Dell has announced a refreshed line of Inspiron laptops; which includes the world’s first 17-inch convertible laptop. The refresh introduces a new design language for the line but otherwise, leaves the internals relatively unchanged from the current device line up.
The new design of the Inspiron 15 and 17 5000 series feels more like a throwback to the 2013 models as Dell has returned to constructing the chassis from plastic. This results in a much thicker devices; despite the machine not actually gaining any weight. The glossy plastic may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it does inject some much needed colour into the mid-range consumer laptop market.
Dell has also returned to including an optical DVD drive into the series. There is an optional Blu-Ray writer for whatever reason, but it may be useful for those who want to back data up to Blu-Ray disks.
It isn’t just the classics that are being included into the new Inspirons. The 5000 series also retains the option for an infrared camera to make use of Windows Hello; this allows users to secure their devices with facial recognition biometrics.
The crowning jewel of Dell’s Computex 2016 announcement is the titanic Inspiron 17 7000 convertible. While the company is not entirely new to testing the limits of mobility, a folding laptop of this size is unheard of. Despite this, it feels like something that should have happened years ago.
Unlike the clamshell Inspirons, the Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 series is built with an aluminium chassis. It is fitting that Dell gave the premium line of laptops a much better finish than the cheaper models. After all, you get what you pay for. Although some older Inspiron 5000 models already received aluminium shells.
The 17-inch Inspiron 17 7000 is fitted with an Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, and up to 16GB of RAM. It also packs a 1TB hard disk alongside an unexpected Nvidia GTX 940MX graphics card. Discrete GPUs are rarely found in convertibles, although we don’t expect such a low powered GPU to be useful for more demanding tasks.
The 7000 series 2-in-1s are also equipped with Dell’s USB Type C adapter that supports DisplayPort as well. Dell is also including optional Dell Power Companion, which provide an additional six hours of battery life through the USB port.
The Inspiron 13, 15, and 17 7000 2-in-1s will be available from 2 June in the US and China from $749 (about RM 3000); while the massive Inspiron 17 will start from $999 (about RM4000). The Inspiron 13 and 15 5000 2-in-1s will be available at the same time with prices starting from $529 (about RM2100); while he Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 will start from $249 (about RM1,000).
The rest of the world will receive the new line of Inspirons later this year, with no prices announced yet.
Update: Dell has provided us with details for the Inspiron in Malaysia. The Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1, Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1, and Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 will be arriving in the country in June. They will have a starting price of RM1,899 for the Inspiron 11 3000, while the Inspiron 13 and 15 5000 series will start from RM2,499.
The Inspiron 15 5000 (non-convertible) will be arriving in Malaysia in September, while there is no information for the rest of the announced products.
