Dell hasn’t always been known for its focus on style, but with the advent of the gorgeous Adamo, it had a laptop for the kind of people who’d buy a MacBook Air or a Sony VAIO Z Series. It didn’t quite pull it off, but the design soon evolved into the sleek Latitude 13 and now this: the Vostro V130.
It’s flat, gently curved at the sides, and measures just 20.5mm thick (including feet) – and that’s the same from front to back, since there’s no incline or variation at all. The lid opens on a hinge set an inch or so from the rear edge, giving it a neat, angular look when sat on a desk. And best of all, it weighs just 1.66kg. That isn’t quite as light as the 1.33kg of the 13in MacBook Air, but it isn’t far off, and shows just how honed Dell’s design has become.
There are no ports or sockets around the sides, bar a single memory card slot for SD, MMC and Memory Stick formats – and that comes with a plastic stopper to keep the silver lines clean. Instead, on the flat rear edge you’ll find D-SUB and HDMI outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB ports and a USB/eSATA combo port. It’s a slim selection that may require a USB port replicator.
The keyboard exhibits no such compromise. The keys are large with no shrunken tiddlers, and there’s space for the page navigation keys down the right-hand side. Key travel is shallow – not surprising given the tight squeeze of the base – but it’s comfortable enough to type on, and the multitouch touchpad and buttons are responsive. There’s no ThinkPad-style trackpoint, or security extras such as fingerprint readers and TPM chips, however.
The 13.3in screen has the usual 1,366 x 768 resolution, and its white-LED backlight is even and keeps things nice and bright. Thankfully it isn’t glossy, so although the colours aren’t as vibrant as on the Sony VAIO Z Series, you won’t have to worry about reflections from the office lights. The lid feels strong, as does the base, and the hinge has enough stiffness to stay put when you’re moving it about.
Warranty | |
---|---|
Warranty | 1yr on-site next business day |
Physical specifications | |
Dimensions | 329 x 230 x 20.5mm (WDH) |
Weight | 1.660kg |
Travelling weight | 2.0kg |
Processor and memory | |
Processor | Intel Core i5-470UM |
Motherboard chipset | Intel HM57 |
RAM capacity | 4.00GB |
Memory type | DDR3 |
SODIMM sockets free | 0 |
SODIMM sockets total | 1 |
Screen and video | |
Screen size | 13.3in |
Resolution screen horizontal | 1,366 |
Resolution screen vertical | 768 |
Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
Graphics chipset | Intel HD Graphics |
VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
HDMI outputs | 1 |
S-Video outputs | 0 |
DVI-I outputs | 0 |
DVI-D outputs | 0 |
DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
Drives | |
Capacity | 500GB |
Hard disk usable capacity | 451GB |
Spindle speed | 5,400RPM |
Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
Hard disk | Western Digital Scorpio Black |
Optical disc technology | N/A |
Optical drive | N/A |
Replacement battery price inc VAT | £0 |
Networking | |
Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
802.11b support | yes |
802.11g support | yes |
802.11 draft-n support | yes |
Integrated 3G adapter | yes |
Bluetooth support | yes |
Other Features | |
Wireless hardware on/off switch | no |
Wireless key-combination switch | yes |
Modem | no |
ExpressCard34 slots | 0 |
ExpressCard54 slots | 0 |
PC Card slots | 0 |
USB ports (downstream) | 3 |
FireWire ports | 0 |
eSATA ports | 1 |
PS/2 mouse port | no |
9-pin serial ports | 0 |
Parallel ports | 0 |
3.5mm audio jacks | 2 |
SD card reader | yes |
Memory Stick reader | yes |
MMC (multimedia card) reader | yes |
Pointing device type | Multitouch touchpad |
Integrated microphone? | yes |
Integrated webcam? | yes |
Camera megapixel rating | 2.0mp |
TPM | no |
Fingerprint reader | no |
Smartcard reader | no |
Battery and performance tests | |
Battery life, light use | 3hr 55min |
Battery life, heavy use | 1hr 15min |
Overall application benchmark score | 1.06 |
Office application benchmark score | 0.93 |
2D graphics application benchmark score | 1.16 |
Encoding application benchmark score | 1.01 |
Multitasking application benchmark score | 1.15 |
3D performance (crysis) low settings | 11fps |
3D performance setting | Low |
Operating system and software | |
Operating system | Windows 7 Professional 64-bit |
OS family | Windows 7 |
Software supplied | Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security (15mths) |
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.