The 11-inch notebook category is heating up, with all the major manufacturers now offering netbook alternatives with bigger screens and keyboards. The sleek 11.6-inch Dell Inspiron 11z joins the party with a wide range of personalization options, along with a ULV processor that can handle HD video. Pricing starts at a very netbooky $399, but the $654 configuration we received raises serious questions about this laptop’s value. Yes, the 11z easily outperforms Intel Atom-based machines, but how does this Dell stack up against the competition?
Design
Weighing just 3.4 pounds and measuring 11.5 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches, the Inspiron 11z is a light, svelte machine with an attractive profile. It shares nearly identical dimensions with the equally attractive Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook. The Acer Aspire 1410 is 0.2 inches thicker, as is the HP Mini 311, but both of those systems are 3.2 ounces lighter as well.
The 11z comes standard with a black lid, but you can choose from six color options that add $40 to the cost. Our review unit came with a glossy green lid that we were happy to find didn’t show many fingerprint smudges. Other color options include blue, pink, purple, red, and white. If you want to personalize your ultraportable further, Dell offers over 200 unique lid designs ($65) you can custom order, from Big Giant Plaid to your favorite MLB team.
The plastic deck is simple and straightforward: the power button sits above the keyboard on the left side. There’s just one light on the bottom left area of the wrist rest, indicating power. Unfortunately, Dell didn’t include a light to indicate Wi-Fi status, which we would have found helpful.
The six-cell battery on our configuration raised the unit about an inch in the back, providing a comfortable downward slope.
Heat
Whenever we had the 11z in our lap, the system got uncomfortably hot underneath in a short amount of time. Even when sitting on hard surfaces, the left underside near the vent was always noticeably hot. We knew the notebook’s fan was working, though, because we heard its constant whine whenever the system was on.
After the 11z sat idle for five minutes, we played The Daily Show on Hulu at full screen. Within 15 minutes, the touchpad was 88 degrees Fahrenheit, and the space between the G and H keys was 95 degrees. When we measured the bottom of the unit near the air vent, the thermometer registered 104 degrees; air coming from the vent got up to 109. Temperatures below 95 degrees are acceptable; we consider anything over 100 degrees to be a cause for concern.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Due to the 11z’s 92 percent of full-size keyboard, we were able to reach our normal typing speed right away (though we committed far more errors than usual). The slightly rough-textured keys on the 11z are also flat, lacking the familiar slight dip in the center. It’s too easy to hit the wrong key on the 11z or accidentally hit two at once. Even after playing with the system for a couple of days, we still experienced a high error rate. The key size seems to be the culprit, as is the small space between each, and when combined these elements offer no slack for slightly inaccurate typers. We didn’t have this problem with the Acer Aspire 1410’s keys, which are about an eighth of an inch bigger and have more space between them.
Otherwise, keys offer snappy return and good travel. Placement is also good; the Shift key is a bit undersized to make room for the up arrow, but it’s in the correct position. Alt, Ctrl, and Fn keys are sized well on both the left and right, making things easy for frequent shortcut users. We also appreciate the dedicated End, Home, and Page Up and Down keys on the right.
We’re pleased to see that the Function keys along the top row have been reversed so that you don’t need to press the Fn key to control brightness, multimedia playback, volume, and Wi-Fi.
The 3.5 x 1.8-inch touchpad is also like the one found on the Dell Mini 10—and reminiscent of the MacBook Pro—as the mouse buttons are integrated into the touch surface. The bottom corners of the touchpad are clickable, indicated by two oblong markers on the left and right. While we liked the larger surface area, we found it to be overly sensitive. When we’d try to do something as simple as click and drag or scroll down a Web page, the touchpad would interpret the movement as a pinch or zoom about two-thirds of the time.
In the options page for the Elan touchpad driver (found in the Control Panel) users can access customization options and enable or disable any of the gestures. However, while there are sensitivity sliders on the PalmTracking software (which keeps the mouse cursor from jumping due to accidental contact), there is no way to fine-tune the sensitivity of the touch surface itself; we had to turn off some of the multitouch features just to make using the touchpad bearable.
Powered by Elan Smart-Pad software, the touchpad is capable of multitouch gestures beyond two-finger scroll or pinch-and-zoom. Elan’s tutorial demonstration of the eight gestures the touchpad is capable of was very helpful. It showed us how to execute the three-finger window switch, as well as how to quickly minimize all windows by placing your palm on the touchpad. The level of functionality and complexity also reminded us of the MacBook. Unfortunately, Dell’s multitouch isn’t as easy to use.
