The Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook is an upper midrange chromebook aimed at a niche market; it has the display and build quality of a midrange chromebook, but the amount of storage and a processor you’d expect to find on more expensive models. It eschews your standard Celeron, Pentium, or even Core M in favor of a full-on Core U CPU (albeit only an i3), delivering very snappy performance on such a lightweight OS, and it supports Android apps to help bolster Chrome OS’s middling program compatibility. Its price and its performance make it a strong pick as the best chromebook for seniors, though several issues will likely keep it from being a techie’s next laptop. Why We Like It - Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook The Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook is a solid premium chromebook featuring an Intel Core i3 processor, a decent full HD display, and surprisingly good build quality thanks to its aluminum construction. Display Type/Resolution First, the good: the Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook’s display is a typical 1080p IPS panel with touch support, delivering great viewing angles and much better colors than a TN panel. The praise stops there though; it’s dim, coming in at around 260 nits, and it’s only rated for around 72% of the NTSC color gamut, a figure that is not especially great. Even further compounding things are its chunky bezels, which make it a bit awkward to use in tablet mode, though this is more of a nitpick than anything. One thing sets its display apart from most other chromebooks--it has EMR pen support and even ships with an included stylus, making it adequate for aspiring digital artists that want a bit more flexibility than something like a Galaxy Tab or iPad Pro could provide. Battery Life Battery life on the Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook is good overall, but surprisingly mediocre for the hardware it packs. It has all of the components needed to provide insane battery life; a mobile Core U i3 is not power hungry at all, and 56Whr is a fairly typical battery size for laptops of this caliber. Even so, it only provides 9 hours tops on a single charge, easily outliving lower end machines like the Asus Chromebook C523NA, but falling short of the similarly-priced HP Chromebook x360 14. Weight The Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook is heavy for its screen size, weighing in at just shy of 4 lbs. This, combined with its very chunky bezels, make it clunky for tablet use; you can flip it into tablet mode, but its heft and its size make that suboptimal. Heavier 14” laptops absolutely exist, but for a machine rocking a 15w CPU that further touts its tablet functionality, it’s a bit disappointing it’s so heavy. Durability Thanks to its aluminum construction and surprisingly great build quality (Inspirons tend to be cheaply built), durability is fairly solid on the Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook. Its hinge is a bit stiff, but it’s functional in its design. All in all, it’s a well-built laptop, which is impressive given the Inspiron lineup’s typical reputation. Inputs In terms of inputs, you’re looking at one USB Type A port, two USB Type C ports, a microSD card reader, and an audio jack. An additional Type A port would have been nice to see, as would some form of display out; one USB C port supports display adapter dongles, but the exclusion of mini DisplayPort or HDMI is unfortunate at this price point. Its keyboard is merely alright; travel and spacing are both adequate, but like many Dell keyboards, the keys have a spongy feel with poor feedback. Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook Wrap-up The Dell Inspiron 2 in 1 Chromebook is very difficult to recommend to anyone who doesn’t need every ounce of CPU performance they can possibly get. The Acer Chromebook 514 is, in many ways, a better machine; it’s got similar build quality, a better keyboard, and a better screen in exchange for slower hardware that rarely makes a difference in Chrome OS. If you absolutely need the extra oomph the Inspiron has to offer, it’s a decent buy, but if you’re chasing value, save a bit of money and get the Acer Chromebook 514 instead.
