Dell Inspiron 4150

WHAT'S HOT: This value-priced model's inclusion of dual pointing devices--both a touchpad and an eraserhead--gives typists a welcome choice.

WHAT'S NOT: Aside from offering a video-out port, which is useful for attaching a TV, the 4150 isn't much of a multimedia machine. The mediocre-quality built-in speakers, with grilles on the case sides, could be stronger and richer.

WHAT ELSE: Earning a PC WorldBench 4 score of 98, the 4150's speed was among the best we've seen for a 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M laptop running Windows XP. A ringer for its predecessor, the Inspiron 4100, the 4150 keeps the line's pleasingly trim and sensible design. The 4150 also inherited good battery life; in our tests it lasted just a couple of minutes shy of 3 hours on one charge.

The components are easily accessible; the hard drive is held in by only one screw on the bottom of the notebook, and both the modular bay and the battery bay are located on the front. You can gain the use of a modular bay for an extra battery or hard disk by passing on the standard floppy drive--which carries a $20 value--and opting instead to pay an extra $10 for an 8MB DiskOnKey USB flash-storage device from M-Systems. DiskOnKey plugs directly into the notebook's USB port and requires no drivers when used with Windows Me or later. Unfortunately, Dell's listed price of $30 for the DiskOnKey (as a stand-alone option, rather than a $10 upgrade from the floppy drive) is rather high--competing USB memory drives start at $30 for twice as much storage.

The keyboard isn't loaded with shortcut buttons the way most notebooks' are, but it is laid out comfortably and has a spongy yet pleasant feel. Color-conscious consumers can customize the unit and jazz up the palm rests with inserts of different hues and patterns (the cost ranges from $6 to $39 a set).

UPSHOT: With its dual pointing devices and modular bay, the Inspiron 4150 would fit well in small to medium-size companies.

SUMMARY

Dell Inspiron 4150 PC WorldBench 4 score of 98, 1.8-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M, 256MB of DDR266 SDRAM Windows XP Home, 14.1-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics with 16MB of DDR memory, 30GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM/20X/10X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in V.92 modem and network adapter, touchpad and eraserhead pointing devices, 7.2 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord); Microsoft Works 2002. Three-year parts and labor warranty; free, unlimited 24-hour, 7-day toll-free technical support. $1777 800/388-8542 www.dell.com