Review: Slim and affordable business laptop, the Dell Vostro V131

Today Dell is a household name across the world due to its reputation and service quality. Started with Desktop PCs, now Dell is also competing in the laptop/notebook market with other popular brands such as HP, Lenovo, Compaq, and Sony. Dell is known for its excellent sturdy models, looks and features, replacement warranty and customization features. Today a business laptop is necessary for all the mid level and top level executives. A laptop should not be too much heavy, should run all the latest applications smoothly, should have good looks and should have excellent portability that can be carried easily. Dell Vostro V131 is just the kind of laptop one can look out for. It is a small powerhouse that business users can use effectively be in the office or while on the move.

Dell Vostro V131

What is it?

Dell Vostro V131 is a business laptop which is an upgraded version of V130 model. It has great battery life with sandy bridge processer from Intel. The body is made of Aluminum, which is solid and looked elegant as well. Weight is only 1.8 kg and offered a whooping 500 GB of hard disk which is more than sufficient for a business user.

Key features

Dell Vostro V131 is a small power house with Intel Core i5 2410 M processor that can operate at 2.3 GHz speed. It has 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and the 13.3 inch screen will offer the wide screen experience with 1366X768 resolutions. It has Intel HD 3000 graphics that can run HD images and video.

It comes with Windows 7 Family Pro 64bit and with its high processing power it takes only 43 seconds to boot. One has to wait another 10-15 seconds to launch other startup applications such as wireless network etc.

The keyboard is good and all the keys are touch sensitive and they are robust in nature, so one can have good typing experience as well. The touchpad is multitouch in nature and it is very precise and fluid in operation.

Connectivity ports are placed in both the sides of the laptop. RJ45 port (Ethernet port), VGA out, two USB 3.0 ports and headphone port placed nicely in the right part of the model. On the left side of the V131 there is an USB 2.0 port, SD card reader and a HDMI out port is placed. The power socket input point is at the back. It has also a Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n wireless connectivity in place.

It has a 500 GB hard disk which can run on 7200 RPM. The V131 can support two speakers and will give one the stereo sound. It is clean and nice but noting extraordinary. But this is a business laptop so one should be happy with this. Battery life is very good. It has a 6 cell battery that can give backup up to 4 h 30 min.

What’s Innovative

It has two USB 3.0 ports that is a great addition which makes it future proof. Today most of the USB connectivity is upgrading to 3.0 from USB 2.0 for better, faster and secure data transfer. Also the keyboard can be illuminated in the darkness to provide one to see the keys in the night or in a low light setting. Also there are three HOT KEYS to launch various applications with ease such as Dell Launch Manager, Dell Support Center in case of recovery of the applications and Windows Mobility Center.

Price and Availability

One can order Dell Vostro V131 from the official Dell website for $499 for the basic one that is with 2nd generation Intel Celeron Processor, 2GB DDR3 RAM and 320 GB of Hard Disk. But it is better to go for the Intel i5 Core processor with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 500GB of HDD to work seamlessly for the next couple of years which one can get for $699. One can go to other online retail showroom such as Amazon as well. It is now available in the market also.

Accessories

Dell Vostro V131 comes with the following accessories, battery charger, a 6 cell battery, Genuine Windows 7 Professional operating system and a Carry Bag. One can also go to the DELL website or call the call center to customize their DELL Vostro V131 as per the requirement.

The Upside

The main advantage of a Dell Vostro V131 is its connectivity. Apart from that the performance is top notch when compared with the other entry level business laptops. It also has a long battery life, attractive slim design and the power of Dell Support team.

The Downside

Though the Dell Vostro V131 is a clear winner, but it still has its share of few negative points. Noise level for this model is on the higher side. One can easily hear the system sound. It can be also pretty hot sometimes while running for a longer period of time or running multimedia applications such as games or HD videos etc.

Headphone is very clear but the microphone is not good at all. Even at the full sound it's hardly audible. So to improve it one has to install some amplification software. Also for some strange reason, V131 dose not have any other port for microphone. It has only one port for headphone and microphone.

The Bottomline

Dell has modified Vostro V131 from its predecessor V130 in a lot of aspects and makes it a must have business laptop in the entry segment. It is far better than the other competitors at the entry level such as Samsung, HP, Lenovo or Compaq. So if one want to have a robust, good business laptop at a competitive price and features that will last for at least next 2 years, then look choosing Vostro V131 is one of the best options.