DELL Refurbished Latitude 3189/3190 X360 Convertible 2 -n-1 4GB 128GB SSD Touchscreen Laptop 11.6"-Grey (Grade A)

Refurbished Latitude 3189/3190 X360 Convertible 2 -n-1 4GB 128GB SSD Touchscreen Laptop 11.6"-Grey

The Dell Latitude 3189/3190 is a 2-in-1 convertible-hybrid laptop designed with students in mind. It runs Windows , clocks more than 5 hours of battery life, has a speedy SSD for quick reboots and program launching, and its multimode hinge grants easy access to the system's touch screen. It's built tough enough to survive abuse from school-age children, and is competitive on battery life and price with the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 (7378), our current top pick for midrange 2-in-1 laptops. It falls toward the back in our benchmark testing, however, and its screen leaves a lot to be desired.

Convertible Touch Screen, Rugged Body

At 0.82 by 11.96 by 8.18 inches (HWD) and 3.16 pounds, the Latitude 3189/3190 is the same size and weight as the Dell Chromebook 3189 2-in-1 ($239.00 at Dell Technologies) , which runs Chrome OS in an almost identical convertible laptop body. It's thicker than the Inspiron 7378 and other convertible laptops like the HP Specter x360 13, but that's a side effect of its rugged construction. Regardless, it'll fit into just about any school bag, and is easy to carry from the classroom to home.

Thanks to its multimode hinge, you can flip the screen around completely to use the Latitude 3189 like a tablet. You can also use the system in Tent or Display mode to share the touch screen with classmates. One of the Latitude 3189's unique differentiators is its dual camera system. There is a 1-megapixel webcam centered above the screen for video Skype sessions, and a 5MP camera embedded in the space above the keyboard that faces outward when the laptop is in tablet mode, just like the one on your phone or tablet. Most convertible laptops only have one webcam over the screen for selfies and web conferences. Both cameras take adequate pictures and videos for school projects, though your student is likely to carry a better still camera on his or her phone. The system's two stereo speakers are located on the bottom panel, facing the user, and they produce clear, if otherwise unremarkable audio.

The black plastic body has rubberized bumpers around the screen and the bottom half of the clamshell, which helps protect it while being knocked around. The system is MIL-STD 801G certified to survive temperature extremes, humidity, drops from 30 inches, blowing sand and dust, and vibration. The keyboard and one-piece touchpad are spill resistant (though we don't recommend immersing the laptop in a sink or a bathtub), and the top lid is scratch-resistant. With all these protections together, this notebook should survive four years of high school or undergrad, and then some.

Decent Connectivity and Storage

Connectivity is sufficient for a student. There's a headset jack and a Noble security lock port on the right side. On the left, you'll find a microSD card reader, an HDMI port, and two USB 3.0 ports. Notably absent is USB-C, but that should be fine for most students and younger kids who don't have state-of-the-art peripherals. 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.2 handle wireless connections.

Memory and storage are adequate, considering the educational aim and pricing. The laptop as tested (and in its base configuration) comes with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. We prefer SSDs to hard drives because of their speedier boot and app launch times, which can come in handy during a 25-minute class.

The Latitude 3189 comes with Windows Pro, a plus compared with Windows 10 S laptops like the Microsoft Surface Laptop, which requires an upgrade (currently free, $50 after 2017) to Windows 10 Pro to run any third-party apps not available in the Windows Store. The Dell also comes with a one-year warranty with mail-in service.

Excellent Battery, Adequate Performance

Our test unit houses an Intel processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 505. It scored 2,033 points on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test, average for the category. That's just behind the scores of systems with a Core m3 processor, like the Dell Inspiron 3179 (2,631) and the Lenovo Yoga 710 (2,451). The Insprion 7378 was the fastest overall, thanks to its Core i5 processor. The system performed better than average on multimedia tasks like Handbrake (3:47) and Photoshop (7:47), much faster than the Intel powered Asus Transformer Mini ($379.99 at Amazon) . The Inspiron 3179 and the Yoga 710 were a bit better for photo editing, both taking less than 7 minutes for Photoshop. Again, the Inspiron 7378 was the top dog, taking less than 5 minutes for Photoshop and just over 2 minutes for Handbrake. 

Built to Last

The Dell Latitude 3189 2-in-1 laptop is built to take punishment. Its versatile screen caters to students working on individual and collaborative school projects, while its battery will last all day and then some. We prefer its long battery life and speedy SSD when compared with less-rugged laptops like the Dell Inspiron 3179. However, if durability and battery life are less of an issue for you (and you can stretch your budget a bit), the $799 Insprion 7378 is a better value overall, as it has a faster Core i5 processor, full HD screen, and has a larger-capacity SSD, and it holds on to its Editors' Choice for midrange convertible-hybrid laptops.