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Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1

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This convertible mini-laptop that doubles as table is very well built. When you take it in hands you instantly feel that Dell made a good product. For me it has somewhat Mac-style look and feel.  Competition is mainly Lenovo Yoga, its larger cousin Dell Inspirion 13 7000 series 2 in 1, and Dell XPS 12.  Dell XPS 12 is $300 more than this Dell Inspiron 2 in 1. But but has 128SD and the flip spin screen. So you do not expose keyboard when you use it in tablet mode.

Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series is a recipient of PC Magazine Editors’ Choice 2014 award ( pcmag.com )

"The Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 will get you through a typical work day, and its battery life is exceptional for a convertible-hybrid laptop.”

... ... ...

The Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 (3147) proves that you don't have to endure a stripped-down laptop when you only have $450 to spend. It combines a well-designed flipping hinge with all-day battery life and a relatively full feature set. All this earns the Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 our first Editors' Choice for entry-level, convertible-hybrid laptops.
 

Compared to the Lenovo Yoga, Dell has large 11.6 inch screen and generally is a better deal as it costs less and has an extra USB port, a standard HDMI cable port (vs. the mini port on the Yoga) and a standard power port (vs. the proprietary port on the Yoga).

Commonly sold for around $400. But Staples used to have a great deal on this laptop - $150 off making it $349.99 with free shipping. This gives you the idea of low-high price range for this convertible laptop.

This laptop is way more versatile and useful that a typical tablet in this price range or even twice more expensive Microsoft Surface Pro (althouth Dell Inspirion 13 7000 series 2 in 1 isa a more fair competition for Surface).

New Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 Dell

Hardware highlights

Amazond Answers

From Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i3 Processor, 4GB RAM)

What are the terms of the Dell warranty that comes with this computer? Is accidental damage included? Is premium support included?

A: It comes with a 1 year LIMITED hardware support (www.dell.com/warranty) that offers 24/7 phone assistance and remote diagnosis. There is also unlimited parts replacement and free labor. It does not come with Accidental damage and premium support. What is different when directly purchasing from dell: The 90 day Premiu… see more It comes with a 1 year LIMITED hardware support (www.dell.com/warranty) that offers 24/7 phone assistance and remote diagnosis. There is also unlimited parts replacement and free labor. It does not come with Accidental damage and premium support. What is different when directly purchasing from dell: The 90 day Premium Phone Support -- It offers basic software how to, installation and setup which includes installed device assistance. (I don't know how many people will need such help, but it is there) In-Home servicing --> If after remote diagnostics, if they determine technical servicing is required, a technician will come to your place in 24 hours and fix it for you, or take it for service. If you purchase from Amazon, you would have to ship it to DELL instead. All shipping will be pre-paid by Dell. You need to print out a shipping label from DELL, pretty much similar to what you do for Amazon returns. Optional DELL Accidental damage protection--> It is available only at the point of sale, when you buy directly from Dell.com or a Dell direct store. So, you cannot purchase it separately, like after buying laptop from Amazon. But there are other accidental damage protection plans that you can buy from Amazon, like Square Trade Protection http://www.amazon.com/SquareTrade-Computer-Accident-Protection-500-600/dp/B002I01TVO. Dell is offering a "4 year accidental damage protection for the price of 3" for a limited time. So, I'd advice to compare your total bill amount including taxes, on both Amazon and Dell, if you plan to buy the accidental plan. I assume it would still be cheaper over here. see less


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Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

John Witt - See all my reviews

Awesome - It's my favorite go-to machine, December 3, 2014

I love this laptop / tablet. This 2 in 1 was a perfect fit for me. At first, I was worried about it being too slow, however, after uninstalling all the Dell bloatware it is actually pretty darn fast and reliable. It's the perfect size for being a tablet and computer. It's light weight and easy to use in the field for troubleshooting IT issues. I recommend purchasing a USB to Ethernet adapter. It only has a wireless adapter. I love the battery life. I usually see about 2 hours on my laptop and get between 4 - 6 hours on this machine easy.

Now I'm going to go against the gain and admit I love Windows 8.1. I'm not sure why it gets a bad rap. It's perfect for tablet-like features and apps but also great in a production environment.

Install the Windows 8 RSAT tools and it's great for managing remote Windows 2012 servers and Hyper-v VMs.

The Windows store needs some help but I can't blame that on this computer. I wish Amazon would release an Instant Video app. But since this is a full computer I can watch it through a web browser until one (if ever) is released. I've used it to stream DVD and Blu-ray MKVs across the network with no stuttering. I get over 10Mbps which is OK for wireless N.

Honestly, it's hard to say anything bad about this unit. If I had to complain just to complain, the touchpad seems a little sensitive when I'm trying to type. The cursor jumps around a bit when I don't expect it to. I'm learning to pick up my thumbs (when I type) and it doesn't happen as much. Other than that, this machine is great. I have no complaints.

Grant
Great laptop for the price. July 14, 2014

This laptop is pretty fantastic in all categories, aside from a few cons here and there.
The metal shell of the laptop really makes it look more expensive than it is and the surface is virtually fingerprint free.

The screen is bright and vivid and the touch screen is responsive. Although after a while finger prints build up, but that is to be expected. The screen is a little oddly placed as it has a different distance from the top edge as it does from the sides and bottom edge. I'm not sure why they didn't center the screen but you shouldn't have a problem unless you have ocd.
It also folds flawlessly when you want to use it as a tablet and is perfect when using it while laying down as you can prop it up at 270 degrees. The hinges are very sturdy and at first, I was skeptical on how well they would hold up if you constantly converting from a laptop to a tablet, but I think they will hold up just fine.

A downside in the design is that when using it as a tablet or at 270 degrees, the screen partly covers the exhaust vent so it doesn't efficiently remove the heat. It also heats up the screen where it covers the vent. This may become a problem if you're watching a movie in tablet mode as it might overheat due to the strain on the processor and lack of ventilation.

The keyboard feels large even though it is smaller than standard. There is also no bend in the chassis whatsoever when pushing hard on the keys.

The touchpad is grainy to the touch but is very responsive. The left and right click on the other hand have to travel a fairly far distance before they actually click. It will definitely take a little getting used to.

The speakers are of good quality and can actually play very loud for a small laptop.

The speed of the laptop is a little slow, but I'm used to a desktop with 10gb of ram and an i7, so I'm probably a little biased but I intend to upgrade the hard drive to an ssd and maybe add larger ram to give a boost.

All-in-all, this is a very well made laptop and with this price you really can't go wrong. If you're on the fence I would say this is a no-brainer.

I will update if I come across any problems.

An Acquired Taste
A little bundle of joy--an ultimate around-the-house media consumption machine, August 20, 2014

This laptop is an amazing value. As soon as you remove it from the box, you can tell that build quality is superb, especially for this price point. The shell appears to be some lightweight metal alloy, thought it may be some plastic-metal concoction. At any rate, it feels durable and strong. I have owned much more expensive Dells in the past that have felt much cheaper in their construction. For this particular computer I was worried about the integrity of the hinges, as I plan to use it in all positions and switch between them frequently, but after a few weeks they still inspire confidence (the hinges themselves are made of an even sturdier metal).

This laptop is reasonably fast for everyday uses and feels very smooth for some more advanced graphical consumption (I use it to read 100MB+ graphics-heavy PDFs, and it looks brilliant).

I upgraded from the Acer C720 Chromebook, a brilliant little machine in its own right, but I wanted a more fully-functional machine. The Chromebook was a bit faster for web browsing, but only slightly and of course they can't by design do much else.

It comes with Windows 8.1, which is a bit of an adjustment from Windows 7, but take a deep breath and get through the transition period. I have to admit that after 3+ years of using Windows 7, I was pretty stressed in my first few days with Windows 8.1, but after a week of trial and error, and looking up a few things, I feel at home again.

I don't want to belabor my impressions of Windows 8, since almost all PCs come with Windows 8 now, but I will mention that this computer ships with the most recent updates (as of August 2014), which limits the amount of online updating that has to be done on first bootup.

For me, mobility and flexibility were keys to purchasing this laptop. This is an around-the-house laptop, capable of doing all of my day-to-day computing tasks, mostly consumption of reading material online or in images, movies, PDFs etc. It handles these tasks brilliantly, and the ability to flip the screen into tablet mode is wonderful for reading and general consumption. For distracted web browsing I still prefer to use a keyboard, but if I know I'm going to spend 20 minutes all on the New York Times website reading articles, I will use it in tablet mode.

It gets a little bit warm, but only noticeably so when watching video or playing games. The vent is at the joint between base and screen, which points away from the user in laptop mode, and can be oriented to face away in tablet mode as well (as you can flip the screen in any direction in tablet mode and your content will rotate automatically).

The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but this is the case with any keyboard. This review is the most I've typed on it in one go, and I'm finding that my fingers have adjusted nicely. They keys have a good resistance even for a low profile keyboard, and they don't get in the way when the laptop is flipped into tablet mode.

The battery life is great. I haven't used it past halfway (and to ensure the longevity of modern day Lithium-Ion batteries, you shouldn't), and I get about 3 hrs on a 50% charge. (extrapolate to 6 hrs on a full charge, but again you really shouldn't fully drain a LI battery, which I know is counter to what you were told a decade ago about batteries, but the composition of batteries has changed since then).

The last key to mobility would be installing a solid state drive. At first I thought I would do this immediately because I couldn't bear the thought of going back to a spinning drive. But actually, after using it for a while, I hardly notice it. I will still probably upgrade eventually, but maybe once the Dell warranty has expired (12-15 months, depending on where you read). To find your Windows 8.1 serial number for installation on a new drive, use the free utility Belarc Advisor.

Not much else to say--only good surprises here.

Per a request in comments, I have attached precise CPU information below:

Number of cores 4
Number of threads 4
Name Intel Silvermont
Codename Silvermont
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU N3530 @ 2.16GHz
Package (platform ID) (0x3)
CPUID 6.7.8
Extended CPUID 6.37
Core Stepping
Technology 22 nm
Tjmax 105.0 °C
Core Speed 500.0 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 6.0 x 83.3 MHz
Stock frequency 2166 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T, VT-x
L1 Data cache 4 x 24 KBytes, 6-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 1024 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes

Max non-turbo ratio 26x
Max turbo ratio 31x

Chris Wuchte (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great laptop/tablet at a great price, December 3, 2014

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

A great laptop/tablet at a great price.

As someone who's gotten so spoiled by the touchscreens on my smaller devices that I actually find myself touching non-touch screens out of force of habit, getting a laptop with touch capability was essential. I didn't want to spend more than $500, and this actually came in $100 under that.

Sure, for more money you can get a faster laptop, but this one so far runs all the basics, plus even games like Civilization IV, perfectly well. Video is smooth. I've yet to throw enough at it to make it crash or slow down.

It feels durable, particularly the hinges, which were of most concern. After gingerly flipping from laptop to tablet mode for the first week, I realized I didn't need to be so sensitive - they're pretty solid, and seem like they'll last the life of the laptop.

Since it folds rather than detaches, the full tablet mode is a little clunky. I notice this especially when I read comics on it - it's a little heavy, and feeling the keyboard on my hand or lap is a little odd. It's also pretty easy to bump the button in the center of the screen that flips everything back to the home screen. But for other things, you can easily use the touch screen at another angle and rest it on a table or your lap.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good, sturdy, portable laptop with a touchscreen.

A COMPREHENSIVE review: Only buy it if you're an experienced troubleshooter., October 29, 2014 A. Vaamonde "Dave" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

Intro: I am a graduate student in need of a computer I can carry in between my job, classes, and travel destinations. Due to the nature of my schedule. I was in need of a computer: 1) small enough I could store in my backpack/briefcase. 2) Light enough that it wouldn't feel uncomfortable to drag around like my 15.6" Dell laptop. 3) Compact and versatile enough to open up on an airplane/train and get serious work done-sometimes requiring split screens with MS Office and hand drawing supply and demand graphs using touch input. 4) LOOONNG Battery life. 5) Lastly. I was in need of a computer study enough to withstand moderate the moderate abuse inflicted by a busy work-student-traveler lifestyle.
Initial thoughts: I knew that Dell "skimped" a bit with the choice of components of this laptop. Certainty, the specs could be better… but I get it, Dell was trying to offer a good value for the price. I ended up choosing to buy this laptop over the Lenovo competitor because of its ability to be easily upgraded. I bought a Kingston 250Gb SSD with it, and I intend on buying an 8Gb RAM upgrade soon

OUT OF THE BOX: the mechanical 500 GB hard drive slows down the computer to the point of annoyance. I wasn't satisfied with a 20second boot speed. When running a browser, Office, Evernote, and Spotify expect a considerable amount of lag.

Upgrade #1: Having a mechanical hard drive in a computer that is supposed to be a versatile 2-in-1 just doesn't make sense. There aren't many tablets out there that have mechanical hard drives. The moving, flipping, jerking, and tossing will eventually wear down the mechanical hard drive to the point of failure. I added the 250 GB SSD very easily by simply removing the back cover. Boot speed went down to 9 seconds. I experience no lag when running Chrome, Office, Evernote, and Spotify. The battery life went up significantly to an average of 8hrs. It's also worth mentioning that the laptop is completely silent at this point…

The rest of the laptop:

KEYBOAD/MOUSE/ TOUCH INPUT: I see a lot of people have complained about the keyboard and trackpad. In my experience, the keyboard feels solid and doesn't exhibit much flex. The trackpad is less sturdy than the keyboard and is not very fun to click into. I also increased the palm rejection setting and it doesn't bother me when I'm typing/drawing on it. I experienced a faulty touchscreen from the start. When I flipped the hinges into "tablet mode" the touch screen would no longer work. I sent it back and got a replacement. The touch screen now works fine.

Once again, you have to be ready to do a bit of trouble shooting with this computer.


SOUND: amazing sound for the price. Every time I play music from Spotify my friends comment "wow that's louder than my Mac."

SCREEN/HDMI: vivid colors, great contrast rate, for an 11.6 inch screen, I am pleased. I always have the brightness all the way up and I don't experience any problems. HDMI can be a little funny to configure at once but I finally got it to adjust to my 22" dell monitor.

Conclusion: buy it if you're competent with computer troubleshooting. The hardware may be faulty due to the lack of quality testing from Dell.

I highly recommend upgrading the hard drive to an SSD if you're trying to get anything serious done.

The battery life is very impressive.

Overall I recommend this product despite the problems I had with it. I knew what I was getting myself into in the first place and that lowered my expectations enough to be willing to shape this device into "my own." If you're up for a challenge, get it. I will offer an update in the following months describing the 8GB RAM upgrade.

An an honest review from someone looking at a budget, silm, and 2 in 1 laptop., November 11, 2014

By

Andy W - See all my reviews
Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)
Hello! I got this little netbook/entry level ultra book to replace a full size laptop and a 7 inch android tablet. Just like many other users i felt that windows 8.1 is annoying (I love my windows phone), is a little under powered and the come of the components (touch pad, and chassis) on it doesn't feel as solid as it should feel. I also had the annoying problem of the rough touch pad being in consistent with me when I was trying to use it. After using the laptop for a day and with the intention of returning it I went to Costco, best buy, office depot and the Microsoft store to test out all the laptops on demo; but at the end of the day I have decided to keep this laptop even with all of those short coming and here is why.

(Some personal opinion with some market research)
First of all most of the laptops in this price range with similar configuration cost around the same as this laptop but none of these laptops (HP 2 in 1 that use the same processor, Lenovo again with the same process but with a non upgradable ram, and ASUS transformer) would offer the same upgradeability, size, power, screen quality and battery life as this laptop (so yes they are all kind of slow) It is true that I can get a full size laptop with a more powerful processor but again I got this laptop because of the size and that was a big deciding factor for me. In my opinion there are three other types of laptops that is available on the market with a similar size form and battery life as this laptop but with a huge upgrade in speed (mac books, ultra books, and chrome books) but here is why I didn't pick them over this laptop. The mac book and ultra books are beautiful, powerful and runs forever but the closest laptop that was just as slim was an hp ultra book priced at around $600 which I don't have a budget for. The chrome books are just beautiful, fast and smooth for just around $200 but as an engineering student and it would impossible for me to own a device where I can't run any engineering, MS word, PowerPoint and other windows program on. (if I was in a major that would just require word I would gladly use buy a chrome book.)

(Some ways around some common issue of this machine)
At this point I have come to terms with some of the limitations that I will have with this laptop (such as the over all speed, build quality, etc) but I did find some ways to go around some of the issue I encounter with this machine.
-I have found out that I can set the touch pressure, pointer speed and palm reject with a software included in the control panel under the mouse setting. I found that by setting the touch pressure to min, palm reject to max, and increase the point speed I was able to get the touch pad to behave like a normal touch pad.
-To make things a little quicker I remove McAfee anti virus from the computer. Windows 8.1 come standard with windows defender which have proven to be very simple to use and effective over the years.
-Ccleaner is a very great tool to have to free up some junk left over by the extra dell software and usually would restore some speed to the machine.
-There is no way around Windows 8.1 and it does feel a little clunky even coming from someone who has a windows phone. My suggest to that is that for the user to take your laptop (doesn't matter what make, model as long as is windows) to your local windows store to have their employees take you on a tour through windows 8.1.

At this point this is all I have to say about this laptop and I will update this review when I spend some more time on it. In case I didn't mention this before but the battery life on this thing is simply amazing which would easily make up for some extra time it takes to load a youtube video. I hope this review would give someone who is interested in this product or are thinking of returning this product a reason why they should buy it or keep it. Thanks for reading my review.

Update: (Replaced factory hard drive with SSD hard drive)
I decide to replace the factory hard drive with a solid state hard drive to increase the processing speed and battery life a little bit. Due to the limitation in the factory recovery software I was not able to just restore windows with a recovery SD card. I had to use a hard drive cloning software with a cable to complete the hard drive replacement. http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Laptop-Install-Kit-2-5/dp/B00C981DDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416009448&sr=8-1&keywords=crucial+kit
and this is the hard drive I got.
http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-Adapter-SV300S37A-240G/dp/B00A1ZTZNM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416009471&sr=8-2&keywords=kingston+ssd+v300

Fyi this laptop use a 7mm harddrive with no extra adaptors so you wont need to get the ssd installation kit with the bracket.

Update: Screen Calibration
I had an issue with the touch screen being unresponsive. The screen became a lot more responsive (almost perfect) after performing a screen calibration which can be found by typing "screen calibration" at the start screen.

Best value convertible on the market, August 8, 2014

By

ride (Salt Lake City, Ut United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)
I shopped for about a month before buying this machine, went to every office store multiple times and watched internet retailers like a hawk for a good deal. I finally decided to go with this Inspiron 3147 and I have no regrets. I like to use it as a tablet but I don't want to detach it from the keyboard, because you never know when you are going to want to flip it around to type anything longer than a couple sentences. This computer is very thin, elegant looking, like a higher end ultrabook from last year or the year before. The keyboard feels high quality. The battery lasts at least 6-7 hours. It is not the fastest laptop out there but at 2.3 ghz it's respectable. It only has 4 g of RAM but the machine itself tells me that the max is 8. You can buy a single stick 8 gig of DDR3 RAM here on Amazon for 72 bucks, which gives this little machine the power of a 1000 dollar laptop. For another 105 dollars you can throw in a 256 gig SSD harddrive and then you have a computer in competition with $1400 laptops, other than lacking an I-series processor. I plan to do both of these modifications. I also like that the battery is easily user-replaceable. I think the screen is not as precise with touch sensitivity as it could be if it was a Samsung or Apple device, but that's my only minor complaint. The USB 3.0 and HDMI ports are nice to have---these are not standard on all laptops in this price range. All in all I don't think there is anything better around right now for even 100-200 dollars more. It doesn't hurt that this is a sleek and elegant looking computer, as well.
4.0 out of 5 stars The Jury is Still Out, November 2, 2014 By

Moose Man (Cleveland OH) - See all my reviews

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

This my third Dell PC. My experience with their products has without question been wonderful. They work and just keep working. Until this most recent purchase I've never had a reason to call Dell Support for anything. The purchase of this 2 in 1 changed that.

It is important to note that whenever I purchase a new PC the first thing I do is check the manufacturer's website for updates and apply all those that are recommended. This was done with this 2 in 1 as well.

Almost immediately the touchscreen feature had stopped working. There was no obvious pattern of use to cause this. The only fix was to restart the PC. The touchscreen would then work for a while, but always at some indeterminate point again stop working. This lead to my first call ever to Dell support.

While it was clear by the name and accent, I was speaking with someone offshore, he was most courteous and very professional. After explaining the problem, he took me to the Dell download area where (after installing remote control) he again installed all the same updates I has previously installed. It made no difference.

As I was away from home when placing this call it was agreed I would monitor the problem and call back when I returned home to determine what next would be done.

A few days later when checking the notification area, I discovered the battery status indicator seemed to be reporting erroneous information. Although the PC was plugged in and the green light on the brick was on, the indicator reported in was at 90%, plugged in but not charging? The unit had been plugged in for the previous 12 hours and not used. It should have shown a fully charged condition.

I monitored this for a few days, noting the erroneous battery status report seemed to come and go and the amount of power remaining seemed to change, again there was no pattern of use that lead to this condition. During this time the PC remained on AC power for fear there was something wrong with the battery itself.

As I was still away from home and dependent upon this PC for light work duties, I contacted Dell support a second time. Again going offshore, I spoke with another representative who did exactly what the first rep had done, but to no avail. After it was determined applying the updates did not correct the problem, this rep agreed to send a Dell technician to my location to physically inspect and repair the PC.

It is important to note this onsite service was something I did NOT have to pay for. Dell provided it as a one time courtesy because of my situation being away from home and needing the PC. They were under no obligation to do that for me, but did. The tech rep arrived a few day later, swapped-out the motherboard, power port and exchanged the AC cable and adapter.

When he completed the work and re-checked the battery status, the erroneous readings were still present. He concluded the PC needed to be shipped to the Dell repair depot for a thorough inspection and to arrange for this with Dell support. As the unit was less than a month old the warranty should cover everything.

A few hours after the rep had left, I had reason to put the PC in the tent mode to watch a movie and discovered the screen image no longer would rotate 180 degrees when the unit was flipped. However both left and right portrait modes worked as did the standard laptop landscape mode.

This was yet a new development on this PC, as the tent mode had been being used extensively and without problem since the unit was first received. My third and final call to Dell support was placed. Another friendly and professional representative did their best to help me, do EXACTLY the same as did the first two, but to no avail. We made arrangements to have a return shipping box sent to my home and to be there after I had returned from my trip.

On my return home from my trip, a stop for the night at a hotel and an attempt to catch up on some work, I got out the 2 in 1 and tried to turn it on. It would not start. I was completely unresponsive on both AC and battery. The unit appeared dead.

When I arrived home and checked on my desktop PC, I saw that Dell had followed up with emails keeping me informed of the status of the box en route to me. The box arrived as promised and on schedule. The box, more than adequate packing to isolate and protect the PC during shipment, instructions and a per-printed return label via FedEx ground.

This problem-plagued PC is now on its way back to Dell for repairs.

You're wondering why with all these problems am I rating this PC with 3 stars? It because of Dell's outstanding service. Even the best of companies will occasionally turn-out a unit with problems as I have encountered. No one wants to be the person who ends-up wit that unit, but It happens. This time it was my turn.

To date I feel Dell has done everything expected of them to try and help me... and more. I have every confidence this will be resolved to my satisfaction. Bottom line. Its easy for any company to talk the talk. When it's time to back-up that talk with action is when we learn who the real stars are.

I will report back the outcome of this process.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Alternative to the Surface., July 26, 2014 By

Wayne U. - See all my reviews

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

I have only had this for 2 days, and I love it. Great alternative to the Surface. I did copy the HD to a SSD before I even booted to Windows for the first time, compared to the display model I played with at a big box store, it is way faster. So far I have not experienced any of the mouse, or auto-rotate lag that other reviewers have discussed, maybe because I uninstalled all the bloatware and other unnecessary apps that run in the background. I have it running MS Office 2010, and other software that I use daily, and no issues. my only complaint would be that the screen is not Full HD.

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Comment Comments (9)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous unit!, August 22, 2014 By

Harold W. Lemel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

As a person who has only owned laptops since the lat 80's, I must say that this is one of the nicest units and best deals that I have ever come across. I have another notebook a Lenovo W520, but it's too large and heavy along with its AC adaptor brick to lug around. This thing is perfect. I was hesitant after reading the display resolution specs but the display is great, the colors vibrant, responsiveness quick and it's bright enough to work on outside. I was also assuming I would have to upgrade the RAM or get an SSD for decent speed. But so far so god, as is. I keep numerous windows open and don't feel any great performance issues at all. Boot up is also surprisingly fast. Great to be able to use my Windows programs, the wireless works great, it's great as a tablet and as an entertainment unit. The sounds coming out of the speakers is pretty amazing better than my W520. The only thing I felt I needed to buy so far is a USB-ethernet adapter to directly connect to the internet. That cost me $15 on eBay.Finally the keyboard is fantastic. Not crunched up like the Asus transformer which I was also considering. Very highly recommended. Just to be clear, I am writing about the latest version of this computer, purchased for $400 from Office Depot after an $80 discount.
4.0 out of 5 stars Whatever you want it to be!, November 25, 2014 By

Stephen (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

The positive reviews on this laptop/tablet/propped up touch screen/laptop with touchscreen speak for themselves. The device is a piece of art and genius ingenuity. A lot of people simply like the idea of having a keyboard that is permanently attached allowing the device to have more power than most of the mobile devices out on the market.

1. The screen. I was concerned about this. Coming from an LG G2 phone with high quality resolution, I was a bit skeptical of this laptops native resolution. The laptop does not disappoint in screen quality for me. No text are not as razor sharp as the LG G2, but they are plenty good, and the color pop!! I have found for all of these full windows 8 tablets/pcs while the picture color is good, you can make it that much better through some minor adjustments. Right clicking on desktop you can go to graphic properties, click on display, click on the color tab. Leaving brightness at 0 and contrast at 50, I found that bringing down the gamma a bit made the pictures look like a Panasonic TV in terms of contrast.

The keyboard: My initial concern reading some of the reviews would be that this keyboard would be like some of those mini keyboards you see for the ipad 3/ size tablets. On the contrary, I find the keys on this to be very comfortable and spaced out. They are a bit smaller, but nothing not as small as some of those keyboards for ipads or other tablets. I could type on this for hours as I am quickly typing here as I write this review and feel fine. Also when you flip it over, YES, the keyboard does disable. Meaning you can use this as a tablet and not have to worry about the keyboard.

The mouse in tablet mode: When you flip it over to tablet mode, one would expect that the mouse would lock just like the keyboard. Indeed, that is exactly what it is supposed to do. There is a program called quickset, that manages this in tablet mode. For some reason some people are experiencing that while the computer locks the keyboard in tablet mode the mouse is still active. For those who are having this issue there is an easy fix. One should go to my computer, open the c: drive, go to program files (regular not x86), click on the folder that says dell, and click on the folder that says quickset. At this point a list of icons will show up. You will want to right click on the icon that says "QS" or "quickset" go down to send to and send it to the desktop. What this does is allows one an easy access to manually turning off the mouse within less than 10 seconds after turning it over into tablet mode. Im not sure if its my drivers installed, if its a windows update that caused this or what it is. But some have experienced this and having that program on the desktop is an easy quick fix to the problem.

Some people have given this tablet a negative rating due to the trackpad. They have stated that the trackpad is a bit slow. There is an easy and permanent fix for this. If you to your app screen, you can click the search icon in the upper right corner. Search for control panel. Open it up and view by large icons. You will want to click on the mouse icon. Going to the 4th tab once you have opened the mouse settings, you can control the pointer speed. Hit apply all set. My trackpad is super responsive.

The vent: It does its job fine, but needs respect due to the nature of what this is (a fully functional laptop with an intel chip inside). The laptop puts out very little heart. Compared to my old HP this thing puts out next to nothing. When multitasking it can get warm like any laptop, but never hot. Still in tablet mode, when you flip that screen over, the vent needs to be respected. Make sure that you hands are not blocking it or the vent isn't resting down and being blocked. Initially some might say that this is a reason to go with a tablet over a laptop. However the tradeoff to being respectful of this vent, is that you get much faster speeds, a larger hard drive, and much greater versatility on the spot with full Intel chips. That is the number one reason why I like this. It functions like a laptop, it functions like a tablet, unlike the ones with screens that come off and the computer is in the screen, you can hook up external dvd rom drives, have have 3 usb ports.

Apps: They are growing fast! If your an app person...Microsoft's weather app is the best weather app I have seen. Its better than apples, its better than Samsung's Accuweather. The radar is easy to access, its very user friendly. But windows has all your basic apps and more now. They have facebook, painting apps, youtube apps, alarm apps, microphone apps, news apps, game apps...THEY EVEN HAVE A GOOGLE SEARCH APP. (Meaning): You can use your voice to search The first time you open the app you have to allow the app access to the microphone, but the mic on this is a lot better, faster and more responsive than any Samsung tablet Ive used so I like using google talk.

Speakers: Im very very impressed. Better than my 17 inch HP g7 laptop. They are plenty loud for me but really I don't care about PC speakers because I usually use headphones for music and movies. the device has blutooth so you can even connect wireless headphones.

Brightness: Directly on, the screen is plenty bright. It can go plenty high as well for high and for low light situations.

Windows button on Monitor itself: Very useful.

Last thoughts:
1. You can upgrade the ram to 8gb.

2. You can change the 500gb disk hard drive to a solid state drive (which is much much faster even though this is already a fairly zippy machine).

3. You can easily hook this up to a monitor using a standard size HDMI port. No conversion cables necessary just plain old HDMI. Plug. Play.

4. Good battery life for a laptop. I'm getting about 6-8 depending on how I use it. If you switch to a solid state drive you will get more. 6-8 is typical of a tablet so for a fully functioning laptop to get 6-8 with a true Intel Pentium inside your looking at good battery life.

5. What about external monitors? If your monitor doesn't have HDMI, it likely has DVI. HDMI to DVI cords are cheap to buy and work just fine.

6. This tablet has mirror cast.

CONCLUSIONS:

I have owned many electronic gadgets over the years. I really enjoy tablets and love cell phones. But this is one my new favorites. You can make it whatever you want it to be and windows apps are growing every day. I was planning on using an android galaxy tab pro as a replacement desktop/laptop. Tried it for a week and sold it. While the display looked great there is nothing like having a desktop where to store stuff, the ability to buy an external DVD play and have it work just fine for DVD movies and games, and the functionality of again, whatever you want it to be.

Really if your looking for a tablet but are torn between the tablet and laptop infrastructure, but want something with faster speeds and more versatility than the tablets that disconnect from the keyboard and are tablets on their own (Like having the ability at a moments notice to plug in an external DVD player and CD RW drive via USB), then this is an excellent choice. The 11.6 screen is great for mobility and is a perfect cross over.

Acceptable Windows 8 Mini Laptop, November 18, 2014 By

MagnumMan (Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3148-6840sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i3 Processor, 4GB RAM) (Personal Computers)

Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

Keep in mind this is a review of this laptop, not the OS. I am not going to fault Dell for any perceived misgivings concerning the OS.

Unfortunately, the Amazon description doesn't really highlight the features of this unit, at least not in sufficient detail. Blame that on the vendor or Dell, but either way it might dampen sales.

First off, this isn't the usual Dell 11. Those come with Celeron processors while this one comes with the beefer i3.

Second, this is a convertible, something that's merely mentioned as an "oh yeah, by the way…" in the description. If you want a laptop, it'll work as such but if you desire the tablet mode just fold the keyboard back and you've got a workable, if not thick, tablet. And for those preferring a video watching mode, this unit can go into "tent"mode in which it folds into a partial triangle for tabletop viewing.

Specs include:

* 4GB DDR3 RAM. This is about the minimum you'd want with Windows 8.1 but the kicker here is that upgrading to more is a real trick involving literally dismantling the casing and jumping through hoops. In fact, you've got to remove 7 or more screws and gently pry the casing away from the frame just to get to the main area (which then requires a few more screws be removed, etc). If you must know the technique, search online videos and you'll find some or just go to dell.com and download the manual.

* Intel 4th Generation i3 processor. Base line for the i series, this still is a good performer in most respects. Don't expect high-end gaming here but higher quality videos will play just fine as long as you don't press your luck with having too much open at the same time.

* Although there's an 11 in the title, the screen is actually closer to 12", 11.6 to be exact. Quality is passable but it's obvious there is a bit of screen dimming going on here to extract maximum battery life and resolution is not as crisp as it could be. This is also a touchscreen that I found to be responsive and precise, much better than some tablets I've played with (Android or iOS). Resolution is okay and a little on the low side, but nobody ever claimed this was equivalent to Apple's Retina.

* 500GB, 5400 rpm hard drive. Plenty of space even if this is a bit antiquated in the days of much faster SSDs. Might explain why boot times can be a little slow and programs are a little pokey to start, especially compared to SSD versions; however, it is more than adequate for the everyday user while power users may find it lacking. Sound is noticeable by its absence so the HDD is well shielded.

* SD card slot and webcam. These have become ubiquitous. Webcam is of decent quality and sufficient for chatting. Although I could find nothing directly indicating such, the card slot looks to be capable of handling the usual 64GB card. As for the webcam, I couldn't tell the MP quality and nothing seems to discuss that.

* As a nice tough and welcome addition usually not found on these smaller units, an HDMI out slot.

* 3 USB ports, one of which is 3.0 but have fun finding it. It's the same color as all the others. In addition, 2 of these ports are side-by-side meaning it's nearly impossible to have two peripherals working at the same time, at least on that side of the computer (and this is the side that has 2 crammed ports).

* Wireless N and Bluetooth. Again, both are expected so nothing new here although I will mention both worked just fine.

* Decent sized keyboard and trackpad with the latter being the usual square version with no separate right or left buttons (you just have to know where to press to activate either). As for the keyboard, it's spill resistant so keys are a big tighter to fit than most laptops. I find the extra feedback welcome while others may find it a bit resistant. If I had to give a guess, I'd state this keyboard is close to the old IBM laptops.

* 43 WHr, 3 cell battery rated at 7 +/- hours. In my testing I got closer to 5.25 before running to an outlet. Still, not bad and close to Apple offerings. If you're willing to live with a dimmed screen I have no doubt you could squeeze at least another hour out of it. Of note, I noticed wild fluctuations in battery life during normal use (it would jump from 4 to 7 hours and then somewhere in between) so keep your eye on that meter!

* Weight seems to come in at a rather svelte 3 pounds or about the same as most MacBook Airs, give or take (however, one is plastic while the other is metal).

Construction-wise, it's the usual silver colored plastic but it is well made with no undue creaking or groaning. There is a moderate amount of hinge resistance when converting to tablet mode but, then again, do you really want this thing flopping around all the time? Everything seems to fit precisely and the keyboard didn't exhibit much flex.

However, there are a couple weak points I should point out. On the bottom center of the screen border is the Windows button. It flexed a great deal and caused ripples on the screen when used. Why this is here I don't know, there already is a Windows button on the desktop (may be a throwback to Windows 8 days).

Secondly, the palm rest on the right side is spongy and it's possible to push it down a good eighth inch or so. Some may find this a bit disconcerting, but it doesn't affect performance.

As for performance, it's not bad at all. Although hampered by a spinner hard drive, this little puppy will do quite well for general use. I did notice the bottom got a little warm after extended use but you won't get burned by hot plastic nor does it seem to alter performance.

And, surprise, surprise, limited bloatware! Other than the usual McAfee and MS Office trials, there is a limited number of Dell programs to get in the way and most seem to center on backing up or system tuning. Fortunately, all of these can be removed to perk up things a little bit.

Overall, this isn't a bad convertible laptop at all, although the initial price point of $550 puts it in the higher end of the mini convertible category (Celeron versions of this unit sell for substantially less and will probably get the lion's share of sales).

I would recommend this for students and everyday users not requiring massive amounts of power. Gamers and serious number crunchers will probably want to opt for i5 or i7 laptop offerings with extended RAM and SSDs.

Pros:

* Nice build

* Good performance for everyday users

* Included HDMI is a plus

* Better than average keyboard

* Could be upgraded if you've got the time and effort

Cons:

* 2 of the USB ports are side-by-side so fat chance you'll get two peripherals plugged in at the same time, at least on that one side.

* Windows button on screen border is not necessary and exhibits too much flex.

* In tent mode, any video with a decent amount of bass will cause the computer to skip all over a table because there are no rubber pads on the edges.

* Screen exhibits a great deal of shine and is a fingerprint magnet. I can live with the former, but the latter on a touchscreen? Have a cloth handy.

* Not price competitive.

* Upgrading is a bear, but possible.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
If you are contemplating buying this, buy it now., November 4, 2014 By

Steven Kistler - See all my reviews

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

A few months before I had bought this Inspiron 2-in-1 laptop, I was looking for a new laptop for school. I previously had a Toshiba Satellite that I had got for a birthday gift/graduation present from my mother. It was from 2010 and the laptop was slowing down, even though I always ran all the proper software to keep it going fast. It did its job and it was time to replace it. I was looking for something light and portable that had a good battery life. As i am a college student, I need the battery life and an excellent keyboard to take notes with. With this, I can't be happier with what I have.

For $400, you get a quad-core Intel processor. Even though it isn't a part of the Intel Core i series, the Pentium in this bad boy definitely does the job. From being shut down, I can have this booted to the start screen in less than 15 seconds, which is half the time that my desktop can do with an SSD (solid state drive) in it. Anybody who knows about computer building and operation knows that an SSD is at least 10x faster than a 7200 rpm HDD (standard mechanical hard drive). With this having a 5400 rpm HDD in it, I couldn't believe the performance I get from this. I prefer to work on this rather than my desktop with my 32 inch flat screen as my monitor.

Working on this, I feel like I am more professional and can take a lot better notes than what I could ever do with my old Toshiba. For about 2 weeks, I was on the fence about buying this laptop. I waited for the price to come back down to $399.99 (from $429.99). I have loved working on this ever since I pulled it out of its packaging. If you are a college student who needs something good for class work or a business man who is looking for something to take to his meetings and work on his work at home, this is your computer. Look no further.

Oh and I forgot to mention, Amazon is selling this $50 less than Dell themselves are selling it at. The 2-in-1 at this price from Dell directly only has a dual core Celeron processor in it. Buy it here and get 2 extra cores and a little more clock speed for free. What are you waiting for?

4.0 out of 5 stars A quick review, and comparo to Asus T100, September 26, 2014 By

ilovetofu - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

The price on this hybrid laptop seems to fluctuate. I purchased mine from Dell for 4 Benjamins, and financed it through a Dell Preferred Account for an additional 10% off. Beyond the form factor and price, I like the fact that the memory and storage on this machine can be user upgraded, whereas many other similar devices come with those components soldered on.

I've upgraded the hard drive to a Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Single Unit Version Internal Solid State Drive MZ-7TE250BW, and it made a significant difference in noise and performance. The only issue I encountered during the OS migration was the Samsung Data Migration software kept giving me a disk defrag error, which I was finally able to resolve by using Windows 8 disk manager to shrink the primary hard drive partition down to less than 250gb. The Samsung Data Migration software worked flawlessly after that. The Samsung Magician software is also excellent, and I recommend installing it. This laptop only supports SATA II, but from what I've researched the speed difference isn't noticeable for most users, and certainly isn't a bottleneck in this machine.

I have not upgraded the memory at this time. I am waiting for prices on 8GB DDR3L memory modules to drop, and 4GB is currently sufficient for my needs as it isn't my primary workhorse computer.

I also own an Asus T100, and below are the differences compared to the T100. A "+" denotes an attribute in the Dell's favor, and a "-" denotes an advantage to the T100:

Dell i3147-3750 vs Asus T100:

+ larger screen size (11.6" vs 10.1", both at 1366x768 resolution)
+ roomier keyboard that is much easier to type on
+ more flexible screen (I wish I could tilt the T100 screen back another 15-30 degrees)
+ more memory (and is user upgradable)
+ more storage (and is user upgradable)
+ much faster charging (T100 uses microUSB charger which is slow)
+ faster CPU (Pentium N3530 vs ATOM Z3775 or the older Z3740)
- shorter battery life (5-6 hours vs 8-10 hours)
- heavier (especially in tablet form)
- bulkier power supply and uses a 3-pronged power cord
- worse build quality (Dell uses soft plastics and the finish scratches easily)
- higher street price at time of this review

All in all, I really like the Dell. I only wish it had a backlit keyboard (but that would raise the price), or the F1-F12 keys were more visibly labeled (the small blue lettering is difficult to see in the dark). I uploaded some additional customer images with tips that other users may find useful, particularly those that prefer a bluetooth mouse, as the built-in trackpad isn't all that great.

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised by the Great Quality and Low Price!, August 13, 2014 By

Essam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

I bought this laptop with great hesitation and was debating between buying the Dell Inspiron 11 or the Lenovo Yoga 2 in 1. I decided to buy the Dell because of its aesthetic pleasure. Thus far, this laptop has not disappointed me. It is fast and responsive. The trackpad it a little rough, but it doesn't interfere with the overall quality of the laptop nor does it cause any frustration. The speed on this laptop was one of my main concerns. I heard that the Intel Pentium Quad Core series lacked in strength. However, I have yet to see a con. I mostly use my laptop for browsing the internet, checking email, and typing essays, and this laptop has performed especially well. I recommend this laptop for any college student, such as myself, with the need for a nice, portable, and efficient laptop for a great price. Some other pros: the battery life, the 2 in 1 convertible feature, and the audio. Highly recommended.
Good portable laptop but not without issues, July 20, 2014 By

peace - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

Pros:
• Folds and bends without issue
• Automatically disables keyboard very quickly when you fold it upside down for use as a tablet
• Lightweight, slim, maneuverable and not cumbersome
• Pretty good performance for such a small laptop
• Great battery life
• Fast startup and shutdown times
• Speakers are surprisingly good quality
Cons:
• Corners of the touch screen have given me issues in terms of sensitivity and recognizing when I click the corner. This is especially annoying when I have a window fullscreen and try clicking the exit button with my finger, it takes a couple tries to get it
• The left click on the track pad gets stuck every couple of clicks and I have to push it backwards to get it unstuck, this can be sort of annoying
• Trackpad sometimes just doesn't respond to my touch, I have to give it a couple swipes before it works. I think this typically happens when the computer is lagging or after I just flip it out of touchscreen mode
• For some reason when I try to charge it, every couple of times it gives me an error message saying something about the wrong voltage/current from the charger. I just ignore it and nothing bad seems to happen, but who knows

Very solid everyday laptop, with HTPC aspirations.., November 25, 2014 By

William Grose "Tzu Crazy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3148-6840sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i3 Processor, 4GB RAM) (Personal Computers)

Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

I'm really glad more manufacturers are getting on the 2-in-1 bandwagon, because it makes Windows 8 much, much more bearable. Touch screens are just awkward when a laptop is in its "regular" position, but when you're able to fold it back, use it in "tent"or "tablet" mode, NOW you're talking!

This Dell i3 laptop I received showed up in a pretty barebones box. The packaging really isn't great. Egg-shell-like carton holds the laptop in place, and I was prepared for the worst. I needn't have worried.

I pulled the laptop out, powered it on, and was greeted to a quiet, solid little machine - with a few fun surprises for the money involved.

First things first: Setup is a very simple affair. There's not much bloatware at all on this system, so those used to having to uninstall 400 programs after first boot will be much happier. Windows 8 is... well... Windows 8 (8.1 in this case). I recommend downloading the simple application called "Classic Shell" to get your regular Start menu back, and then it's just like Windows 7, with the added benefit of touch-screen usage should you need it.

Anyway, let's start with the good!

1.) Decent IPS multi-touch screen. Not the absolute highest quality, but it's a decent enough screen, and it's great to see IPS displays coming down to the lower end of the laptop spectrum. I hope someday soon that TN panels will go away completely. IPS panels are what's in the iPads etc, and while the iPad displays are of higher quality (and resolution), it's the right direction to go. The display is 1366x768, which is "fine" for this size screen, though higher would always have been nice.
2.) The hinges feel very solid. No slop or wobbliness to them.
3.) Sound is surprisingly loud, with speakers on both sides of the laptop for clear audio. Not much bass, as to be expected, but you won't be struggling to hear anything.
4.) Three USB ports. Two of them are USB 2.0 and one of them is USB 3.0. That's a good thing... and, strangely, a bad thing. Dell decided not to color the one USB 3.0 port blue like most companies (Apple-aside) do. So you'll want to consult the included manual to figure out which port it is. :-)
5.) Full-size HDMI out.
6.) SD Card reader.
7.) 100-240v power adapter, so you can use this worldwide with the appropriate plug-end. No voltage converter needed.
8.) Doesn't run very hot at all, even when pushed.
9.) Not a noisy laptop at all.
10.) Large, multitouch trackpad works pretty well.

And now... the bad:

1.) 500GB 5400rpm isn't exactly the fastest drive in the world. However, it gets the job done.
2.) While the keyboard isn't bad, it's a little spongy for my liking, and it's not backlit either - which perhaps isn't a surprise a this price-point.
3.) No 5Ghz wifi - only 2.4Ghz.

And here comes the fun part:

For those of you who need a laptop that doubles as your Home Theater PC (HTPC), this laptop does a tremendous job. The Haswell i3 chipset in here fully supports 1080p at 24p (23.976hz) with full HD Audio out - through the HDMI port. That means you can use it as your Blu-ray player, Plex/XBMC player etc. The Haswell chipset is the first Intel chipset to do 24p correctly without frame loss.

Now, while the i3 Intel NUC is certainly cheaper, you'll have to provide your own Operating System, RAM, hard disk, wifi card etc. That can easily rival the cost of this Dell i3 laptop, which also is a touch-screen laptop!

So, value-for-money-wise, this Dell 2-in-1 is a pretty great proposition if you want to solve a few problems in one go. For those of us with space constraints, the NUC is still a tremendous little computer, but more options are always good!

Overall, 4.5 out of 5. An easy recommendation.

5.0 out of 5 stars First based hybrid tablet that runs Linux perfectly., September 14, 2014 By

Amazon Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

I run Fedora 20 on this machine. With a few configuration changes it works great!

Also, I recommend replacing the original 500GB drive and putting an SSD drive in (make sure the drive is as thin as the original hdd).

To get power management (Suspend/reboot/poweroff) to work without freezing, you must blacklist the dw_dmac & dw_dmac_core module. This is a known bug and will probably be fixed soon.

/etc/modprobe.d/dell-blacklist.conf

blacklist dw_dmac
blacklist dw_dmac core

To get the blacklight to work, add this file:

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf

Section "Device"
Identifier "card0"
Driver "intel"
Option "Backlight" "intel_backlight"
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
EndSection

I hope this helped fellow linux users, I believe these steps will work for Ubuntu users as well.

Better Than My ASUS Netbook, November 24, 2014 By

Noname - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3148-6840sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i3 Processor, 4GB RAM) (Personal Computers)

Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

This is my second touchscreen Windows 8.1 laptop. It's the first one with a screen that folds over, transforming my laptop into a tablet. What can I say? I love it!

SIZE

I'm not sure I'd really classify it as a laptop. It's lots smaller than my husband's Dell Inspiron 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop, but just a tad bigger (and heavier) than my 11 inch ASUS Eee PC netbook.

Would I call it a tablet? It's noticeably larger than my Kindle Fire HD 8.9" tablet, and much heavier. If I only wanted to haul around a tablet, I'd pick my Kindle Fire.

WINDOWS 8.1

The key to unlocking the beauty of Windows 8.1 is a touchscreen laptop. Swipe-touch-scroll-type-click flows so intuitively, you'll wonder where Windows 8.1 has been all this time.

I was a Windows 8 hater. I'm not anymore.

TABLET/LAPTOP

I've only ever used my ASUS netbook when travelling. This has changed with my Dell convertible. I am so comfortable hauling it with me around the house. If I need to type up an email, I can do it. If I want to read, just fold it over. Like the Android tablets, it senses when my screen is in portrait mode and automatically rotates.

I was afraid the keys would get in the way when I fold it over, but that hasn't been the case for me. I could hold it like any tablet, touching and swiping away on the screen. I tried pressing the keyboard intentionally to see if it would cause problems, but it doesn't.

There's a little button on one side I can touch any time I want to see the tiles. I never liked the tiles when I had Windows 8 on my PC, but they work so well on a touchscreen.

I do use the touchpad, but I use it less and less as I get more comfortable touching the screen instead. The touchpad is sensitive and works very well.

SOME ISSUES

The one thing lacking is documentation. There wasn't any paperwork in the box, except the warranty and a quick start guide.

There's card reading slot. That card reading slot is a 2-in-1 media card reader. Which media? My SDXC card fits, but I'm afraid to insert it all the way, because I got it nearly in but felt no spring and didn't know how I was going to get it out.

I'd like to find some answers without having to go online.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

This is the best laptop I've ever owned. It turns on and off quickly. The battery life is great. I've been using it for days and it still has juice.

The Dell convertible won't replace my Kindle, but it will replace my ASUS. I haven't ditched my PC, but I'm no longer chained to it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag..., October 29, 2014 By

Amazon Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

Was really excited when first seeing this Dell Inspiron 11.6" 2-in-1 notebook in a local showroom. But reading many reviews online, it seemed to have a pretty high "lemon" rate--like problems with the trackpad erratic and keyboard sometimes stopping working, and occasional freezes and crashes. But some people loved it, and the design is unique and innovative with the flip screen in particular. Not only that, it appeared to be easily upgradable with an SSD and more memory if desired, and the display looked pretty good. So took the chance & grabbed one (a display model that i was able to personally use ahead of time, seemed solid with no apparent glitches).

So got it home and worked pretty well, and in all fairness audio (for a laptop) was outstanding, but the keyboard stopped working. So i "refreshed" the machine which took an hour, and keyboard started working again. So my newly-ordered Crucial M550 240gb SSD arrived, and after cloning the drive figured it'd be a cakewalk to swap it into the machine (especially since Dell provides instructions for getting into the innards thru the bottom).

Guess again--no less than 9 screws had to be removed (some were loose), then hassled with plastic friction catches still holding the bottom in place (hoping not to break any of the thingys off). So finally successfully pried the bottom off. Next, the spin 500g drive was held in with 3 more tiny superfluous screws (one would've done the job, but the fates were on my side--didn't lose any). Then the SATA connector to the hdd was not anchored to the mainboard--rather loosely held in place by a tethered wire, which made removal more risky than necessary. All this apparatus was right next to a ribbon keyboard cable loosely connected to a plug--so loose it popped off when i removed the hdd (had no locking mechanism). The ribbon cable was run underneath the hdd, and folded diagonally over on itself to line up with the plug with no slack, so that operating temperature changes probably helped work the plug out of the socket over time. The connector has no hard plastic cover, which caused it to be the dickens getting it firmly seated in the socket without damaging it.

After about 4x the estimated time to get this done, got the unit back together with newly-cloned SSD and ribbon cable staying loosely in the plug and all 12 screws reinstalled (miraculously without losing any). Turning it on, bootup was faster but not spectacular, and overall performance was less than hoped for-- still slightly hesitant functioning. Compared to a Toshiba NB15T 11.6" notebook (which is really a lesser machine in comparison which i also retrofitted an SSD), had a huge difference for the better in performance, and imho running side by side is smoother than the Dell.

One thing that had attracted me to the Dell was (in the showroom) a contrasty and overall attractive LED display. But after close side-by-side comparisons with my Toshiba, the difference wasn't striking. Both are 720p, but the colors, contrast and clarity don't hold a candle to what really is "the standard" in portable screens out there right now, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S with its 10 1/2" Amoled display. Amoled just runs circles around typical run-of-the-mill LED displays, including Apple Retina (sorry apple fans). The Galaxy S's really really deep contrast and realism (and 1920p resolution)--just absolutely nothing else like it exists out there right now especially for movie viewing.

Since after this experience the Dell's design did not inspire confidence, made the big decision and once again risked everything to put the Dell back into its original condition by removing my precious ssd, reinstalling the spin hdd, and back together without the keyboard cable slipping loose again, restored the OS to its factory state, in working order, ready for return.

Really a shame, some really nice features in Dell's 2 in 1 notebook. But after getting a look inside, can see why there are lemon reports on this model ('tis a pity...).

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazingly High Quality Machine, September 13, 2014 By

Diddy D - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

I bought this laptop directly from Microsoft ($449) and got free 1-day overnight delivery which was pretty awesome. The laptop is far, far thinner and better looking than absolutely anything Dell has ever come out with before, I can promise you that. I've owned an older version inspiron for years (that weighed way too much) and worked with many latitudes and ultraportable XPS machines, and I can tell you this laptop far and away looks better than any of those. Only negative thing I can is that the black bezel around the screen is a bit wide (maybe an inch all the way around) so the touchscreen is definitely not edge-to-edge by any means but I can understand the utility of that if you're using it in tablet mode (which I never do). Other than that it honestly looks (design-wise) like a >$1000 machine easily.

The hinges are also much stronger than I would have thought. Again I've had this for over a month and I use it very frequently, and I've maybe once ever actually moved the screen around to be in tablet or stand mode (never really tried working in tent mode). But I can tell the hinges are better than I expected them to be in the sense that they are strong and won't give too much when you're pressing on the screen when it's in regular laptop mode. But again only 1 month so far, time will tell.

The pentium processor isn't the fastest thing in the world but I went for years with a first general intel core duo 1.6 GHz in my old inspiron and it worked just fine for me, so this is definitely an improvement. I use it a lot to write documents in MS Word or look up my patients in the remote medical record system (Epic) usually on one side of the screen while I have a netflix tv show or something running on the other side of the screen (I like the side-by-side thing), which incidentally is perfectly fine on this 11-inch screen. I had some concerns that the screen might be too small for me but honestly it's perfectly fine (although I'm 26 so my eyesight isn't that bad yet). But the fact that it's a touch screen makes life so much easier. Instead of scrambling for the cursor with the touchpad sometimes I just reach out and touch whatever box or icon I want to click, huge time saver.

All in all: this is actually a very high quality machine, and even more so when you look at the price. I would much rather own this than a macbook air which I was also considering (before I remembered that I hate Mac OS), and besides I could break this and buy two new ones before I would approach the cost of a macbook air (which just doesn't make sense to me for my uses).

Performance Improvement Suggestion with SSD and RAM, September 8, 2014 By

Sea Stew "Naval Officer" (Southern CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV 11.6-Inch 2 in 1 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop (Personal Computers)

I am pleased to report success in upgrading the Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV to yield an appreciable performance improvement! I purchased the Crucial 8GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800), and the Samsung 840 EVO SSD from Amazon.com and performed a clean installation of Win 8.1 without any issues!

Note: My unfortunate experience and waste of time clearly identified an interface issue with Win 8.1 recognizing the Intel 530 Series 240GB SSD when installed in this system (even though the SSD was recognized in the BIOS setup). Neither Dell nor Microsoft Tech Support was of any help to resolve the Intel SSD interface issue.

Helpful steps for a clean Win 8.1 installation:
1. Initialize the SSD as GUID Partition Table (GPT) vs Master Boot Record (MBR) and format as simple volume:
a. Use "Run Command" and type "diskpart"
b. Identify the drive to reformat: type "list disk"
c. Select the drive, and reformat it: type "select disk <disk number>"
d. Type "Clean"
e. Type "convert gpt"
f. Type "exit"

2. Set BIOS to UEFI boot in unsecured mode.

3. Used Win 8.1 media for a clean install (when choosing the installation type, select "Custom" the drive should appear as a single area of unallocated space.
Select the unallocated space and click "Next" Windows begins the installation).

4. Load Win 8.1 drivers from Dell Support site (preferably on a SDHC card from another system since Wi-Fi will not operate on system without driver; another alternative is to access internet via an Ethernet/USB dongle).

Note: Dell Inspiron i3147-3750sLV system BIOS does not incorporate Trusted Platform Module (TPM), however, you can encrypt the Samsung SSD by upgrading to Win 8.1 Pro and enabled BitLocker (see allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM link: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6229/how-to-use-bitlocker-on-drives-without-tpm/)


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