Dell Inspiron 14z n411z Pro Reviews

We've picked faults with Dell's Inspiron 14z - and hey, some faults are hard to miss - but it's worth reminding readers that the laptop does a lot of things well. The design look smart (if a little simple), the keyboard is great to type on (albeit a little loud), the trackpad is nice and responsive (but accompanied by stiff buttons), performance is strong (but hampered by too much bloatware) and battery life is outstanding (though the battery does protrude from the shell). Where there's good, there's bad, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, and the trackpad buttons are arguably the only real deal-breaker - we strongly recommend that you try before you buy, as their mushy responsive is very much an acquired taste.

Dell wants people to think the Dell Inspiron 14z is a cool and hip product. According to the website, this laptop is “thin, sleek and fun.” In truth, it’s not that thin by the standards of today’s true thin-and-light laptops and as for fun, well, it's a laptop. It works fine, but confetti doesn't come shooting out of the exhaust every time you hit backspace. Fortunately, none of that really matters. Once you get past the red paint job and the fuss over the thickness, you’ll find a laptop that’s precisely what an Inspiron has always been - a powerful, affordable workhorse. The 14z may not be all that thin, but for most users it will prove to be an excellent laptop. In fact, this is the perfect laptop for anyone who is considering an inexpensive 15.6” laptop, but would like better battery life - without paying much of a price in terms of performance or, well, price.

There's a lot to like about this laptop – like its long battery life and portable design – but we also noticed one or two niggling flaws that got in the way during prolonged use. However, owning a laptop of this quality for under £600 is a fantastic deal that shouldn't be missed.

We were hoping the Inspiron 14z was at worst the cheaper and chunkier sibling of Dell’s premium XPS 14z, but it wasn’t to be. Its partially metal finish is a cut above, its keyboard and touchpad are nice, and it offers reasonable battery life and value. However its screen is several rungs below average, its connections are awkward to access, it lacks dedicated graphics, and all told it simply offers little over its competition.

It isn't the cheapest version of the 14z, but battery life is excellent, as is performance

In addition to strong performance, Dell offers some useful software with the Inspiron 14z, such as the Starter version of Microsoft Office, the Starter version of Roxio Creator, and full versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader X and Nero 10 for DVD burning. You also get Dell Stage, which organizes your music, photos, and videos for you. You'll also get a weather app powered by AccuWeather.com, which sits on the desktop by default. There’s a 60-day demo version of McAfee SecurityCenter, which will bug you until it's either uninstalled or activated, along with Dell’s DataSafe Online backup, which will also remind you of its existence repeatedly until you uninstall it. There's some good software here, but also some bloat; you'll want to have an uninstall party before you start stocking this machine with your own apps.