Vostro 3350 Owner's Cafe

Thanks for the reference. Were you able to download the profile? The Filesonic page now says "File does not exist"

 

I tried that link a few days ago, the file is deleted

 

I've had my 3350 for over 24 hours, and used it well around the office for the better part of today. Just thought I'd drop my two pennies for anyone who's considering this laptop.

I really like this machine. It's compact enough that it feels nothing like hauling around my 7lbs XPS 1645, but it's also just large enough that it feels more like a 14" laptop. It's a bit on the heavy side, but I like the heft when you hold it under your arm, moving from room to room.

The keyboard is really quite nice, much better than I expected. I prefer this keyboard to my XPS 1645, but like the travel of of the 1645's keys better. Touch typing on this laptop is not going to be a problem at all, that's for sure.

Performance is nothing to call home about; "average+" is what I would call it. It performs like many other laptops I've had, but it's not blazing fast. Just for fun I put on Torchlight and Burnout Paradise. BOth of them ran surprisingly well, so now I have time killers for when I'm sitting around in airport waiting areas

The battery life isn't as good as I hoped for, but then again I am running on the 4-cell. I would have liked the 8-cell I was expecting, but due to logistical hiccups, I got stuck with the 4-cell. Today I barely eeked out 4 hours before reaching 10% battery left. Then again, this battery has never been used before so I'm sure with a bit of conditioning I might be able to raise the bar to 4.5 hrs (fingers crossed!).

Finally, I wish the mouse buttons didn't have that really loud "click" when you press them, I'm much more used to the softer but solid feel that HP's business laptops have.

 

I ordered and I got my Dell in 10 days.

Yes, I am afraid its a bit heavy for a such small Notebook. My friend's Lenovo is 14" and a bit lighter than mine. But its because of 8-cell quite large battery. If you buy 4-cell than it weights around 2.02 kg.

900 USD for a X220-i7 is a very good price. But I suggest you go for a refurbished 3350-i7. If you wait for a discount coupon you may get it for less than 700 USD.

 

maybe try to send a message to the youtube user who posted the video, asking him if he can re-host the file

 

That's what I did. It was a 775 shipped with a 3 year NDB onsite warranty. It look about a week to get to me. But I got ground shipping and live across the country from were they ship. I also ordered on a Friday.

As far as weight goes, it's lighter than my M1210. But honestly, if you're worried about weight I'd consider buying a 4 cell and an 8 cell, and using the 4 cell when you need portability.

 

@hakkan and godanigo,

Just to confirm, you are talking about refurb 3350 i7, ordered over the phone, right? Are there coupons on refurbs too?

 

Yup yup. Check the outlet twitter for coupons.

Dell Outlet Twitter

 

I think the biggest limitation of the 3350 is the monitor, it really isn't very good. if you plan on doing any sort of image editing or just image viewing, don't get this laptop, even my Asus 1000HE has far superior sharpness & color than the 3350.

 

Anyone else having trouble with getting the fingerprint reader software to recognise the device?

It worked the very first time after configuring my fingerprint data, but ever since it has not been detected and stopped working. Device Manager sees the driver, but the reader software just doesn't work anymore... seen some threads about this same problem and tried re-installing the DigitalPersona software to no avail.