Dell Vostro V130 - Too Expensive for What it Does

Dell added the V130 to its Vostro family of notebooks in December last year. The notebook is supposed to be light weight and is aimed at business goers who are looking to carry their documents and spreadsheets along. So is it really worth buying a notebook at this price?

Design and Build Quality
The Vostro V130 looks really classy at first glance and the sleek design of the notebook is bound to get some heads turning. The metallic matte finish of the lid ensures that the V130 gets the suave business look that it deserves and at the same time, doesn’t attract too many fingerprints. Also, weighing in at 1.6 kg, the notebook is quite light to carry around.

All ports move back

Coming to the insides, the V130 has a 13.3-inch screen which looks big enough for comfortable viewing. The problem is only when you try to view the screen from an angle. Even at small angles from the screen, it’s easy to notice the difference in colours and details as it gets darker even from a slight angle.  The screen is best viewed from the middle and nowhere else.

The keyboard is one aspect of the V130 which we really like. Even though it doesn’t sport a Chiclet design, the keys are all placed and spaced out well enough to type comfortably. Even the matte-finished palm rest goes very easy on the wrists thanks to the smooth texture and makes typing a very good and comfortable experience. There’s a small depression made in the middle to house the trackpad. Speaking of which, the trackpad lacks a little in terms of response and could have been better. The mouse click buttons are separated and are definitely easier to use.

Nice addition of HDMI and eSATA ports

All the ports on the V130 are placed at the back, which is not the most conventional placement of ports that we have seen lately. Not that they are completely inaccessible, but then even a single USB port on the side does make life a lot easier, especially when a user has to transfer files time and again. It is worth mentioning that the V130 comes with two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and an eSATA port.  Also, the sleekness of the notebook comes with the slight disadvantage of not having an optical drive.

Trackpad's response is a little less than ideal

To sum it up, the V130 is sleek, good looking and is quite portable for its weight.