
Dell Inspiron 1420
Pros
- Media Direct, Price, 2 megapixel camera
Cons
- Windows Vista Basic (not Home Premium), Benchmark performance
Bottom Line
For its price there's little worth complaining about. The Dell Media Direct feature is handy and the 2 megapixel camera is a nice upgrade from the standard 1.3 megapixel option.
-
Price
$ 1,199.00 (AUD)
Dell has launched its latest range with a splash of colour. From the power user's XPS M1330 to the 15in Inspiron 1520 and now the 14in Dell Inspiron 1420, the new Inspiron range brings a touch of life to what are often useful, but occasionally dull looking machines.
Dell's systems are custom built from the Dell website, and our review sample is a basic, low end model for those considering their budget. Inside our crimson red Inspiron is an Intel Centrino Duo T5250 1.5GHz Dual Core CPU with a 667MHz front side bus, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and it runs the Windows Vista Basic operating system.
Based on these specifications alone we weren't expecting a stellar performance from our 1420, but the price is right and it offers a reasonable feature set, as well as a splash of style. If music, movies and a bit of light homework or late night work away from the office are at the forefront of your mind then this should do the job.
The Dell Inspiron 1420 offers Dell Media Direct, a software suite that works in Windows and also in a pre-operating system environment, meaning you can watch movies, view images, listen to music and check contact details without having to boot right into Windows. As this system is running Vista Basic, which lacks Windows Media Center (only Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions include it), the Media Direct software also acts as a replacement of sorts. From Media Direct you can access plenty of media, but it isn't quite as comprehensive.
Also found on the Inspiron 1420 is a 2 megapixel camera with motion detection and face tracking, which is great for video chat or self portrait snaps. If you're watching a movie or listening to music you'll appreciate the media controls above the keyboard. These include stop, play/pause, skip track and volume controls. There's also a media card reader, supporting SD, MMC, MS and MS-Pro media cards.
In our benchmarks we didn't see amazing results, though it's to be expected from this value orientated system. In WorldBench 6 it scored only 57, which shows it will be slower when running heavy duty applications, such as Adobe Photoshop. However, it will handle surfing the Web, writing emails, using Microsoft Office and watching movies without any problems. There's no dedicated graphics card, so gaming is generally out of the question.
In the battery test the Inspiron 1420 performed well. We ran down the battery by looping a DVD; a test we consider to be a worst case scenario. This is because the DVD uses the notebook's optical drive and the speakers, as well as the screen and other core components. In the DVD test the Inspiron 1420 lasted a solid 158 minutes, but will last longer still under normal working conditions.
The 14in screen offers a resolution of 1280 x 800 and has reasonable brightness and contrast, but not the best we've encountered. The viewing angle isn't ideal but it's certainly satisfactory. The speakers won't replace your stereo but they're fine for watching movies or listening to music at low volumes. Overall the build quality of the unit is fairly good, though it does seem a little flimsy in places and certainly doesn't compare with its XPS brethren. Its keyboard is comfortable to type on and the touchpad is responsive, though the mouse buttons feel a little clunky.
A full set of four USB 2.0 ports are available and a mini FireWire port is also included. Both VGA and S-Video ports are installed for video output and a set of audio jacks is present on the front edge of the unit. The DVD drive is a DVD re-writer and also offers dual layer support. Only an 80GB hard drive is included here, but that will suffice for most. For networking there's an Ethernet port, a 56k modem and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g.
Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A review: This 4K monitor plays nice with consoles
- 2 Firewalla Gold review: Powerful home network security in a tiny box
- 3 Alienware AW3423DW review: Quantum dot OLED renders rival monitors obsolete
- 4 Acer Aspire 5 review: An affordable laptop that’s enjoyable to use
- 5 Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 review: This gaming laptop oozes luxurious power
Latest News Articles
- The Razer Blade 15’s 240Hz OLED panel pushes laptop displays to new frontiers
- Intel’s first Arc laptops arrive in the U.S. with shockingly high prices
- Up to 100 Lenovo laptops are a security risk — what now?
- Google accidentally broke some Chromebook cameras. Here’s how to fix it
- HP’s Spectre x360 16 is a unique 2-in-1 laptop with a huge OLED screen
Resources
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers

Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world

Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles

PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Best Unlimited Internet Deals in 2022
- Microsoft’s universal ‘One Outlook’ client just leaked out
- Liquid Retina vs. Liquid Retina XDR: Which display is better?
- Which flagship TV is best? Sony 4K HDR Bravia 2016 versus LG 4K HDR OLED 2016
- 10 Blu-ray movies / Best looking Blu-ray movies