My colleague is all smiles today because he has just got his new Dell laptop! It’s a brand new Dell Vostro 1400 which to me it looks professionally designed for business people on the move. Although the look is not as appealing as the more chic Dell Inspiron line of laptops which allow you to choose from 6 vibrant colors, but given the sturdy build, and attractive price, models such as the one that my colleague bought might appeal to general consumers too.

The laptop came nicely packed in a brown Dell box delivered by Sky Net. Somehow Dell didn’t bundle the delivery into this package. It costed RM2599 without delivery, but how on earth are you going to get your ass up to Penang (or another place? Please enlighten me) to collect it yourself? So, he added in delivery for an extra RM116. The total should still be much cheaper than a similar spec HP or Toshiba model, not to mention Sony, right?

I was more excited than him. I helped him unpack the laptop. Took it out of the protective plastic cover and placed it on his table. The looks exceeded my expectations. It looks really nice. Suddenly he had this idea to place it side by side with his old Dell Inspiron. Old and new side by side. Old go new come! Clearly, the new Dell Vostro is smaller and more compact in dimension. And of course more elegant and sexy!

Below is a quick overview of the specs this baby offers:

• Core 2 Duo T5470 (1.6Ghz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• 14.1″ Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife
• 1GB DDR2 667Mhz
• 128MB Nvidia Geforce 8400GS
• 80GB 5400RPM SATA
• Genuine Windows Vista Business 32 bit (with AERO experience)
• Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
• 8x CD/DVD Burner w/ double layer DVD+ write capability
• Integrated High Definition Audtio
• Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
• 85 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
• Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
• 1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service

Everything laptop felt solid and sturdy. You can see a great improvement in build quality as compared to the old Inspiron. There is little to no keyboard flex. The TrueLife screen is excellent on the eyes, which I believe will make a really good DVD movie viewing experience. The screen and hinges feel very sturdy too. Unlike previous Inspiron laptops, the Vostro 1400 has no latch, which provides easy opening and closing even with one hand.

Note: The TrueLife screen is crystal clear, but sometimes it’s too reflective until you can use it as a mirror replacement.

Oh yes, my colleague is really a good sweet talker. He has once again proved this as he managed to sweet talk the Dell sales girl to throw in a really nice back pack for free! Haha… yes, you can talk with them to get freebies. So, next time if you are ordering a Dell notebook, remember to call up. It’s worth it!

I am all love for the notebook, except one minor shortcoming. The notebook’s lid easily smudges and shows your fingerprints.