Back-to-School (and Business??) with a $299 Laptop?

How do they do this? A $299 laptop? Just in time for a flat-ish economic recovery (uh, hey man, it's not really a recovery) and the kids heading back to high school, upper Forms, college and university, WalMart is flogging a $298 Compaq laptop and Best Buy was flogging a $299 Acer. Why, you ask, and how good/useful/reliable could they possibly be? A fine question, we reply. Our answer is a resounding, "NUH-UH!" We've actually tried the Celeron-underpowered, slow-ish cheap-o laptops and found them, um, somewhat wanting. The keyboards, while larger than the slightly zippier Netbooks that are all the rage right now (but way too small and unresponsive for extended typing), are merely a larger version of the generally sucky Netbook and cheap laptop mushboards - fine for surfing and email, but awful for note-taking, report writing and other important education-like stuff and work. The three best and most reasonably priced school and small business laptops we've seen (and, more important, tried) in the more quality-realistic price range of US$600-$1200 will take the bumps & bangs of daily use, speed everything along, ease some of the stress of long hours of typing, and provide a a screen that won't burn your eyes out during hours of concentration, and with even a slight amount of care will continue to work just fine for the next couple of school years. Beat the rush at Amazon.com. They're the Compaq Presario CQ60Z, the Toshiba E105-S1602 (everybody's best buy it seems) along with the superb Toshiba L300, the Apple MacBook Pro, and last but not least the Dell Vostro 1500. Why wait? Stick a crowbar in your wallet and lever out enough cash to buy the kid a decent laptop. It's got to be done and, believe us, we share your pain.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12

Dell have just announced the big brother to their Mini 9 netbook. The Mini 12, features a 12in display. Dell has aimed the laptop at "teens, tweens, travellers and "Tweeters" to surf the Web, chat with friends, blog, stream content, upload photos or enjoy online videos, music and games." Coming in at around 1.2Kg, it is also less than an inch thick and comes with Windows Vista Home Basic, a built-in webcam, 1GB of Ram and a choice of 60GB or 80GB hard disk drives. Thanks to gizmodo.com for the lead...

Dell Unveils New Vostros

Dell's has unveiled their new Vostro desktops. The new models include the 220, 220s and the 420. The Vostro's start at $319 and offer plenty of configuration options. The full-size 420, includes seven PCI / PCIe expansion slots and an eSATA connector to expand your external storage options. All model can also be configured with optional Blu-ray drives, and a range of processors ranging from a lowly Celeron or Pentium Dual-Core to a top-end Core 2 Duo, or even a Core 2 Quad on the 420.

Dell Inspiron 910 Details Leaked

Gizmodo have release some details which have been leaked about the Dell Inspiron 910. Dells answer to the Eee PC has been called the Inspiron Mini, and the specifications which can be found in this article at Gizmodo. The info indicates that the 910 can support SSDs up to 16GB and looks like it would be capable of other mods and upgrades. Still no definitive answer on its cost but Gizmodo are saying that August the 22nd is the likely release date .

Dell Unveil New Precision Laptops

Dell latest designs for their Precision laptops seems to have hit a positive chord with a number of folks. Their new M6400, M4400 and M2400 feature an all-new design and come with coloured lids. Their M6400 17-inch offers up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB RAID storage, high-end NVIDIA Quadro graphics and features an LED-backlit display with 100% Adobe RGB color gamut. The M4400 starts at $1,569, while the M2400 starts at $1,449 both support up to 8GB of RAM. Both the M2400 and M4400 are viewable at the Dell Site.

Dell Vostro 2510 Now Available

Dell have rolled out their Vostro 2510. Their new, slab like, 15.4-inch laptop comes in a two-tone black and red body, incorporates a slot-load drive and a cooling system that vents heat away from the bottom of the notebook. It uses current-generation Core 2 Duo processors, supports a slot-load Blu-ray burner, a minimum 1440x900 resolution display with a built-in webcam, a GeForce 8400M GS for video and a 160GB hard disk. you can increase the display to 1920x1200 and increase storage to 320GB. The laptop won't ship till mid-august but look for more goodies when it becomes available.

Dell Looking At MP3 Player Market

Gizmodo and Engadget amongst other sites are reporting that Dell are looking at getting into the PMP market. Rumours are that it will be the size of the new Nano, called the "Zing" and cost about $100 or £50.

Dell Release Studio Hybrid Desktop

Dell went live with their Studio Hybrid Desktop product page yesterday. The page shows the Studio Hybrid in a range of colors and offers the unit for a base configuration at $499 (UK prices start at £399). A bamboo version is available for an extra $130. The display will add at least $200 and for an extra $50 you can upgrade to 2GB of RAM. Blu-ray and Hi-fi will cost extra. Dell is offering some "Instant Savings" for preconfigured models but no idea if it's gonna be a long term deal. These cool little units can be viewed and configured online at Dell's product page.

Dell To Produce Smartphone

GigaOM are reporting that Dell are looking to produce their own Smartphone. In an interview with Michael Dell, they discussed all sorts of tech, from smartphones, MID's and his management of Dell.

Dell To Ship Systems With Ubuntu 8.04

Dell will begin shipping the XPS M1530N and Studio 15N with Ubuntu 8.04 sometime in the next few weeks. It'll be interesting to see the stats on these machines in this configuration a few months from now.

Dell, Asus and Acer To Release New Sub-laptops

Dell have revealed a new 8-inch sub-laptop, thanks to Gizmodo where I came across the story yesterday. Visit the gallery at Via Gizmodo] for more pictures. No idea on what OS the unit is running but it does have 3 USB ports, a card reader, VGA out, Ethernet, it looks really nice. Asus have also revealed that they are releasing new EeePC based models one of which is the Atom sporting Eee 901 and the other which is a Eee PC 1000 series. The new 10-inch laptop should be announced at Computex in Taiwan next Tuesday.model. Acer have also launched into the Mini-portables market with their Aspire One. The One will run with Windows XP SP3, A 8.9" screen with a resolution of 1024 X 768. No idea yet on other specs but it looks like this category is warming up...

Dell To Release Ultra Portable

Several Sites are reporting that Dell are rumoured to be producing an Ultra Portable in the same class as the new HP Mini-Note. This class of PC is not something for the power user but definitely has a place in lifestyle based computing products. The small form factor and decent computing power make the units ideal for the user who want to keep in touch without the compromise of using a mobile phone and its limited browser...

Dell Closing Mall Outlets

In a move reflecting their move into the larger retail chains, Dell have decided to close all 140 of their 140 US based mall kiosks. Basically a 100% closure of their US locations. Tony Weiss, vice president for Dell's Global Consumer business, stated that the move fits in with their global retail strategy. Kiosks in other territories are safe for the moment but who know how long this will remain the case.

Dell Sell Via Best Buy & Launch Latitude Tablet

Dell have announced that they will begin selling some of their products through Best Buy. Initial Products will include their new XPS One and the XPS 1330 laptop. What I'm wondering is whether or not customers will also be able to use best buy stores as drop off centres for servicing, repairs and upgrades. Reports from several sources, including Gizmodo and Engadget, are that their Latitude XT Tablet PC will most likely be launched on Tuesday the 11th of December.

Dell To Release The XPS One

Dell have joined both Apple and Gateway in creating a media centric PC which echoes to form factor made popular by the Apple G5 iMac. This unit is looking to outclass the Gateway One interms of it's performance and specs. The One will feature a 22-inch display framed by stereo speakers and topped off by a webcam. It will also feature a slot-loading Blu-ray burner along the right bezel, and support at least a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo, a Mobility Radeon HD 2400 graphics processor and up to 4GB of RAM, Wi-FI, Bluetooth, a memory card reader, and connectors for S/PDIF audio output and a TV dongle. The machine will also feature a wireless mouse, a compact wireless keyboard with a built-in trackpad, and a remote. No firm news on pricing but it is expected to be in the $2K range...

Dell Launch New & Cooler Laptops

Dell have taken a page out of Sony and Apples product design books, with the launch of several new models of Laptop. Their Top-of-the-Line XPS M1330 looks like a top class sleekly designed machine, and one worthy of the XPS moniker. It has clean lines, is relatively light (under four pounds), and with a magnesium shell and brushed aluminium accents, is a sexy piece of kit. It currently comes in three colors: Tuxedo Black, Pearl White, and Crimson Red. The M1330 has a starting price of $1,299. You can even get one of the first solid state hard drives in this baby. The SSD offered is available for a $600 premium and is only 32GB. The built-in video camera option is a free upgrade so look for it (thanks to Digital Trends for this tip). Other new models are their new Inspirons, which come in three sizes: the 14.1” 1420 , the 15.4” 1520/21 , and the massive 17" 1720/21 . The "21" postfix in the name indicates the model is AMD based. The XPS is definitely the most stylish of the new line and worth a look if you're a fan of Dell...

Dell Ultrathin Display Concept To Be Released...

Last January, Dell showed a display concept featuring untra thin components in what appeared to be a clear glass shell. Engadget and many of the other tech blogs treated us to images of this cool looking display. This new display will purportedly sport the newly approved DisplayPort 1.1 interface, offering up to 4 times the resolution of current HDTV displays.

Dell to Ship Unbuntu On Systems

According to Fabian Rodriguez, who is one of Unbuntus support staff, Dell is going to offically support Ubuntu installations on their machines. This is good news for fans of Linux, as Unbuntu is a very easy to use and install.

Dell Reintroduces Windows XP On New PCs

In a move which many users have been clamoring for, Dell have decided to offer the option of installing Windows XP on new machines. This is a reversal of their policy decision to offer only Windows Vista on new PCs. Dell said its customers have been asking for XP as part of its IdeaStorm project, in which Dell asked its customers to help the company come up with product ideas. It was amongst the most popular of requests.

Dell Offers Blu-ray Drive Option On XPS M2010

Dell have added a slot-loading Blu-ray drive as an option for their very cool XPS M2010 notebook unit. This luggable system is very unconventional, and whilst it is certainly something close to a laptop, I wouldn't want to rest one on my lap. Equipped with Core 2 Duo processors, an ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 graphics card, and support for up to 4 GB of RAM with up to 240 GB of storage on two hard drives. It'll give many desktops a real kicking.

Apple Aren't The Only Ones Having Fun

Perusing the web I was introduced to some excellent spoofs of the Apple vs PC ads, which Apple are using to excess. A series of spoof ads featuring an apple type guy, a PC suit and a big body builder reppin' the Dell XPS are quite entertaining. There are three, so far and I've enjoyed watching them all. Anyone who tells me Macs are more stable and secure is talking out of their nether regions. I've personally had a Mac that has been crashing on me with regularity. In fact it spends more time crashing than running. Yeah it happens, but don't try selling me myths, or elitism either for that matter. They're just machines after all. Watch the XPS vs Apple Ads - XPS VS Apple 1, XPS VS Apple 2 and XPS VS Apple 3.

Dell XPS and Alienware Desktops To Have 1TB HDD

Dell and Alienware a catering to the media hungry with their announcement that they are going to use Hitachi's 1TB Deskstar 7K1000 drive in their XPS and Alienware Desktops. Although prices are reasonable with Alienware offering their 1TB drive option for another $500 over the standard 250GB SATA HDD and Dell following suit with their XPS models, but with no indication of price yet...