So, Dell sent me this new 13″ Inspiron Laptop to test out, and I actually do like it a lot! I was thinking of buying a small 9″ netbook just for when I travel to conferences, but I’m so glad I didn’t now! It seems like it would have been pretty uncomfortable to type on because the keyboard would be so small. The 13″ is truly a perfect size! It fits on my lap, or a small table. It fits in just about any laptop bag, which is great for traveling! 

I was honestly very surprised when I received it. It came at a great time though. We were looking for a laptop for me to take to the conferences that I’m going to be attending this year, thanks to Walmart’s ElevenMoms program, and our many sponsors! I’ve had plenty of time to get used to Vista and learn what I like and don’t like about it. I’ll start with the dislikes so we end on a good note!

The bad:

– It’s Vista! I’m a Mac user, and Vista, in comparison to OS X, is horrible. I hate the multiple confirmations when I’m trying to load software. I hate that everything has to approved and approved, and approved again! The “are you sure” factor is annoying… 

Well, that was short and sweet.. 

The Good:

– It’s small, but not too small! It has a “normal” sized keyboard. All of the keys are in the right spots! It’s easy to type on, and not fumble with the keys. 

– It has a built-in camera and microphone. WOOHOO! I can video chat with my girls and hubby while I’m away at conferences this year! It’s very clear too! I love it!

– It’s a little workhorse. It can handle everything I put it through.. which isn’t much. It’s ok for photo editing, but don’t open too many files at once or it’ll slow down a little bit.

All in all, it’s a great machine, at least so says the hubby. He’s been using it more than I have. He has loaded all kinds of programming software and it has not given him any problems at all. Now that I’ve been traveling a little more, I’ve taken it with me and have loved how small it is compared to my other laptops. I use the webcam to call home and say good night to my family, and keep up with my emails and blogging while I’m away. I love that I can take it on an airplane and it fits perfectly underneath the seat in front of me, or on my tray while in flight. I even got a really cute skin for the front with pics of my girls. 

Thanks Dell for my cool laptop!