The Dell Vostro 3350 is the latest Dell laptop for business users. The Vostro 3350 borrows its elegant design from the Vostro 3300. Apart from this, the business laptop now packs the new Sandy Bridge Core i7 processor, 4 GB of RAM and 500 GB HDD. Those not looking for so much steam can opt for units with mellowed down Core i3s and Core i5s; they are very well priced, too.

Design and Build:
The Dell Vostro 3350 has similar design to the Vostro 3300, featuring a sturdy and good looking aluminium outer-shell -- everything’s almost the same. The Vostro 3350’s exterior metal finish gives the business laptop a very sturdy build like the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s. The metal hinges the screen rests on are extremely well built ensuring the screen is firmly rooted to the rest of the chassis. The laptop’s surface is matte, and therefore resistant to smudges and dust. The Vostro 3350’s 13.3-inch screen has decent viewing angles, more than what we had hoped for.

The full-sized chiclet styled, isolated keyboard now features better spaced out keys, making typing much easier; the keys deliver good tactile feedback. The keyboard deck doesn’t suffer from any flex and the palm rest is accommodative enough to ensure comfortable typing. Keys featuring secondary functions are clearly stamped with orange labels making them easier to recognise and use. The trackpad is wide, supports multi-touch gestures and is pretty accurate -- it has a fine texture which feels nice on touch. The mouse keys are discrete and easy to press but a touch too noisy.

Three distinct shortcut buttons find their place on the Dell Vostro 3350 business laptop’s chassis, above the keyboard. The first button opens up various usable options in Window’s Mobility Center. The second connects you to the Dell Support Center and the last button is somewhat our favourite - a customisable application -launch button. This will, no doubt, keep business users happy.

Features:
Following the latest trend of the industry, the Dell Vostro 3350 business laptop features Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processor. The unit that was sent to us features the Core i7- 2620 clocked at 2.9GHz with 4 GB of RAM and dedicated graphics AMD Radeon HD 6490M option and a 500GB hard drive. The Dell 3350 has a screen size of 13.3-inch packing in 1333x768 pixels. Unlike the Lenovo ThinkPad E420s this device has a matte display; though the device doesn’t output the same vivid display like the ThinkPad E420s, the matte finish ensures absolutely zero reflection. Matte screens are also slightly better for reading text for longer durations, cutting out the gloss on most modern laptops.

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As for the connectivity options, the Dell Vostro 3350 is miles ahead of its competition. Its left side has 2 USB 3.0 ports, an ethernet port and a tray loading DVD slot. The right edge features a VGA, HDMI port, a USB 2.0/eSATA hybrid port and a headphone and microphone jack. On the front you get an 8-in-1 card reader. We are really glad the Vostro 3350 features two USB 3.0 ports, this ensures for much faster data transfer speeds compared to the older USB 2.0 port. Wireless communication protocols like Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 are also supported on the Dell Vostro 3350. Taking a cue from the ThinkPads, the Dell Vostro 3350 also sports a spill-resistant keyboard. For added security the unit also features a fingerprint reader for biometric protection. The Dell Vostro 3350 also features a 2MP in-built HD webcam and the laptop comes with pre-installed Skype software -- video conferencing is a treat.

Read more about the Dell Vostro 3350's performance, and our verdict, on Page 2...