Dell Inspiron 9100: a first look

Dell has added a new desktop-replacement notebook to its arsenal, the 4.1kg Inspiron 9100. The base model starts at £869 (ex. VAT), and you get a lot for your money: a 15.4in. WXGA (1,280 by 800) display, a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256MB of RAM, a CD burner, ATI's Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card with 64MB of memory and wireless networking in the shape of a TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g Mini-PCI card.

Dell Inspiron 9100: a heavy-duty 4.1kg desktop replacement notebook, from £899 (ex. VAT).

Upgrading to a higher-resolution 15.4in. WSXGA+ (1,680 by 1,050) screen, a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of RAM, a version of the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 card with 128MB of memory, a 60GB hard drive and a DVD burner will increase the price to £1,109 (ex. VAT).

Don't attempt to travel much with the Dell Inspiron 9100 and its shoulder-straining 4.1kg. And while the price of the base model is decent, if you're looking for a cheap notebook, the Dell Inspiron 1100 sells for even less – from £469 (ex. VAT).

Dell makes some of the best desktop replacement notebooks, but even with its price and features, the Dell Inspiron 9100 will face stiff competition from other notebook makers, including Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Toshiba and Sony. Check back soon for a full review of the Inspiron 9100.

Story URL: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/notebooks/0,1000000333,39147458,00.htm

Dell's latest desktop replacement notebook is a hefty 4.1kg system with an attractively priced base specification and plenty of options.