The Vostro V130 looks really classy at first glance and the sleek design is bound to get some heads turning. The metallic matte finish ensures that the V130 gets the suave business look it deserves. Also, weighing in at 1.6 kg, it is light to carry around.
The V130 has a 13.3-inch screen that looks big enough for comfortable viewing. The problem arises when you try to view the screen from awkward angles. The screen is best viewed from the middle and nowhere else. However, the keyboard is one aspect of the V130 that we really like. Even though it doesn’t sport a chiclet design, the keys are placed well for comfortable typing. Even the palm rest is comfortable, thanks to its smooth texture.
Badly-placed ports
All the ports on the V130 are placed at the rear. Not that they are completely inaccessible, but even a single USB port on the side tends to make life a lot easier, especially when one has to transfer files time and again. It is worth mentioning that the V130 comes with two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and an eSATA port. Also, the sleekness of the notebook implies a compromise: there’s no optical drive present. The specifications are average with an Intel Core i3 U380 processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. There’s a 320GB hard disk as well, which seems to be sufficient.
Along with the standard Ethernet, the Vostro also has WiFi 802.11 n and Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity. There’s a card reader at the right side that adds to the options of accessing stored data.
Need for speed
The notebook processor clocks in at 1.33GHz. We took the notebook through its paces and found out that it couldn’t meet our expectations in any manner. Video encoding took long as did copying a single 2 GB file onto the drive.
Need for speed
The notebook processor clocks in at 1.33GHz. We took the notebook through its paces and found out that it couldn’t meet our expectations in any manner. Video encoding took long as did copying a single 2 GB file onto the drive.
The verdict
At a price of R64,000, the V130 is very expensive for what it offers. In terms of features, looks and design the notebook will satisfy you. It’s also quite decent from a portability point of view. However, the ASUS U36J, which performs better and is priced cheaper than the Dell V130 is an option to consider. There’s also the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 11 that costs approximately R25,000.