is the 9100 sturdy?

I'm about to trade in my Inspiron 4000 for something more powerful. I've seen the great reviews on that notebook within several computer magazines and like the features. HOWEVER, I was very disappointed with how flimsy my Inspiron 4000 has been, along with a somewhat dull screen.

My Inspiron 4000 screen mounts have snapped off twice, and the USB port on the back, which is anchored to the motherboard only and not the casing, has broken off within months of my purchase. Since I live much of the time in S.E. Asia, getting repairs can be a real problem. Can anyone shed some light on this matter? (I've met other Inspiron 4000 owners and they too have experienced the broken screen mount thing.)

 

i just received my I9100 on the 29th.. (one of the first i've heard of), and i can tell you its as sturdy as any notebook you are going to find. the screen is amazing too, i put in a few movies just to see what it looked and sounded like, and ended up watching two whole halves of 2 different movies. i'm really impressed, and the benchmarking has turned out very impressive as well. the only thing some people might say is that it doesn't travel well, considering the weight, but that's up for you to decide.

 

Well, that's encouraging news. But since your laptop is so new, we won't know anything about the strength of its hinges for awhile. I've emailed Dell about this question and they have yet to reply. Oh, you may wish to find out if your USB port is anchored to the casing, or only to the motherboard as the I4000 is. If so, you'll want to be very careful. Thanks again for getting back to me.