Dell Inspiron 11z Review Discussion

by Kevin O'Brien

The Inspiron 11z is a new netbook from Dell, hoping to change the way we think of the ultra-portable segment. Instead of using the long-favored Intel Atom processor, Dell decided to use the new ultra-low voltage Celeron 723 and the GS45 chipset. On paper the processor has more grunt, and when paired with X4500 integrated graphics, it has a huge advantage over Atom machines. In this review we take an in-depth look at the new 11z, to see if it is the netbook we have all been waiting for.

Read the full content of this Article: Dell Inspiron 11z Review

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I couldn't recommend this netbook to anyone. I was so excited to see it in New York, and I don't think I have ever been so disappointed by a piece of technology in my entire life. The touchpad is an exercise in frustration of the higher order. Kevin almost laughed himself sick when I tried to use the thing because I'd go to scroll or something and the browser would just close thanks to the cursor shooting around. I'd at least wonder if it were the review unit we purchased, but Dell's own site has customer reviews complaining about the same thing. It's so unfortunate.



At the end of the day, Dell would have a really great computer, but they end up shooting themselves in the foot.

 

I blame User Error!


And Non Synaptic Touchpads! But Mostly User Error!

 

Wow!

Fail!

 

Theres Fail, then there the unbelievable level of Fail this netbook has.

 

Except on the trackpad which is pretty poor. On the other hand if you are willing to learn it (there are tutorials in the control panel) you can get it to a somewhat usable state. That being said you should not have to do that.

As to performance: somethings off here. In real world use compared side by side with a dell mini 10v (atom 270) the 11z is considerably faster. I'm talking about using office 2007, photoshop elements, web browsing and so on.

I think the benchmarks may be suspect or need to be updated for the processor

Two last things.
1. Update the video driver from intels site. The one that ships with the system is not optimized.

2. Dell, if you really want to position this as an alternative to netbooks make the 6 cell battery standard.

Nice review though.

 

X4500 drivers were updated, had to install the new drivers for the Win 7 install, and the benchmarks stayed within the same range.

The touchpad doesn't having a learning curve no matter what the mini guides in the control panel say. It is basically hands off if you are doing single finger movements, otherwise it completely screws things up.

 

Can't wait to see an Acer 1410/1810 review. I wonder how Acer got it right and Dell didn't? The Acer is the same price, $450 and has better specs than this Dell in every day.

 

Ok then, I guess absolute certainty is a significant qualification for being an NBR reviewer .

Anyway, real world my opinion that for the money its' not a bad unit. And we have one woman in the office that likes the trackpad just fine. I do think that having used the mac trackpad makes it actually harder to use the dell one since you tend to try and use it that way and that doesn't work

 

Its the same trackpad as my Mini 10v, which I found cumbersome at first, but after a week or two I was able to use it without much fuss. Its not great for Solitaire, but basic browsing it gets the job done.

A trackpoint or buttons would have been nice, but I've used far worse touchpads with these amenities

 

The 11z has another fatal flaw: the price. At $449 Acer sells the 1410 with much stronger CPU (SU3500, 1.4GHz, 3MB cache), 6 cell battery and Synpatics multi touchpad.

 

Right, if you have $450 to spend and deciding between the Dell Inspiron 11z and Acer 1410 then you have to go with the Acer. Dell needs to drop the price, Acer's 1410 offering is superior in every way on paper and based on user feedback the 1410 appears to be a real winner with owners so far.

 

This is what kills me! We were told if was going to be $399. Then it shot up to $524 on the website, and we emailed them about it to see if something had changed. Then it went down to $449, even though for two or three days the lead in page said $399. We never did get a response, but I guess they thought that they could get $449 for it.

For what it's worth, I suspect the Dell 11z has better build quality than the th 1410. But none of that matters since you can't actually do any work on it.

 

Sony's entry into the netbook market is even worse, the Vaio W at $499. That gets you even worse specifications such as a 3 hour battery with currently no larger battery and standard Atom, 160gb HDD, only 2 USB ports, no HDMI, etc. At least it has a 1366x768 screen but I still can't see many people buying it. And Sony is supposed to focus on the W now that the TT is dead at least in North America.

 

We just got shipping confirmation that a 1410 is on it's way to us.

We are looking at replacements for the TT series as well.

The dell is still not out of contention because of the configuration options that Dell assures us are coming (WWAN), faster processors, and so on

The Sony W's are WAAAY overpriced for their only outstanding virtue, the screen.

The one drawback potentially to the Acer is that it's hard to know if it will only have the single stock configuration or if other options are available. At the moment though, the processor, battery and price give it the most bang for the buck

 

You also have to remember the Dell comes with one ram slot while the Asus has 2 ram slots.

 

1 RAM slot is a FAIL. 4GB RAM is way too expensive...bad Dell bad.

 

very good review...
but i find VERY odd that a machine with less FSB and less ram would perform better...
oh well...
for 400 (what i paid) i think is still better than most atom based netbooks...

btw...yeah..the trackpad is not the best, sadly i have to agree with that, even when i defended it when i first got the machine...i'm actually getting tired of it, specially when i type and for some reason the damn thing will move the cursor location!

 

Dell, I am so disappointed in you. Worst netbook out there? Sure sounds like it.

 

Really, 4gb is the max ram support? I though with 1 ram slot, max ram would be 2gb to help save cost for the consumer.

 

Wow, what a disappointment. It seems that almost every new system Dell has done recently has been bungled by one fatal quality/design flaw or another....clearly this system isn't the exception. :/ The sad thing, while I like Dell's products there's nothing in their lineup except the E6400 that says to me "buy me." Nada, Zip, Zilch. A shame....

 

I used my brother's Mini 10v for a while, installing software and configuring the computer. Although its touchpad is not as bad as this review states (the 10v's touchpad is a Synaptics model, though, not Elan), I found the built-in touchpad buttons to be kind of annoying, since clicking finger often inadvertently jumped the cursor. I would even prefer the HP buttons-on-side style.

I think the main flaw of this "netbook" is its price. Definitely not worth it for the price.

 

Wow..this one....*sigh* Agreed. The pricing for one thing...
Yeah. Netbooks should never cost that much money..


Cin...

 

I got my 11z yesterday and noticed similar issues with the trackpad - specifically the 'zoom' when trying to scroll. I installed Win 7 on it and it was much better with the default Microsoft driver - only issue was 'palm check' when typing causing the cursor to jump around. I installed the Elantech driver for Vista off Dell's site and experienced the 'zoom' problem again - so I disabled all of the 'gestures' in the elan driver, adjusted the 'palm check' and everything is working well now. Windows 7 still supports the '2 finger scroll' even with the gestures turned off in the Elantech driver - which is the one I care about the most.

With that fixed, I quite like the machine. More than speedy enough to do everything a netbook is used for, good size and a truly usable screen.

 

Glad to hear that it's working out well for you now, after the few prob's you had with it! As long as your happy, that's all that really matters!


Cin...

 

Was it just me, or was the background music in the video review so loud that it seemed to drown out the reviewer's voice?

 

IDK i was so disappointed in the laptop i forgot to watch the video review lol!

*watches*

 

This is NOT my fault: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/video-dell-inspiron-11z-reviewed-with-high-hopes-disappointing/

 

Of course not!
Very nice, even if it's not your fault!


Cin...

 

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen any notebook (netbook) get beaten this badly by NBR. Thank you guys for not holding back your punches . Sure the notebook has some nice features but this machine is disappointing overall. Dell should end the life of this thing as soon as it can.

 

suuuuuuureeee.....!

 

Are you sure the touchpad is a driver problem? That means it can be fixed, eventually, for the 10v?

 

Great review-blog link Phil, very helpful: Battery life is key & multi touchpad seems great.
11.6" WLED 1366x768 also seems like a sweetspot for this class of pc.

"Cons:
- Screen not suitable for working in sunlight"

-That's the bummer for me, any practical solutions there?
Also does the 1410 not have built-in bluetooth which should really be standard in this class..?

Thanks ,

 

Either sitting strategically in the shade or buying a different notebook.

1410 comes without BT. The mini usb dongle costs $2 art Dealextreme. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11866 That's including worldwide shipping.

 

Do the following actually work for smartphones & are they available-practical for netbooks?:

" Glare-free LCD Screen Protector for Apple iPhone (w/Cleaning Cloth)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.23701

Thanks again,

 

I wonder how this compares to the Gateway LT3100.

 

They do exist. You'll need to search.

 

Doesnt Lenovo offer something like that??

 

Lenovo did at one point have an 11in device but that was out before the netbook craze and cost 2k back then. But it did come with the intel SL cpu which is faster than the SU cpu, and an external optical drive. It now being sold for about $900 now.

There is also the Lenovo S12, 12in device but that running the Atom cpu with ION gpu option later or in some areas VIA Nano cpu.

 

Does anyone know if Intel's Celeron line has finally gotten SpeedStep functionality, or are their budget budget chips still in the Iron ages? What enhancements have they made to the Celeron line?

 

Nice review, Kevin. Unfortunately, I had really hoped to buy one of these once the 6-cell battery was available. Now, I guess I won't. I typically use a Logitech VX notebook mouse, so the touchpad issue wouldn't be a problem so much. But, you really hate to buy a notebook after reading how badly it fared in a major review ,such as yours. I can only hope that HP puts it all together in their version, but then they'll have some stupid swirls or bubbles on the case, and I really just want to scream over that since the bubbles look so stupid, IMO.

I've gotten my hopes up over the 11Z, the Tosh N205, the HP Mini, and Sony. But, there's no way I would pay $499 for the Sony. Their keyboard is awful and they put a minuscule right shift key on there, just for looks, not to be used seriously. Really dumb, Sony.

Sounds like the Dell keyboard is the same flat, non-indented, pseudo-chicklet style that Gateway uses. One GW owner wrote that the flat surface made typing more difficult because your fingers don't have a depression to rest in to maintain position. Style over substance, again.

Any chance Dell will right this wrong in the near future or do we have to wait for the 11Zx version?

 

As far as I know no speedstep. That's the way Intel differentiates Celeron from Core Solo.

Have a look at Acer 1410.

 

This "win" laptop ended up in a fail...wow
Back touchpad, bad battery life, poor performance...wow

 

This probably is going to get me booed off the forum, but i think to some degree this unit is getting a bad rap.

Yes it's overpriced (now) and the trackpad sucks but is it beyond hope?

We got one of the acer 1410's (ruby red) in yesterday and I'm underwhelmed so far mostly with the screen. We have one exec with a corner office that's all windows and the Acer screen is pretty murky under those condition whereas the dell was quite usable. We are just starting to evaluate it now, but that was one thing that jumped out right away.

The second was that despite the higher specs, in initial use it feels roughly equal to the dell (starting up and shutting down, running office 2007 and firefox) so far.

So i'm wondering if the unit still gets the "it sucks regardless of what they do" sticker or if they made a couple of changes it might be redeemable.

What we told Dell what would make it attractive to us would be to sell that unit at $389 with the six cell battery standard.

 

I was just over at Amazon reading the reviews on the Acer 1410. I've never considered Acer to be one of the top brands, like Dell, HP, or Toshiba. I know they bought Gateway, but guess that's because Ted Waitt miscalculated on running his company and wanted to cash out. Just a thought, there. Nothing wrong with early retirement. But, just wondering about the overall quality of Acer products. One reviewer did bring up this issue--"It has a few drawbacks, notably material quality: like a lot of Acer products the plastic molding is attractive and the tolerances are tight. However the quality of the plastic is more in line with what you would expect with a Netbook (which is to say it is lower density plastic and more likely to scratch or break). The overall component quality lower than what you would get if you spent $1000 (display not as nice, finish not as refined, buttons not as responsive, etc...). Still, overall this is a well put together computer with decent build quality considering the price." Also, several people complained about the touchpad being too flush with the palm rest. Guess you just have to train yourself to stay off it. Hmm.

Yeah, that makes it attractive. Wonder if Dell will listen to your pricing and battery suggestion? Or will they sell as many of the underwhelming units as they can at $449? Come on, Michael, do the right thing. Drop the price, improve the features.

 

So Acer 1410 sucks as bad as Dell 11z?

 

thanks you!

and i agree if somehow dell could sell the 3 cell unit for 350 and the 6 cell for 399 we would have a winner!

 

besides the bad touchpad?

why cant the disable the multitouch and just use a synaptics? ALPS is a no-go...

 

I have to say I've been trying to make the cursor jump around like described in the review and I can't. One hand, two hands, dragging both fingers, lifting a finger mid-click, etc. Can't make the cursor jump. The zoom setting was too sensitive and annoying, so I disabled that - but otherwise the touchpad works fine. Can't help but wonder if there's a unique problem with the unit reviewed.

I'm running Windows 7 with the Elantech driver from the Dell website.

 

We dont have that problem on our unit either under Vista or w7. The main issue i have with the trackpad is the two finger approach to do a click and drag.

and yes the zoom is annoying to.
also Dell told us new processors as CTO options by the end of the month