Dell Vostro 3350 Review

By Sameer Mitha | Updated: 5 June 2012 01:42 IST

Highlights

The Dell Vostro 3350 is a good device. There are very cons. It even has USB 3.0. It looks simple and the screen could have been more vibrant but apart from that this device should be at the top of your list if you are looking for a laptop for your profess

The small and medium business market is a growing one and performing laptop computers have become a bare necessity for people working in the field. You will undoubtedly look for a machine that will not only give you good battery life but performance and portability as well.

Today we're looking at the 13-inch Dell Vostro 3350. It's tiny, it's portable and packs in quite a punch under the hood. But is that enough to put it at the top of your preference list?

First Impressions:

The device is quite small since it has a 13.3-inch display but isn't what you'd call slim. This isn't a bad thing since it houses quite a bit of features and ports. It has a steel finish on the lid, which give the device a simple yet elegant look. It's no showstopper but it doesn't look bad either. Apart from the lid and the sides of the device, which have a steel finish, the rest of the device has a black matte finish, which prevents the device from becoming a fingerprint and dust magnet.

The device isn't very heavy either. It weighs just above 2kgs. Overall, it is small and portable enough to suit the frequent traveler's need.

Performance:

Performing as a stand-alone notebook, the device delivers pretty well. It has a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768. It runs Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OS, has 4GB of RAM; is powered by an Intel core i-7 processor clocking in at 2.70 GHz. The device also boasts of dual graphics cards - Intel HD graphics and an AMD Radeon HD 6490M. The hardware under the hood is pretty impressive and it shows. On the PC mark, the device scored 8074, which is great if you are looking to use the device for multitasking and running a few heavy apps such as Photoshop on the device.

We had iTunes humming our tracks in the background, converting a video, working on Word and PowerPoint and occasionally browsing the web all at the same time. The device handled all the tasks with ease.

The keyboard on the device is a standard chicklet style with a matte finish. It is very well laid out and very comfortable to type on. The keys have a distinct click to them, which is nice. We have to say that this is one of the best keyboards we have seen on a notebook.

Below the right side of the keyboard is the fingerprint scanner. This is a nice security measure since you may house a lot of personal and professional information on the 500GB HDD (Hard Disc Drive). The trackpad is large enough and in proportion to the device. It has the same matte finish as the rest of the device and is smooth and comfortable to use. It can't be compared to Apple's magic trackpad but it gets the job done. The left and right clicks are distinctly separated under the trackpad.

In terms of connectivity the device is well loaded. On the left panel, you have two USB 3.0 ports (nice!), one Ethernet port and the DVD R/W drive. The right of the device houses the VGA out, HDMI out, e-SATA cum USB port and a headphones and mic port. The charging port rests neatly at the rear of the device. The front panel has the card reader and LED indicators for the battery, Wi-Fi, power and HDD. The power button rests on the top left of the keyboard just above the Esc key.

A really cool feature on the device is a quick access button that rests above the right side of the keyboard. It gives you quick access to Windows Mobility Center that lets you access basic functions such as display brightness, volume, power mode, sync, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and more.

The battery is an 8-cell lithium ion battery and is removable with ease. This is great if you are a frequent traveler and needs to switch the battery on the go. The battery is a little larger than expected in size. This is because it has a hinge that acts as a recliner for the machine. This ensures that the machine rests at an angle ensuring more comfortable use of the laptop when it is kept on a table. Surprisingly the device is comfortable to use even if you rest it on your lap.

Push the device to its absolute limit and you are looking at about two and a half to three hours of usage. Use the device sparingly and for basic work and you are looking at a machine that can easily touch the 5-hour battery mark.

All-in-all, the device is well built, packs in good hardware under the hood and is very comfortable to use.

Multimedia:

On the go, you may want a bit of entertainment on your laptop. We ran a few 1080p and 720p movies and all of them ran smoothly. There was no noticeable hiccup apart from the fact that the screen wasn't as vibrant as we would have liked.

The audio performance of the device too is average. You can't expect the world from laptop speakers, but what they deliver, they do it well. The audio is fairly loud and clear but lacks bass.

You can also expect a bit of gaming from the device, although we wouldn't recommend it if you are a veteran gamer. On the 3D mark score the device got 5423. This score is decent and you can hope to run most of the games from recent past. Just don't expect them to perform well at their highest settings.

Verdict:

The Dell Vostro 3350 is a good device. There are very few cons. It even has USB 3.0. It looks simple and the screen could have been more vibrant but apart from that this device should be at the top of your list if you are looking for a laptop for your professional needs. The pricing of the Vostro series starts at Rs. 35,990 and goes up to Rs. 37,990. The screen sizes of the series range from 13-inches to 17-inches. If you would still like options from other brands, you could take a look at the offerings from the Lenovo ThinkPad range or HP.

Pros:

Great Build

Good performance

USB 3.0

Good Battery life

Cons:

Screen could have been more vibrant

I miss the two headphones port, which are standard in some Dell series.

Price: Rs. 36,990

Specifications:

13.3" HD display
Processor, I7-2620M
4GB 1333MHZ, DDR3
500GB
DVD RW
Intel Centrino Wireless and BT
Win 7 Pro 64 bit
8 cell 80WHR, 2.8AH

Benchmarks:

3D Mark: 5423

Battery Mark: 638736

By Test result: 2:33:04

Forecast: unknown

PC Mark Vantage:

PC Mark score: 8074

Memory Score: 4574

TV and movie score: 3430

Gaming score: 5092

Music score: 7585

Communications score: 8784

Productivity score: 6908

HDD Score: 4168

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Further reading: Dell, Dell vostro, Laptop

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