Dells Inspiron laptop line wouldnt be complete without a variety of screen-size options. In addition to the Inspiron 1420 (which we just reviewed), Dell is also announcing the Inspiron 1520 and the Inspiron 1720. The major differences are screen size, weight, and price. The rest of the features and processing components are consistent with what is offered on the Inspiron 1420.
Lets start with the design: You can kiss the boring Arctic Silver color scheme goodbye. With the 1520 and the 1720, youll have an assortment of color options to choose from, including Jet Black and Alpine White as standard options, and Sunshine Yellow, Flamingo Pink, Ruby Red, Expresso Brown, Spring Green, and Midnight Blue as $29 upgrades. Youll love the new and improved tactile keyboard and superquiet mouse buttons, which are also found on the 1420. The framework will be a lot sturdier, thanks to the new magnesium-alloy housing.
As for the features, youll get four USB ports with the 1520 and six with 1720. The rest of the connectivity ports, such as FireWire, S-Video, VGA, and an 8-in-1 card reader, are carried over from the previous generation.
And now, the new and exciting features: The entire Inspiron line, including the 1520 and 1720, will have options for Wireless WAN. This means you can integrate a Sprint or Verizon EV-DO Rev A modem into what are practically desktop-replacement laptops. Its unheard of for laptops of this size (you typically find WWAN options on laptops with screen sizes of 14 inches and smaller), but apparently, thats not stopping Dell.