BIOS: Technology Means Business

Dell is one of the first companies to ship a laptop based on Intel’s new Core Duo mobile processor. Its latest offering is an entertainment laptop ideal for those looking for a cinema-like experience or design studio. The Arctic Silver-and-White Inspiron 9400 (from £889) supports Intel’s latest Dual Core Duo processors (1.83GHz Duo T2400 fitted here), so you can watch movies on the excellent 17-inch TrueLife display (1920x1200 pixels) while running anti-virus scans (or other duties) without compromising on performance.

Measuring 394x288x42mm and weighing 3.6kg, the laptop is also relatively portable considering it uses a massive 17-inch widescreen display. Having said that, the build quality is a little suspicious, especially just underneath the screen where the case flexes when pressed. There’s also a little light lost towards the bottom of the screen, which dilutes the rich blackness of the screen.

Nevertheless the display provides a relatively vivid viewing experience for DVDs and photos because it has a higher contrast ratio than a traditional screen with anti-glare. If you don’t need the eye-watering resolution, you can opt for a WXGA+ (1440x900 pixels) display. The Inspiron 9400 also includes nVidia’s high-end 256MB GeForce Go 7800 graphics card for high-end gaming and multimedia. Dell’s Media Direct is a ‘Quick On’ DVD/CD feature that lets you resume quickly from hibernate/suspend, but not when the system is completely shut down.

It also ships as standard with Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system (so you can take advantage of an optional external USB TV tuner), 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory (upgradable to 2GB), V.92 modem, 60- or 80GB SATA hard disk drive (5400rpm), 24x CD-RW/DVD combo drive (our review model had an 8x DVD+/-RW drive), and 1-year limited warranty.

Connectivity options are excellent and include a single FireWire port, six USB 2.0 ports (four at the back and two on the left-hand side), 5-in-1 removable memory card reader, 15-pin analogue monitor connector, Digital Video Interface (DVI) port, ExpressCard slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 7-pin mini-DIN connector (S-Video), stereo headphones/speakers miniconnector and microphone jacks (located on the right-hand side of the system rather than at the front). A subwoofer is built-in for above average sound quality.

The Inspiron 9400 includes pretty much everything you need in a mobile multimedia workhorse, as long as you don’t need a parallel port for hooking up legacy devices, such as a printer, or an infrared port. Wireless networking is catered for by a built-in 802.11a/b/g chipset, and you also get built-in Bluetooth. Both can be toggled on and off using the keyboard, but we’d have liked a dedicated button to activate Wi-Fi in isolation to Bluetooth to help preserve the battery. In case you were wondering, the 6-cell Lithium-ion battery should last around 2.5 hours, depending on usage.

The matching silver touchpad and mouse buttons are practical, although the touchpad is a little too sensitive. The full-size 87-key keyboard offers plenty of room and the keys offer a reassuring, if noisy, response. You also get separate Home, End, PgUp, PgDn and cursor keys, which eliminate time-consuming key combinations, but the numeric keyboard is inlaid - surprising considering there’s so much spare room. As the case is so large there is plenty of space to rest your wrists when typing and the speakers are located far enough towards the top of the keyboard so that they don’t get muffled as you type.

But what the Inspiron has in graphics and processing, it lacks in originality and extras. For example, it may have been better to give it a more compelling design like the company’s XPS series rather than looking like the older Inspiron 9300.

When it comes to watching DVD-Movies or audio CD playback, life is made a little easier by a set of seven physical play controls set into the front and centre of the Inspiron 9400’s chassis. These blue-backlit buttons allow you to alter volume levels and skip tracks. With the lid closed and the screen off, the Inspiron 9400’s battery life is also increased so you can enjoy listening to music stored on the hard disk drive for even longer.

Dell’s Inspiron 9400 is a very good system if you’re a multimedia fanatic, DVR junkie, or a part-time gamer. Just be sure to opt for the TV tuner and get the biggest hard disk drive you can if you intend to record TV programmes or your own videos. There are better gaming and corporate systems on the market, but for a well-rounded dual core multimedia system the Inspiron 9400 is a good value offering. [8]

[Best Laptop Pricing UK]
[Best Laptop Pricing US]

Got this product? Got a camcorder/mic? Let us post YOUR video/podcast review!