Dell Inspiron

The Dell Inspiron business laptop is just about as entry-level as you can get. With less-than-stellar standard features and plenty of room for upgrades, this device can be as powerful or as lowbrow as you want. Its memory and storage options are slightly above average in the base model, but a few weak features and lacking connectivity options keep it from being a top-ranked option for a business laptop.

This device is 1 inch thick and features a 15.6-inch display. The 1366 x 768 default resolution is not upgradeable. The Dell Inspiron features a 1 megapixel HD webcam with Waves MaxxAudio integrated stereo speakers, which give it a slight edge over the competition in sound and video capabilities. Another advantage to the Inspiron is its weight, coming in at less than 5 pounds for the standard model. Adding a battery pack can increase this weight and may be necessary, as the standard battery will only last five to six hours on a full charge.

Powering this business laptop is an Intel i3-3227U processor with speeds of up to 1.9GHz. This performance is especially weak compared to other business laptops, but thankfully, you can choose to outfit this device with up to an i7-3517U CPU that is capable of speeds up to 3.0GHz. However, you cannot upgrade the built-in Intel HD Graphics chip on this device.

The Dell Inspiron enjoys a slight edge over the competition with its storage and memory options. This business laptop offers 6GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive storage space, which can be upgraded to 1TB. Sadly, 6GB is the maximum amount of RAM available on this device. While 6GB should be enough for most users, an extra 2GB could make the difference when performing multiple high-demand functions on your device, such as rendering video or making in-depth presentations.

For those presentations, you'll likely need to be prepared with a good selection of connectivity options on your device. Unfortunately, the Dell Inspiron offers few means by which to connect to other devices. While it does have an HDMI port, it lacks Bluetooth capabilities and does not have a VGA connection. On the bright side, we were impressed by the four USB 3.0 ports on this machine, and the SD card reader is a useful inclusion. The lack of a DVD writeable optical drive was disappointing, as well as the absence of a Blu-ray option.

The Dell Inspiron has enough to get the job done, but it does nothing beyond the call of duty. While the available RAM and USB connectivity impressed us, this business laptop falls short in several key areas. Having the option alone to upgrade these devices is critical, and Dell falls short in providing these choices with the Inspiron.

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