Dell Inspiron 11z Review

"Dell's Inspiron 11z is good value, but some poor design choices means it just misses out on an award."

"For: Great battery life; Decent amount of power; Very portable.
Against: Screen could be better."

Value for money: "average" (3 out of 6 stars)

"A poor touchpad and below-par build quality undermine a budget laptop with plenty of potential."

"There's much to like about the Dell Inspiron 11z. It's a capable ultra-low-voltage, ultra-portable laptop at a very low price. The only problem is that the multi-touch trackpad is deeply flawed, and having to carry a separate USB mouse almost defeats the object of buying such a lightweight laptop in the first place."

Value for money: 3.5 out of 5 stars

"For anyone looking for a compact laptop that’s a tad more capable than a netbook, the Dell Inspiron 11z might just fit the bill. Extra screen space and resolution, along with a larger keyboard, make daily use more comfortable, and the extended battery means useful unplugged runtime too. Just beware that the Celeron-powered version we tried can be frustratingly slow."

"... things are let down hugely by the inclusion of Windows Vista. ... The Dell Inspiron 11z is rescued somewhat by its 11–inch, 1368×768 screen, which can easily handle HD content. It'll even spit those tasty pictures out onto a HD display too thanks to the inclusion of an HDMI port. But the sticky trackpad, which we found nigh–on impossible to get along with, alongside that old–school OS, mean that if you're after a fast–powered machine with little looks, you're better off holding out until Windows 7 lands. ... A fine little laptop let down by Windows Vista and some poor build quality in places."