Dell Vostro 1540 Ci3/2 GB/500 GB/Linux

This laptop is a recommended buy for those looking for a entry level budget laptop from Dell.

The laptop came with Ubuntu OS. Not being a big fan, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate right away. Finding the drivers on dell.com/support/drivers/in/en/inbsd1/DriversHome/NeedProductSelection was effortless (another reason to stick around with Dell) and didn't take more than an hour.

The battery back up is decent - 2.5 hours when running on full brightness and playing content on the DVD drive.
The 15.6" screen has excellent viewing angles and the colors look true. The viewing experience as a whole is excellent.

The keyboard and track pad feel very responsive. Some might need the numeric keypad, considering the large screen, but I don't need one. Also, no numeric keypad translates to widely spaced keys, which works great for me.

Plenty of USB slots: 3 ports to connect a USB mouse / pen drive / data card all at once

The first generation i3 processor (380M, 2.54 Ghz) effortlessly meets my daily multitasking requirements. I have Word, Excel, VLC player, Firefox and Chrome open all the time and never faced any performance lag.

The speakers are good and are loud enough.

Here is the Windows Experience Index. The laptop scores fine in all areas, except Graphics where it takes a hit :

Processor : 6.7
Memory : 5.5
Graphics : 3.8
Gaming graphics : 5.1
Primary hard disk : 5.9

This laptop is not for those looking to play high end games. Counter Strike works like a charm, but I wouldn't push it into running Battlefield 3 and expect wonders.

The build quality/feel are alright, but for those who are rather particular about looks, one can get the Inspiron 14R for a few more thousand (but with a smaller screen, of course).
For 27k, one also gets a Dell backpack and 1 year complete cover and onsite service, making the Vostro 1540 the best buy among the lot.

Pros:
-Cost
-Anti Glare Screen
-core i3 processor
-15.6 inch screen with super sound system

Cons:
-Low quality keyboard
-no inbuilt mike.
-hard to find wi-fi and graphics driver for win7

I was looking for a good feature laptop below 30000rs range. I had checked for samsung or dell and i finally made my mind for vostro. Flipkart delivery was awesome as usualy within just one day i had my product in hand.

I use to have dell inspiron before and compared to that it had much awesome looks, well impressed with the antiglare screen and it runs all my high end software developement applications without any trouble.Although it just has 2GB, it never hangs up for any reason. Processor speed is way above expectations.
In my opinion this laptop is what an average college guy requires which does load your parents pockets.

I just wished it has some better keyboard quality . Seriously gamers this laptop definately not for you. and a mike to chat.but if u keep these 2 things aside rest all is good... you will never regret have this thats for sure

For laptop in range of 25k -29k, this is a good choice.
Bought this one on 11th August and it got delivered on 13th so this does say that the delivery speed is awesome and the way Flipkart wrapped it up was too good! Nice Handle with Care policy!!!
About the laptop

Pros
- The heat vent is at the side so helps by not hurting your lap.
- HD movies play really smooth and look’s cool too!
- Antiglare screen scores as watching movie during the day experience are pleasant. +The Widescreen gives a good experience while watching movie.
- Games like Counter Strike and NFS played smoothly but other games with good Graphics?? Don't even imagine!!
- Comes with Ubuntu 10.10 even though they say DOS
- Web Cam is too cool! 1.3MP makes the images better looking even in low light but for using Skype make sure you have a good Broadband.
- Easy to upgrade RAM to 4 GB with additional slot

Cons
- DVD-R, no dual layer support
- No USB3.0 Port
- Looks are moderate not worth flaunting
- No separate buttons for Wi-Fi

But still I believe that the cons are minor considering the pros!!!
Suggest this for Office goers who at the end of the day want to use a laptop for movie, surfing or playing moderate games like counter strike with friends on Wi-Fi.

This laptop is a recommended buy for those looking for a entry level budget.

Ubuntu OS is installed by default.I installed Windows 7 Ultimate . Good to work on Ubuntu as well as Windows 7.

The battery back up is decent - 2.5 hours when running on full brightness and playing content on the DVD drive.
The 15.6" screen has excellent viewing angles and the colors look true. The viewing experience as a whole is excellent. But the contrast is less.

The keyboard and track pad feel very responsive. The keys are of enough size.

3 ports to connect a USB mouse / pen drive / data card all at once

The first generation i3 processor (380M, 2.54 Ghz) effortlessly meets my daily multitasking requirements.

The speakers are good and are loud enough.

This laptop is not for those looking to play high end games.

The build quality are alright. For 27k, one also gets a Dell backpack and 1 year complete cover and onsite service, making the Vostro 1540 the best buy among the lot.

After thorough research , i found this laptop and no wonder its the best on the list and in the range .I am not a heavy user and use laptop for general purpose (browsing ,documentation work and watching movies etc.) and i am pretty much satisfied with its performance and whats better about this range of vostro is its pre-loaded with LINUX based UBUNTU 10.10 and that enhances the performance as compared with the windows based OS.
Pros: -Loaded with UBUNTU Operating System.
-Awesome display
-Customer Support by DELL is the best.

Cons: -Windows Users will certainly get a hit switching from Windows to Linux based platform( but trust me it will be worth investing in after u get acquainted with it)
-Looks aint that great (Vostro has never been known for its looks.)

Rest everything works absolutely fine.