Dell Vostro Latest Features

The Vostro series of laptops from Dell primarily caters to business users. Having said that, we have often found it good enough for home users too. Recently, Dell has refreshed this line-up into its third generation, with new hardware and better styling. Off these, the 3300 series comes with 13.3" display and is meant for users who work on the go, and would want to carry their laptops around. We have the Dell Vostro 3350 laptop with us today. The model we received, is the top of the line 3350 model with speedy components including a dual-core Intel Core i5-2410M running at 2.30 GHz, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, a 320 GB hard drive spinning at 7,200 rpm, and onboard Intel GMA 3000.
The Dell Vostro 3350 is a portable laptop with a width of 33 cm, depth of 22.5 cm and a thickness of around 2.8 cm. It weighs a little over 2 kg,  allowing you to easily carry it with you in your backpack. The case is made with a combination of aluminium and plastic, and the build quality appears to be very good. The matte finish makes sure that it doesn't gather fingerprints. The piece we received came in the Lucerne Red colour scheme, and the laptop is also available in Brisbane Bronze and Aberdeen Silver.


Ports and connectivity options are well spaced out around the periphery of the 3350. High speed data transfer is possible via a couple of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports marked blue, placed on the left side. An Ethernet port is also available for broadband connectivity. You will also find the DVD Rewriter on this side.
Turning to the right, there is eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port, audio sockets for microphone and headphone, HDMI as well as VGA port to connect to external displays. Only the eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port supports PowerShare functionality, allowing you to charge devices even when the laptop is switched off. An outlet vent is also present on this side, to let hot air out of the laptop body.
An 8-in-1 card memory reader supporting memory card formats including SD, MMC, and MS is located at the front right. There are four status LED's at the front left to indicate power, hard drive activity, battery charging, and wireless network.
There are a number of grills on the bottom cover of the 3350, providing enough ventilation to cool the interiors. The laptop comes with a powerful 8-cell 40 Wh, 2.62 Ah battery that promises very good backup time. It does not feature any port for a docking station, so you cannot use a battery slice option to upgrade the battery. A lone speaker is located here, producing passable quality sound.
There are three extra buttons at the top right of the keyboard. The first button launches Windows Mobility Center, which is used to optimise power consumption of the laptop by switching off unnecessary devices. The second button brings up the Dell Support Center, which helps troubleshoot any problems experienced while using the laptop. This also includes functionalities such as PC Checking, Backup & Restore, and driver updates. The last button is unassigned, so you can assign it as a shortcut for any application of your choice.
The laptop is completely usable out of the box, meaning that it comes with all the software that is generally required. Dell provides Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, MS Office 2010 Starter, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Service antivirus, and Roxio Creator Starter to burn CDs and DVDs. Other software available include the Dell Webcam Central and the fingerprint recognition software. Dell provides Intel My Wi-Fi software, which turns the 3350 into an access point for other devices to connect and start using shared internet.
Features: 3.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Value For Money: 2/5
Mojo: 4/5