Dell Inspiron 1000

Design of Dell Inspiron 1000

The Inspiron 1000 has a symmetrical, angular case design, constructed of an understated matte-black plastic. This laptop measures 1.6 inches thick, 13 inches wide, and 10.5 inches deep and weighs a bearable 6.4 pounds--about average for a mainstream laptop. With its AC adapter, the Inspiron 1000's weight jumps to 7.2 pounds. We recommend shelling out $89 for an additional lithium-ion battery; it'll add another pound to the system's travel weight, but the battery that came with the Inspiron 1000 conked out after just 2 hours, 22 minutes in CNET Labs' tests.

The Inspiron 1000's sturdy lid has a single ribbed, sliding latch that unlocks easily. Its 15-inch screen has a native resolution of 1,024x768, which makes text big and easy to read but limits screen real estate; we wish Dell provided an option for a screen with more pixels, as found on other laptops with 15-inch screens such as the IBM ThinkPad R51 or the Acer TravelMate 8000. The Inspiron 1000's display has a range of battery-saving, progressively dimmer modes; otherwise, the panel looks quite rich, with saturated colors and good contrast. The keyboard feels springy and doesn't sag or clatter, although the Control, Function, Windows, and Alt keys in the bottom row are rather small. Two adequately sized square buttons beneath the Inspiron 1000's square touch pad round out the all-black decor.