Dell Inspiron 14 (5447)

The Dell Inspiron 14 (5447) ($ 699.99 as tested) is a desktop-replacement laptop with a solid mix of capabilities and features. It is priced affordable for, but little touch, like a brushed aluminum cover and backlit keyboard make for a good laptop that looks a bit better than the mainstream price. It's not a perfect system, but it is an option to consider with leading laptop, such as the Editors' Choice Lenovo Flex 2 (15-inch) $ 619.00 at Lenovo.

Design and Features
The new Inspiron 14 $ 649.95 on Amazon can have price tags and the details of a major mainstream laptop, but I do not dress the part. While almost black plastic chassis, the chassis cover and underside is covered with brushed aluminum, which adds a premium look and makes for a stable system. The Inspiron 14 measures only 1 by 13.5 by 9.7 inches (HWD) and weighs only 4.6 pounds, making it lighter than the Lenovo Edge 15 $ 699.99 at Best Buy (5.2 pounds), but not in by much.

The system is outfitted with 14-inch Dell Inspiron 14 (5447)
display with 1366-by-768 resolution, which is a common resolution in this price range, we've seen similar shows on Acer Aspire E5-471-59RT $ 481.89 on Amazon and $ 499.00 Lenovo Lenovo Z40. It is enough for 720p HD video, but do not meet the 1080p resolution of Lenovo Edge 15, although the two systems are similar in price. The display offers 10-point capacitive touch, with solid hinges are standing up well to the taps and pokes, and which says Dell should remain tight even after opening the lid of 20,000 times.

The Inspiron 14 is a full-size, chiclet-style keyboard, complete with 10 key number pad, and backlighting for easier typing in the dark and dim environment. A large touchpad offers full motion support, with all the same swipe and zoom capabilities as the touch screen. Two 2-watt speakers offer decent sound quality (enhanced with Waves MaxxAudio software), but the speaker of the pipe the sound through the vents in the hinge and the underside of the laptop, which can muffle the sound , and you'll need to crank up the volume just to hear it.

To the right of the laptop you'll find a fast Ethernet connection, an HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports (black instead of the usual blue), and a headset jack. On the left is a Kensington lock slot, a USB 2.0 port, and a card reader (SD, SDHC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro). For wireless connectivity, the Inspiron 14 is 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

No optical drive, but the system is outfitted with a 1TB, 5,400rpm hard drive, so lots of storage space for all your programs, documents, and media files. Pre-installed on drive some apps and programs, including retail links to Amazon and eBay, some Dell-branded apps, such as Dell Shop (which lets you shop for other Dell computers and accessories) and Akatsuki (formerly known as the Dell Support Center). The system has a free, 30-day trial of both McAfee and Microsoft Office 365 Central covering the Dell Inspiron 14 (5447) with one-year warranty.