Dell's Inspiron 2-in-1s Do Full HD, Windows Hello for $529

Students and families looking for an affordable 2-in-1 laptop have a set of compelling new options from Dell. Available June 2nd, the Inspiron 11 3000, 13 5000 and 15 5000 offer stylish designs and solid build quality for starting prices ranging from $249 to $529.

The 13-inch Inspiron 13 5000 and 15-inch Inspiron 15 5000 both start at $529. Weighing a reasonable 3.5 and 4.6 pounds respsecitvely, these mainstream 2-in-1s are available with premium features such as 1080p screens and infrared cameras for using Windows Hello facial login. Built from matte plastic, both laptops are available in only a single, silver color. Dell did not immediately release specs for the base, $529 configurations, but we do know that the full HD display comes standard.

We had a chance to spend a few moments with the two 5000 series 2-in-1s and were impressed with the color quality on their 1080p screens. Dell did not say what percentage of the sRGB gamut these displays are meant to cover, but the panels seemed quite vibrant.

Where the Inspiron 13 and 15 5000 2-in-1s are brand new models that didn't exist before, the Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 is just a refresh of an existing product. The laptop starts at $249 with very modest specs (Celeron or Pentium CPU) and a ho-hum 1366 x 768 display. However, unlike the previous the generation, the new 11 3000 2-in-1 will be available in a variety of colors, including blue, red and silver. I found the blue particularly striking in person. However, the screen was rather unimpressive, as it seemed a bit washed out when we put it in direct sunlight.

The Inspiron 13 5000, Inpsiron 15 5000 and Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1s all go on sale June 2nd in the United States. They are joined by the more-premium Inspiron 7000 series laptops, which include the world's first 17-inch convertible.

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The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.