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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols's picture
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Cyber Cynic

More posts | Read bio

June 7, 2009 - 9:22 P.M.

Dell's new inexpensive Linux notebook

21 comments

Last week, all the headlines were about the advancements in the Linux netbook at the Computex trade show, and in all the hub-bub, we all missed that Dell also introduced a great, full-sized notebook at an amazing price: the Dell Inspiron 15n.

Or, at least, I missed it. Fortunately, I was given a call over the weekend and told to give it a look. While I haven't had a chance to get my hands on one, it sounds wonderful.

The Dell Inspiron 15n comes with Ubuntu 8.10 pre-installed. Lots of computers do that these days. What's different is that the 15n is a full-sized notebook with a netbook price-tag of $299.

The latest Dell Linux notebook comes with a 15.6" display with a maximum resolution of 1,355x768. It is backed up by an Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) X4500MD chip set.

For a processor, the 15n uses the relatively slow 2.16GHz Intel Celeron 585. It's backed up though by a healthy sized dose of 2GBs of DDR2 (Double Data Rate) RAM. Based on this, it's fair to say that this laptop won't be the fastest notebook you'll find on the market, but it will be more than fast enough for just about anything you'd want to do on a computer. With a 160GB hard drive and an 8x DVD-RW drive for storage, it also has the room to do serious work.

What I really like about this package though is the price. You're just can't get this much computer at $299 in ordinary circumstances. For this alone, the Inspiron demands your attention.

What People Are Saying

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Is it available internationally?

Submitted by John Cayman on December 20, 2009 - 7:13 A.M.

I'm really impressed with the cheap price while has some great features. But i really like to know if I can buy it in my place (Indonesia). Is it available?

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Dell's new inexpensive Linux NETbook

Submitted by Ken Jennings on June 9, 2009 - 8:04 A.M.

It has more features than most netbooks and costs less than some of them. So, where does that leave netbooks? I expect rapid price reductions on existing netbooks and lower prices on future models.

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possible graphics card improvement

Submitted by Anonymous on June 9, 2009 - 6:58 A.M.

A Dell sales rep told me that the Inspiron 15n also has the option of a 256md Radeon graphics card, but that they were out of stock when I spoke to him. Whether this is really true or not can probably be verified by other people.

Anyway, the Inspiron 15n is the cheapest Linux notebook I've seen so far. However, once you start getting into the $700-$800 range or higher, my opinion is that vendors like ZaReason and System 76 completely crush what Dell offers, both in terms of hardware and support.

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Speaking as one who has

Submitted by Jared Spurbeck on June 14, 2009 - 9:28 P.M.

Speaking as one who has bought a System76 notebook, I'm not too thrilled with their tech support. They seem rushed, and they were clueless about my notebook's problems with Intel graphics performance (even though everyone else in the world it seems has been having them).

Although I hear that Dell's worse. And I suspect that the build quality of my System76 notebook is a lot better than most Dells would have.

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Warranty ?!

Submitted by Abe on June 8, 2009 - 1:12 P.M.

Have you guys noticed that it comes with 1 yr. warranty? One poster on Ubuntu Forum mentioned that his unit had multiple hardware problems. They replaced it promptly but that makes me wonder how reliable the hardware is and why additional coverage cost a lot more. Adding the cost for additional warranty makes its cost the same or pretty close to other laptops you buy from other outfits. I am afraid this is pricing ploy to make it look cheaper than others.
I will wait and see how thing develop from other vendors before I buy one.

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The hardware

Submitted by sjvn on June 8, 2009 - 1:30 P.M.

Well, I've been using Dell equipment since not long after Michael Dell moved the business out of his dorm room, and, generally speaking, Dell hardware does better than the other vendors. It's not quite as good as Apple or IBM/Lenovo, but a darn sight better than Compaq.

Your usage may vary, but, as a long-time PC reviewer, I've used several hundred PCs and regardless of the OS, I generally buy Dells.

Steven

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The hardware Warranty ?!

Submitted by Abe on June 10, 2009 - 8:33 A.M.

Steven Dude:
You missed my point I was trying to make.

They say "you get what you pay for" and "there is a sucker born every minute".

Has it occurred to you that Dell might be using less QAed cheaper hardware to make less cost computers?

Has it occurred to you that they are using marketing shenanigans, like most OEMs do, to make more sales?

Have you compared this unit with units comparable to ones from other OEMs?

As a Cyber Cynic, I would have expected you to have done that for consumer sake and especially for your own dedicated readers.

My daughter bought a Dell and wasn't happy with it. I personally don't buy Dell for various reasons.

My main point was for the readers to assess what they are buying first and compare with units from other OEMs so they don't get taken by the sale pitches you make for OEMs.

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Shipping + Tax = Deal Killer

Submitted by Anonymous on June 8, 2009 - 12:18 P.M.

Great deal in itself, had one in my cart for $409 with an upgraded processor and 4GB DDR, but I'm not paying $66.00 JUST for the privilege of being able to buy this. There are way too many other good deals to be found in the current buyers' market and I can install/maintain a custom version of Ubuntu myself. I think companies that want to make money off so-called "shipping and handling" charges are doing themselves more harm than good. That's why I don't shop at ebay.

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Not available in Canada

Submitted by Acitta on June 8, 2009 - 12:13 P.M.

This model doesn't seem to be available on Dell's Canadian website.

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Dell is a brave company

Submitted by Anonymous on June 8, 2009 - 11:59 A.M.

I wonder how do they manage to get away with it ?

Anyway, I`ll always keep buying their products as much as possible, no matter if it's Windows or Linux.

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