Mini-review of Dell D630: Solid Laptop for home and business use

One of the questions I frequently get is, “What laptop should I get for under $1,000?” Being a long time laptop user from Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, IBM, and Apple this new Dell D630 laptop is a solid performer. To give some context, my last few laptops were a Compaq NC laptop, then an IBM Thinkpad T42, and now a Dell D630. While I really liked the build and feel of the Thinkpad, this Dell 630 at 14.1 inches and only a few inches thick is much more nimble and long lasting. At 4 hours+ off the regular battery this has been the longest lasting laptop so far. The keyboard cannot compare to the Thinkpads but the hinges on this D630 are solid and the lids close and open without any problems.

There are some cute features that are obviously driven from Apple like the screen/keyboard ambient light detection. The feature just doesn’t have the wow factor like my Apple powerbook but I found it worth mentioning. There’s also a finger print reader that I don’t bother using at all.

The bottom line for this laptop:
Pros
- Long lasting battery life at 4hours+
- Very lightweight and good compact feel
- Fast 7200 RPM ata drive
- Expandable to 4GB of RAM
- Has plenty of USB 2.0 ports and sports a Firewire 800 port as well
- Bluetooth support (I’m not using it though)

Cons
- Default screen resolution may be too small for most at 1440×900 (I’m personally used to smaller fonts)
- “Eraser head joystick” not as smooth as IBM Thinkpad

So I’ve answered your question. Get this laptop, you won’t be disappointed.