Facts about dell 5502

There are two battery options - 40 and 53 WHr.  2-3 hours for the 40;  maybe 3-4 for the 53.

It's a very basic, low-end notebook -- with an SSD and 8G it can handle routine work without issue.  Don't expect it to handle gaming or photo-video work.  It's underpowered for those applications.

It's a budget system, with features that match the low price.

Yes, you can upgrade RAM, but the GPU is a very low end model -- for casual video editing it will be fine.  

For professional/business work -- not so much.  You won't be editing and rendering video for hours on end with this level of system.

You'd be better off with a more capable system.  If this is for business/academic purposes, at minimum consider a latitude 15" system -- better yet, a Precision 15" mobile if these are available to you.

Yes, they're considerably more expensive up front - but they're also more capable and likely to run without issue for years.  The Vostro is just a consumer-grade Inspiron with cosmetic alterations - built to a low cost with materials and components to match.  It's cheaper up front but won't last as long - or be as capable while it lasts.  And if it needs a repair, you could be waiting a significant period of time for parts.

I have this computer and I have to tell you that I used to be a very loyal Dell laptop customer. I still have my inspiron 3000 laptop and it is great after 7 years!  This laptop is lighter--less clunkier than my 3000 inspiron (15 inches) but that is about all that is better and I paid twice the price for this model!  I'm going to get a new adaptor cord and still use the 3000 for streaming.  The reduced size of the screen really bothers me--my 3000 laptop was about 15 inches which I thought was terrrific for streaming and I never missed having a television at all.  I could stream all night and it would not overheat and the resolution was 100% better.  The audio on the 5000 is much improved that is another plus.  I can hear the 5000 across the room without speakers.  My 3000 needed speakers.  The screen is further reduced on the 5000 by the clunky start bar which even when I try to hide it ---interferes with my searches.  The adaptor cord feels flimsy and the wire is loose so sometimes the computer recognizes it and sometimes not--very disappointing for dell price and quality.  The laptop has a mind of its own--shuts my google searches down in the middle of a search, etc.  I like google--I'm a google search engine girl so the microsoft edge is just an added pain -that takes up more of my memory and which I really don't need.

I can't get rid of the microsoft edge screen that comes up at startup and slows my startup down.  I disabled the lid auto open feature which was also messing up my laptop battery.  I suggest you turn off this feature if you buy this model.  Also even though the keyboard is lit the letters and numbers are in a silver ink so that you cannot see them in dim lighting or even when the light on in a room it makes it very difficult to see them as they blend in with the silver of the keyboard.  

The startup is slow.  Some apps are very slow to start--like my mc caffee security.  I removed some of the bloatware but some apps are like almost impossible to remove unless you are a engineer.  I can't seem to get rid of Cortana for example. I was only able to disable her.  The laptop seems to heat up very quickly as well--probably because of the streamlining.  So be careful with overheating.

Overall--not knowing how well the other brands are in the price range I cannot give a thumbs up or down--depends on what you want.  If you want a smaller less clunkier laptop and you don't mind video quality go for it.  Otherwise I would go for a laptop with a better video card like vndia--pay the extra for it.  Because apparently once you have a video graphics card--you cannot upgrade your laptop to a better graphics card.  I would say for twice the price--for me this was definitely not worth it.  Processor is no faster than 3000 series and they should go back to what they were doing.   before.  Also laptop appears kinda flimsly like it's niot going to make it in the long run--not sturdy and like they used refurbished materials to make it--like the adaptor cord/outlet function.  Also power button has some problems occasionally with on/off capabilities. Very disappointed.  If I could I would send it back and ask for my money back but it's too much of a hassle --im hoping my computer guy can help with the occasional trouble I have on this one so that it will last.  But if the fans are ,I know that will lead to a laptops gradual deterioration.   You can't leave this one on all night--it starts to act wanky.

Having read that you're a lecturer I assume not in fields related to computer science or computer engineering (You wouldn't be here if so lol) Inspiron 5502 will work just fine. Again assuming you're going to buy from Softlogic or Singer ask them for a 16GiB ram upgrade at purchase and get upgraded when you buy. (go for 8,8 dual channel with two 3200MHz sticks) you'll be fine. Rstudio will work just fine with even a i3 with 4GiB RAM if you don't do heavy stuff involving machine learning and algorithms. MATLAB is a pain in the and its a momory hog so you'll find yourself struggling if you try to use multiple heavy applications simultaneously (say like firefox with 5 tabs open, RStudio, MATLAB and may be Word) so a 16GiB RAM will help you substantially (minimum 12GiB, 8,4 dual channel). Otherwise 5502 will be okay for you. You don't need those "unicorn vomit" category devices for the purposes you are asking for. But if you aren't on a budget and can afford to spend more go for those high end ones, wouldn't hurt but unnecessary. Even get an alienware with an i9 lol.

P.s get a cooling pad too (will be around 2500 Rs)