Key Specs
2GHz Core 2 Duo T72502GB DDR2
120GB hard drive
Double-layer DVD±RW
15.4-inch TFT
Integrated Intel GMA X3100
Windows Vista Home Premium
The Inspiron 1525 improves on its predecessor, the popular Inspiron 1520, in almost every way. It shaves off a few ounces and inches, adds worthwhile new features, and puts more power under the hood, all while keeping the price below $1,000. Actually, the new Inspiron starts at just $499, but our review configuration pushed the price to $974. However you trick out this notebook, you're sure to be pleased by its travel-friendly dimensions, stylish design options, and nifty extras. Gamers, however, will definitely be disappointed with its sluggish integrated graphics.
As you might guess from its model number, the Inspiron 1525 doesn't represent an extreme makeover of the 1520—it's more like a nip and tuck. The wedge-shaped notebook looks virtually identical but boasts a slimmer design: It's 1.5 inches at its thickest edge, 1.1 inches at its thinnest, 14 inches wide, and 10.1 inches deep. The system weighs exactly 6 pounds with battery. Dell offers the highly configurable 1525 in a variety of stylish lid colors and patterns. The base model comes in Jet Black; you'll pay $25 extra for the magenta Blossom pattern featured on our review unit, or any of the nine other design choices. We think that's a worthwhile upgrade to stand out from the basic-black crowd.
Inside, the Inspiron greets you with a stunning silver finish. Though we found the keyboard just a tad shallow, we liked the extra-wide touch pad and its accompanying vertical and horizontal scroll strips. It's rare that a Web page these days requires horizontal scrolling, but it's still great for zipping across spreadsheets. We also liked the Inspiron's new touch-sensitive media control panel, which includes four playback buttons and three for volume (up, down, and mute). All the buttons light up blue when you touch them.
Dell's other design amenities include a pair of headphone jacks—great for sharing a movie or music with your seatmate—and a Wi-Fi network finder that works even when the notebook is off or hibernating. Just slide a switch on the side of the case, and an LED lights up to indicate the presence of a network.
The Inspiron sports four USB ports (two on each side of the case), a mini-FireWire port, and a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port for connecting the system to an HDMI-equipped monitor or TV. When we connected the notebook to a 46-inch HDTV, it automatically switched display modes and chose a suitable resolution. We did, however, notice that the notebook's optical drive was a bit noisy when watching DVDs.
Speaking of resolution, the standard 15.4-inch wide-screen LCD tops out at 1,280x800, but you can upgrade to a 1,440x900 display for $50 extra. If you stick with the standard resolution, you have a choice between glossy and antiglare screens. (The upgrade comes in glossy only.) We highly recommend the latter, as the glossy version (which we tested) produces a ton of glare. Dell also offers an integrated Webcam for $25 extra.
