Vostro Build Quality

I'm posting this because I'm still a bit leary of a consumer grade(the Vostros are little more than black Inspirons with spill resistant keyboards) laptop from Dell.

I'm typing this on my old XPS M140(which is now my mom's) and I can tell you that I never want a laptop with a build quality even close to this. I've replaced the battery already, the bottom of the case is slightly warped from heat and is discolored, the paint is coming off of the hard drive bay(like just flaking off), there is a crack in the lid near the hinges, and since I bought it, I've had to open it up and retighten the hinges about once every 2 months. After tightening the it the first time, the panel above the keyboard no longer snaps in properly.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of you think that I bash my laptops around, but I really don't. The laptop isn't taken to other places often, mostly used on my lap on the couch.

Basically, I want to know if I will be in the same situation a year from now if I buy an Inspiron 1420 or Vostro 1400. I know that a lot of manufacturers have been having this problem with the batteries, so I can live with that if the rest of the laptop is still in good shape. Lol, what happened to the batteries that were put into Compaq Presario x1000's, my dad had one and it only recently went down to under an hour(probably had a cell go dead, before that was sustaining 3+ hours).

Anyhow, anyone who has either the 1420 or 1400, please post a let me know what the build is like. I'd be real nice to be able to go with a Vostro instead of a Latitude and pocket the $350. I'm in Canada, so no deals on Latitudes unless I find one of those 25-35% off coupons.

Thanks,
Greg

 

I'll tell you in 6 months

6 months on from purchase it's travelled a lot and is good shape - no scratches or blemishes. Miniscule scuff on both front corners about the size of a pin head where I've knocked the front corners, touchpad showing no wear or palm rest, everything still solid and working as should be. Rub down with a damp cloth and it looks like new.

Pretty impresserd so far as far as build quality goes.

 

My wife recently purchased a Vostro 1400. Right out of the box you could tell that the laptop was built extremely sturdy. Here is a list of my pros and cons.

PROS
1. Very sturdy metal frame
2. Key action is excellent
2. No lid latch to break (held down with tension like a cell phone)
3. Uncovered hinges (lid will not crack near hinges)
4. Not painted (nice metal flake plastic)
5. Big rubber lid bumpers
6. Nice metal reinforced lid opening tab
7. WIFI Catcher is amazing, picking up next state lol

CONS
1. Left side USB ports were extremely tight and mangled her flash drive
2. Some system slow down so I formatted and reinstalled Windows
3. The SD card reader does not hold the card in very good
4. Minor defect where the metal lid opening pull tab is
5. Bluetooth is a little wonky when working with wireless at the same time

All in all, very pleased. Nothing is perfect. It wasn't custom built with one on one attention, as you should know from the price. Extremely tough little powerhouse for a very respectable price. I highly recommend getting the glossy TrueLife screen, and do not go for the bigger native resolution unless you have a magnifying glass. lol

I hope this has helped, maybe others could give you their personal experiences with the other notebooks you mentioned.

 

So far stuff is sounding good. I haven't read much about the USB problem that you had Travis, so it looks like that is a rarer defect. I've got plenty of experience formatting Windows (btw, isn't it nice formatting Vista to have a mouse and GUI ) and I also haven't read about the problem you've had with the card reader, but regardless I won't be keeping one in there. Bluetooth is well, bluetooth. I don't use it often, mostly getting it because it's cheap and easier to get it now then to go on ebay and wait for the part.

Thanks for your quick responses. Makes me feel more comfortable getting one. Would've probably missed the SD Reader and Expresscard with the Latitude.

Thanks,
Greg

 

just got mine few days ago...love it, i thought the whole thing was made of metal when i first examined it..the case is real sturdy and strong..the cam for 2 megapixel could be better though other than that its great ..so far i can hit 5:30 hours on 9cell