I was looking for a nicely priced, portable laptop. I eventually found the Dell Inspiron 11z. The specs were not too good, but not too shabby. This can be fixed with a couple cheap upgrades however.

Specs of the Dell Inspiron 11z:

- Intel Core i3 330UM 1.2 Ghz Processor
- 2GB Memory
- 250GB HDD
- WiFi AND WiMAX

Since this laptop has two memory slots, I added a 4GB memory module, totaling 6GB of memory. I also ended up picking up a Intel 320 160GB SSD to put into the laptop to hopefully make the laptop faster since this laptop's Achilles heel is the processor.

Overall rating 8/10

What I liked about the laptop:
- It has a butt load of ports for a 11.6" laptop. It has 3 USB Ports which one is an always on USB port for charging devices, an ethernet port, HDMI port, SD Card Reader, Mic AND Headphone Jack, as well as a VGA Port. Not very many laptops this size has such a broad range of connectivity.
- The speakers are phenomenal for a laptop this size. The best speakers I have probably heard were on a Dell Inspiron 14R, and these are not as loud, but probably just as good.
- The original hard drive with this laptop was actually decently quick, even though it had run of the mill specs.
- Having 2 DIMM slots is nice, and gives you the ability to upgrade the laptop to a total of 8GB.
- The hard drive is easily accessible. Removing the keyboard, and a few additional screws gives you access to the hard drive.
- The webcam is quite nice, just like other Dells that are currently out in the market.
- The keyboard is quite nice. It's not Lenovo Thinkpad nice, but it has a nice, sturdy feel when typing.

What I didn't like about the laptop:

- The processor is a little on the slow side, and is soldered on the motherboard so you are stuck with a Core i3 330UM. For most people however, it will be perfectly fine.
- The battery life is very average. I probably can only squeeze 3.5 maybe 4 hours of usage out of this laptop.
- The glossy lid attracts fingerprints quite easily, and scratches quite easily as well. This is the same design as many other Dell models.
- It would have been nice to have a larger touch pad.

The Dell Inspiron 11z is one of better laptops I have used, and can be a heavy contender if it is refreshed with a 3rd generation Core i3, or even better, a Core i5 processor. With a newer and better processor, this laptop would be very quick, and with its current 6 cell battery could have a 10 hour or better battery life. Is anyone at Dell listening?

Thanks for looking ! Feel free to ask any questions.