[Review] Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 The notebook with a twist

If you have prevaricated between getting a tablet or a notebook but are still keen on getting the benefits of both, this particular hybrid convertible aims to address both needs as it comes with double-jointed hinges that let you deploy it in several different configurations – as a conventional laptop, propped up with the keyboard face-down,upside down tent-style and turned all the way around as a huge tablet. The accelerometer deftly angles the screen the right way up however you deploy it. Astute readers will note that this isn’t exactly something new fangled as it has been executed before on Lenovo’s Yoga series hybrids.

 
Design inspiration aside, Dell’s Inspiron 15 7000 two-in-one convertible cribs quite a few notes off Apple’s premium hardware and boasts of exceptionally premium build quality. The notebook sports a matte black external chassis that won’t look out of place in a boardroom that comes embellished with the Dell logo chased in silver on the top lid.

Popping it open reveals a brushed silver aluminium finish surrounding the chiclet-style keyboard. Delicate silver chamfering all around the edges of the notebook base and along the generously sized mousepad make it look suitably premium.

The keyboard itself is of note with plenty of space for your palms to rest on, well spaced keys and white backlighting for use in dark environments. It lacks specialised shortcut buttons though the top row of function keys has the obligatory shortcuts to control screen brightness, media playback and volume. An unobtrusive power button and volume rocker finished in metal adorn the right side of the notebook along with a card reader and a USB port. The left side of the notebook is host to a mini HDMI out, a pair of USB 3.0 ports and an audio jack.

The base of the notebook is otherwise featureless save for two horizontally placed friction strips of rubber to prevent it from accidentally sliding off a table into oblivion and a pair of speaker grilles for the downward firing speakers.

The double-jointed hinges are robustly made without any wobbling about even when deployed in its various modes while the 15.6-inch 1080p touchscreen is solidly built without any give or play when deployed. A small Windows power button at the base of the display allows an alternative way to power up the notebook when deployed in tablet mode.

While the Inspiron 15 7000’s build quality is otherwise top notch, it is unfortunately somewhat on the heavy side at 2.17kg and unwieldy to boot when deployed as a tablet. Fortunately, the power brick to keep it juiced up is relatively small though hauling this around for extended periods of time may be a chore.