Dell seems pretty keen on taking over the touchscreen laptop market. As such, the company keeps launching new and very interesting new models that seems to improve with each passing generation. Such is the case of the laptop we're determined to explore today; the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU.
On Dell's latest foray onto the touchscreen segment we have a 7th generation Core M processor, an 11.6 inch display and 500 GB of storage, all at an immensely competitive price point. Without further ado, lets get on with our full review of the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU.
Plastic; yes, flimsy; no
The new Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU introduced by Dell comes with a familiar design, aimed mostly towards students and home users looking for something a bit less "standard" in terms of overall design. This laptop packs an 11.6 inch LED Backlit touchscreen display with an HD resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. Obviously this isn't the latest standard but considering we're dealing with a budget touchscreen laptop it's not all that bad.
As for the chasis, its an electric blue that feels quite sturdy when you're handling it. Evidently it's a plastic body but it doesn't really feel like the cheap kind and that's something we're grateful for. Thickness on this machine is just under an inch at 0.75 inches and weight is kept under control with 3.24 pounds.
The keyboard lacks a numeric pad, something typical on any laptop that doesn't have a 15 inch screen but it's quite comfortable for long typing sessions, and no, it's not a backlit keyboard.
A 7th generation processor that delivers a solid performance
One if the best attributes of the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU is its processor. Specifically, it packs an Intel Core M 7Y30, that's one generation above the previous 6Y30 model that's still running around. This is a dual core processor with 4MB of cache that clocks in at 2.6GHz and works over 4 threads.
To those of you who've never strayed beyond your standard Core i generation, this would be the equivalent of a 5th generation Core i5, therefore you can tell that efficiency is at the top of the list. Stuff like casual video editing, composing spreadsheets and watching movies should pose no issue for this processor. However, more intensive tasks like serious 4K video editing and running a couple of virtual machines at a time might pose a challenge.
Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU packs 4GB of RAM and we're sorry to point out that it's not the expandable type. That said, 4GB should provide more than enough for average users. Stuff like having a bunch of chrome tabs open whilst listening to music on Spotify and downloading a program on the side should be fine. However, more intensive tasks might take more load time.
Finally, another key component to the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU is graphics. In this regard we've got an Intel HD 615 Graphics controller. This is not a suitable GPU for gaming, just wanna get that out there. Stuff like the aforementioned casual video editing session and streaming movies is fine but anything more graphically demanding would not be a walk in the park.
Battery life and storage
Dell has remained pretty mute about battery life, simply stating that this notebook features a good battery life. Considering that it packs a 2 cell battery and that your standard battery life nowadays circles the 5 hour mark we would go ahead and venture that this model can reach anywhere between 5 and 7 hours of battery life but we'd hardly expect anything more than that.
In regards to the storage of the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU, we've got a 500GB hard drive working at an operational 5400 revolutions per minute. That's your standard speed for a laptop hard drive and while it's not as good as the SSD storage you'd find on the HP ay013nr laptop that's similarly priced, it's still pretty good overall in terms of available space.
Wrapping things up...
We're closing up our review of the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU but we had to give a quick shout out to the additional specs worth mentioning. Amongst such specs we've got the MaxAudio speakers, HD webcam, SD card reader as well as 3 USB ports and an HDMI output port. There's no optical drive to be seen nor any ethernet port but since 95% of the users don't actually use the ethernet port for their daily computing I doubt this will be a big dealbreaker.
Should I buy this laptop?
When reviewing the Dell Inspiron i3179-0000BLU you should consider that you're looking at a convertible that will fulfill its purpose as a tablet as well as a laptop. With that in mind we can forgive the HD display and we can even compliment Dell on the compact design of this laptop.
That said, if you're not looking exclusively for a convertible and you don't mind carrying a bit of extra weight then we'd strongly encourage you to take a look at the HP ay013nr model, since you'll get an updated CPU, blazing fast storage and a Full HD display for a similar price point.
On the other hand, if you're looking for portability and the ability to use your laptop as a tablet then this is an excellent choice and you're unlikely to be disappointed since you'll get a mixture that only Dell can deliver, You can check out pricing and availability for this model over here.