Features and design
The design of the Dell Inspiron One 19 seems to be caught between being minimalist and trying to be fancy. The top half of the computer comes in a simple fingerprint-seeking piano black, devoid of any lights or buttons; while the bottom panel is made of transparent, smoked plastic with an artistic pattern scrawled on it that looks like scribble.
There is, for no reason we can divine, a postbox-style slot behind this panel, allowing the user to potentially peer through to see the surface of their desk. We say potentially, as unless you're in perfect alignment with the monitor and the angle of the screen is tilted just right, you may not even realise there is a hole. The entire bottom panel from most angles simply looks plain black. The smoked plastic is removable, making us think at some point Dell intended to perhaps customise this, but there are no options available on its site.
Don't be fooled by the images above — given the lack of aesthetics, the whole unit feels tacky and a little on the cheap end.
The screen can be tilted by adjusting the computer stand on the back, though doing so feels like you are going to snap the whole stand off. Unfortunately, the unit cannot be elevated without attaching it to a VESA mount, which is sold separately. We would've liked to have seen a stand similar to the Dell Studio all-in-ones or the iMacs, as the 18.5-inch monitor is a little annoying as it is so low.
On the other hand, setting up the Inspiron One was a simple process of plugging in the power, keyboard and mouse. Turning on the PC involved a bit of mystery as it was whisper quiet and had no LEDs on the front to indicate it was working, which is a minor annoyance. The power button is located on the right panel along with three USB ports, a single FireWire port and an eight-in-one memory card reader for convenient access. On the rear of the unit are an additional three USB ports, gigabit Ethernet jack, a parallel port, a serial port, as well as keyboard and mouse PS/2 ports, which might be nice for those still using older peripherals — but the Inspiron One comes with a USB keyboard and mouse.
In a nice change from the usual, the monitor has a matte finish, sporting a resolution of 1366x768. The brightness can be adjusted via buttons on the side of the screen, though there is little variation between the maximum and minimum settings — fine for basic computing, but not much more. Similarly, it comes with two in-built speakers, but they shouldn't be used for anything more than simple sounds.
The internals of our review build featured an Intel Pentium E5300, which packs less punch than a Core 2 series processor despite being dual-core. It also consisted of 2GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive and an Intel X4500 graphics chip, all of which reflect the budget nature of this computer. It comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and runs it well enough, but Dell also offers the option to upgrade the CPU for AU$200 to an Intel Core 2 E7500 and increase the RAM to 4GB for those who want a little more grunt out of their machines.
Performance
The Dell Inspiron One 19 isn't a powerhouse by any means, scoring 798 points in 3DMark06, so anything more graphically intense than Windows' Aero interface may see it struggle. It also scored 4668 points in PCMark05, so it can run most office applications and can handle image and video editing to an extent.
Despite its low performing hardware, you have to remember that the Inspiron One is a fully functional computer (including monitor, keyboard and mouse) and works right out of the box for a neat AU$999. Which would be great, if Dell's own Vostro 320 didn't offer better value — it has a higher power processor, more RAM, higher resolution screen and Windows 7 Professional, all for the same price. Although the 320 is more austere in its looks, we think most will sacrifice the pointless little window at the bottom for a bit more grunt.
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