Vostro 1400 replacement, What is comparable now since 1400 is Not in production

A 15.4" notebook is about 20% bigger than a 14.1" machine. Therefore they are not comparable.

Reiterate your basic requirement of 14.1" + WXGA+. You are not alone in thinking that is a good combination. Someone in Dell ought to be able to agree to you getting an E6400, particularly if you offered to pay a bit extra.

John

 

nothing yet. Dell is slacking!!!
not only are they trying to push a bulkier laptop on me, they have not contacted me or given me any updates. THe only reason i know it's a 1520 is because i had to call and check up on it and i refused to accept a 1520.

We'll see.

 

I would stick with the 14" WXGA+ and discrete graphics requirement.

Are you dure they are sending you as new unit? Typically don't they replace with refurbished?

 

Well the unit just shipped. and it's a 1520. grrrrrrrrrrr.

Comp, Yes it's New, it had been in production since Sep 25th. I didn't wait over 2 weeks to have a computer shipped that I had been refusing from the get go. I chatted online, I called, I did everything in my power to have it changed to a comparable unit and not a single thing worked and they shipped the 1520.

I don't WANT a 15.4" replacement. I don't know why they don't get that?

It's like me buying a civic because of it's MPG and then later my insurance tries to replace it with a V8 Truck. it's not what I originally bought!

Grr Dell is going down the crapper more and more.

 

You have several options:

Swallow it and keep the 1520. It saves a lot of hassle, but it's not satisfactory. I'll assume you don't want this choice.

File a complaint with your country's Consumer Defense Association (or similar name). They are specialized in defending consumers against injustices like that one.

Hire a lawyer. This one is almost guaranteed to succeed, but it's expensive.

 

You can also just call them and demand them to escalate. You just have to keep trying.

 

Yeah, don't quit at the first bad reply. I had an overheating E6400, and Dell replaced the motherboard and heatsink and it didn't fix the laptop. Then I called and asked them to fix the thing and they offered to replace mobo+heatsink again. I said no and please put me through to a senior tech. After a few days they sent me an email proposing that I get a new laptop and send this one back for them to fix at their depot. In the meantime they offered me the new laptop, said they couldn't find the problem with the old one. Weird? Sure, but hey, I got a brand new lappy!

Bottom line: try again and again.

 

regardless of all my efforts to get a comparable system meeting my orginal specifications, Dell has still sent me a 15".
All I wanted was them to meet at minimum my original specifications which were

1) 14.1" display size laptop. Because thats what I had and the reason I bought it was because it was portable.

2) XGA+ TrueLife Screen. Thats what I had on my original, felt it was a great balance between 14.1" and the resolution. Not too big, not too small and cramped.

3) Dedicated Graphics. I had dedicated graphics on my machine 8400M GS, which some will argue is a better card then the 9300M they are including now. I'm not gonna complain as long as it is dedicated, I'm good. Mostly for HDTV hookup and 1080P Streaming.

I wasn't asking for much, I don't think because those are the very features my vostro 1400 has/had.

Dell sent me a Vostro 1520. Given that it has a faster processor (about the only upgrade in my book), it's 15.4". Considerably larger. It also has a Matte finish screen as opposed to the TrueLife screen I had. I liked the trueLife finish. Felt the screen was more vibrant.

I called dell and they offered me again a "similar" spec'd "dent n scratch" Inspiron 1420...............in silver. 1420 series is also discontinued I believe.

I think i'm better off just stick with the 1520 over the not so attractive silverish inspiron.

ahhhh oh dell, how you used to meet all my needs.

 

Do you really need a dedicated GPU? The Intel GM45 includes extensions handle HD video fine.

This Latitude can give you the 14.1" WXGA+ display (albeit non-gloss, but I would hope it is the LED backlit version as used in the E6400).

John