contrast rations between the WXGA and the WXGA w/ true life.

The WXGA (no true life) is an anti-glare screen with the same viewing
angles. So all that remains is the brightness, which would trump
reflectivity issues if they are substantially higher with the true life.

Where do I find the brightness/contrast ratio specs?




....[snip]...