Pros: Dual core Skylake Core i5 CPU, 4GB of upgradable RAM, foldable touchscreen, Intel HD 520 graphics chip, competitive price.
Cons: 500 GB of storage, some users experience connectivity issues.
Dell has really upped its game since it went from being a publicly traded company to a private company that doesn't have to respond to shareholders. Proof of this is the company's relentless efforts to corner the consumer market with quality laptops at affordable prices, something that was pretty much unheard of until recently.
Its newest 2 in 1 laptop, the Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV really lets this show by providing a slim for factor, 2 in 1 functionality as well as some killer internals at a more than reasonable price. Hungry for more? Then don't waste another second and read our review of the Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV.
What do buyers have to say about this laptop? Here's the 411!
Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV Review of a Stylish and Powerful 2 in 1
A portable design that stands out
Upon first glance it's quite clear that the Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV isn't just a "regular laptop". This notebook surprises us with a sleek design and a 2 in 1 form factor that provides us with the best of both worlds; a highly functional tablet coupled with a mid range laptop.
The screen in place is a 13.3 inch IPS HD display with a 1366 by 768 pixel resolution supported by a LED-backlit touch display. Yes, this is a touchscreen, otherwise the whole tablet thing wouldn't really be happening.
Specifically, we call this model a 2 in 1 because, unlike "traditional touchscreen laptops" this particular model can fold itself to the point where all we see is the display. It's not a detachable screen like we see on the Asus Transformer line but it comes as close as it can to that while keeping a set of top notch components in place.
The portability of the Inspiron i7359-2435SLV shows not only in its design but also in its weight, with just 3.6 pounds and a 0.75 inch body. To place things in perspective, this model is just slightly heavier than a 13 inch MacBook Pro Retina.
Great Performance on the go and on the office
The i7359-2435SLV comes packed with a pretty awesome Intel Core i5-6200U processor that works at 2.2 GHz and goes up to 2.7 GHz when we dive into more demanding tasks. This is a Skylake generation processor that features two cores and supports Intel's latest Smart Cache with 3 MB.
Overall, this isn't just a great CPU for a 2-in-1 laptop, it's a great processor for even a standalone laptop therefore congrats are definitely in order for Dell for managing to "squeeze" this great processor inside.
In regards to the System Memory, things aren't as superb as it comes with a typical 4 GB DDR3L SDRAM module. However, we should point out that you can upgrade the RAM to 8GB if you're a poweruser, something that's also a standout feature in these kinds of devices.
Graphical performance is delegated to an Intel HD 520 Graphics chip. We won't sugar-coat it; this is not a laptop suitable for hard gamers. However, titles such as World of Warships and Dirt Rally will do a good job when played at low settings.
Battery life is very impressive, as expected in this kind of product, according to Dell, its 3 cell battery can deliver roughly 9 hours of unplugged joy therefore you won't have many issues when it comes down to mobility.
What are the Drawbacks, what are the Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV's cons?
The main drawback we can pin point just by taking a quick glance is storage. Although we don't have a horrible 32 GB SSD unit, storage is powered by a 500 GB hard drive. For many people this is fine but those who like to carry their whole media library with them might find this to be a bit of a turn-off.
Another drawback that can't be seen on the spec-sheet is connectivity. Specifically, there seem to be some troublesome units going around that have problems logging to the internet or even staying connected to the internet for long. You can read all about that in the customer reviews. It's not something that has affected all units but users who have had this issue have been very vocal about it (as anyone would).
What's left to know?
Setting the apparent issue of connectivity aside, we would like to give you a quick walkthrough over the rest of the connectivity options. To this point, we'll say that like most 13 inch models there's no optical drive. We've got 1 USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0. HDMI as well as WiFi of the ac variety (up to three times faster than conventional b/g/n support).
There's also an HD webcam and we should mention that the keyboard is backlit, something we really like.
Closing statements
After reviewing the Dell Inspiron i7359-2435SLV we gotta say that we love it. Assuming that you don't have the bad luck to get one of the models that has issues with the WiFi connectivity we believe this to be an excellent bargain.
The processor is top notch, the upgradable RAM is a great feature and the fact that this all comes in a portable fashion that doubles as a tablet makes it all the more worthwhile. We would definitely advise users looking for a portable and affordable powerhouse to go with this model being the worst case scenario that you have to return it and switch it for another model.