Dell Inspiron Duo

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 28 expert reviews

Excellent:

0
Good:

3
Average:

10
Bad:

15

Pros:

Responsive Touchscreen, Innovative Design, More Memory And Hard Drive Space
Innovative convertible tablet design. High-resolution screen. Excellent keyboard and mouse button combination. Sturdy netbook. 2GB of DDR3 memory included. Fast-spinning hard drive.
Attractive, sturdy design, Responsive touch screen, Good netbook performance

Cons:

Tediously slow all around; get used to a lot of waiting. Screen is hideous. Too heavy for regular, tablefree use.
Touch Software Really Needs Faster Processor, Below Average Battery Life, Limited Peripheral Ports

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Last revision on November 16, 2012

Reviewers Liked

Responsive Touchscreen, Innovative Design, More Memory And Hard Drive Space
Innovative convertible tablet design. High-resolution screen. Excellent keyboard and mouse button combination. Sturdy netbook. 2GB of DDR3 memory included. Fast-spinning hard drive
Attractive, sturdy design, Responsive touch screen, Good netbook performance
Inventive design; finger-friendly touch interface; reasonably priced
Innovative vertical rotating screen design, Extremely sturdy build, Great chiclet keyboard

Reviewers Didn't Like

Tediously slow all around; get used to a lot of waiting. Screen is hideous. Too heavy for regular, tablefree use
Touch Software Really Needs Faster Processor, Below Average Battery Life, Limited Peripheral Ports
Bare-bones feature set. Small, non-removable battery. Poor battery life. Touch functionality is flawed and sluggish. Components are not equipped to handle Windows 7 Home Premium. Cluttered with third-party and proprietary software
Sluggish touch software, Short battery life, No video-out or memory card slot on unit
Sluggish software; no SD card slot, Ethernet jack, or video output; unimpressive battery life
Terrible viewing angles, Less than 3.5 hours of battery life, Software layer is incredibly sluggish

Expert reviews and ratings

 At £450, the Duo isn’t cheap, but if you are already reconciled to spending £350 on something like a Samsung N350 then the extra hundred quid for the trick lid, touchscreen and the extra gig of RAM doesn’t look like such a...

By RegHardware on March 17, 2011

Video Review: The Dell Inspiron duo is both a tablet and a laptop, offering an Intel dual core Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. With a flip of the screen, the Inspiron duo becomes a multi-touch tablet that allows users to browse...

By G4tv.com on March 10, 2011

The iPad triggered a wave of innovation amongst manufacturers desperate to latch onto the next big thing, and as a result we've seen some strange devices chuckedup, one of the latest being Dell's Inspiron Duo convertible tablet. A cross between...

By T3 Magazine on March 08, 2011

You can’t deny Dell some hard-fought gee-whiz cred with the new Inspiron Duo.In a world of commoditized portables, it is nothing if not a unique product. Show it off to your friends; it looks like a netbook, and you pop open the laptop-like...

By Wired on February 28, 2011

The Dell Inspiron Duo has a lot of promise. So much promise that I told several friends to wait for it before buying a tablet. And it does have many great uses. I couldn’t watch half of my favorite shows in coffee shops, the office or anywhere...

By GadgetReview on February 23, 2011

This highly innovative netbook/tablet hybrid is easy to criticise, but the Inspiron Duo offers a glimpse at the future of personal computing. Those that can look past its undeniable quirks may find a device that changes the way they use a computer....

By TechRadar on February 21, 2011

Think of the Inspiron Duo as high-end netbook and you’ll be happy with it; think of it as a high-end netbook that converts into a tablet and you’ll be even happier. Think of it primarily as a tablet and you’ll feel a little...

By Pocket-lint on February 21, 2011

Feb 10 2011 - For those looking to get a netbook with a touchscreen, the Dell Inspiron Duo is a very attractive and unique system. The high resolution 10-inch multitouch display function well but the software really could use more than a netbook...

By About.com on February 13, 2011

With faster hardware, an unconventional conversion mechanism and a better battery, Dell's flip-screen Inspiron Duo could be a solid multimedia tablet/notebook...

By ZDNet UK on February 09, 2011

The Dell Inspiron Duo is certainly unique, but don’t let the shiny TV spots and “Oooh” factor of the flipping screen distract you: no one else has done this for a reason. Windows 7 doesn’t work for casual use on a touchscreen,...

By ElectricPig.co.uk on February 02, 2011

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