Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Officially Announced

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 netbook has been officially announced, after the company tacitly confirmed the 12.1-inch budget ultraportable last Thursday. Rather than use the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU as its smaller Inspiron Mini 9 sibling, the Mini 12 has a choice of either a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, together with 1GB of RAM and up to 80GB hard-drive. It weighs from 2.72-pounds and measures just 0.92-inches thick, and will have a starting price of under $600.

Both Bluetooth and WiFi b/g are integrated, and the standard OS is Windows Vista. Versions of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 running Ubuntu and Windows XP will be available before the end of the year. The battery, as standard, is a 3-cell pack rated for up to 3hrs; a 6-cell version - with a claimed runtime of up to 6hrs - is available for $79. Unfortunately there’s no integrated 3G, nor does the Mini 12 have the necessary internal antennas or, from the sound of it, the WWAN modem itself; that will have to wait until early 2009.




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Dell XPS 420

Making a desktop PC stand out among the masses is no small task. Yet Dell's new XPS 420 has a new look and design that caught my attention. The newly announced chassis is featured in what Dell refers to as its "premium" desktop PC.

The glossy piano-black finish and design complement this system's power appeal. Notice the LCD screen at the top of the unit: This is the first desktop display to support Microsoft's SideShow technology. That alone is notable: SideShow carried a lot of buzz leading up to Microsoft's launch of its Vista operating system (Vista enables SideShow), but then the buzz fizzled when the anticipated flood of products tapping the technology failed to materialize. Sell says you can use the Windows SideShow display to access media, some system functions, and Windows SideShow "gadgets" (such as date and time, audio playback, photo slideshow, video playback)--all without using your keyboard and mouse.

Dell also integrates a dock at the top of the unit to make it easier to charge portable devices and manage the cables for those devices.

The XPS 420 carries a starting price of $1499; the system will be configurable to include multi-core Intel processors and ATI or NVidia graphics cards. Dell offers its Xcelerator option for preparing video for sharing and uploading. In keeping with the multimedia focus of this system, Dell says that Xcelerator can prep recorded video--be it transcoding, transrating, or transcaling images from one format or resolution to another--for portable devices up to 25 percent faster.

Speaking of multimedia...at one time in the distant past, desktop PC vendors would bundle software with a system to make it a "multimedia system" or a "digital imaging system." Dell revists that approach for the XPS 420 by bundling Adobe Elements Studio--a Dell "exclusive" which encompasses Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, Premier Elements 4, and Soundbooth CS3.

Along with the XPS 420, Dell also announced its 20-inch SP2008WFP dispaly with built-in Web cam (price: $280). And, Dell adds to all-in-one printer line with the Dell 948, a $149 multifunction ink jet printer with fax, scan, copy, and print (photos and text) capabilities. The 948 has built-in wireless, PictBridge, memory card slots, and an optional Bluetooth adapter.
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Dell Introduced Color Notebook Blitz

Dell has introduced new Inspiron notebook systems available in eight colors, plus a slim XPS 1330 notebook, new flat-panel displays, and new Inspiron desktops.

Aiming to recapture the top spot in the U.S. and world PC markets, computer maker Dell today launched series of new products designed to refresh the company's consumer offerings, unveiled its new Yours is Here marketing campaign…and at the same time, retired one of its most venerable brands.

Making a colorful splash, Dell's new Inspiron notebook series are available in eight colors (jet black, alpine white, espresso brown, ruby red, midnight blue, spring green, sunshine yellow, and (yes) flamingo pink) with screen sizes ranging from 14.1 inches to 17 inches. All offer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, optional mobile broadband options, and high-definition video options like Blu-ray drives and integrated Webcams. The Inspiron notebooks are driven by Intel Core 2 Duo processors (the 14.1 and 15-inch models) or AMD Turion Dual-Core processors (for the 17-inch model) running at speeds up to 2.2 GHz, support up to 4 GB of memory, and are available with a variety of screen resolutions (and LED backlighting), storage, graphics, drive, and OS options—although none are available with Linux pre-installed . The new Inspiron systems are available today, and prices start as low as $749.

Dell also took the wraps of its XPS 1330 notebook, which the company is touting as the world's thinnest 13.3-inch notebook, being just 0.9 inches thick and weighing a scant 3.97 pounds. The system features an aluminum alloy chassis, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, optional Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M graphics, and an optional 32 GB solid state drive instead of a traditional hard drive—although the system is also available with a 7200 RPM 200 GB drive. The XPS 1330 will be available in three colors (red, blue, and black) with prices starting at $1,299.

"Getting to know customers is what we do best," said Zita Cassizzi, Dell's VP of Dell's consumer marketing, in a statement. "Taking their feedback, putting it to work, and delivering the devices consumers want most is reflected in these new products."

Dell also introduced Inspiron 530, 530s and 531, 531s desktops, where "s" stands for "slimline." These systems start as low as $349 with Intel Pentium Dual-Core processors, 512 MB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, and Windows Vista Home Basic, but optional upgrades can add an INtel Core 2 Duo processor running as fast as 1.13 GHz, up to 40 GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage, and either Nvidia or ATI graphics controllers. Not to forget about its LCD display business, Dell also introdued the 19-inch SE198WFP LCD monitor for $189, and $669 will now buy the 2407WFP 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor.

Dell also announced it plans to retire its venerable "Dimension" brand for desktop PCs. Dell fans may have noticed in the releases above that the company has extended its Inspiron brand—which use to be exclusive to notebooks—to budget-conscious desktop systems, replacing Dell's long-standing Dimension branding. Dell has been selling Dimensions since 1992—and, in an ironic move, recently announced plans to move into traditional retail channels by offering Dimension-branded PCs at Wal-Mart. Looks like Dell's first desktop products to be offered via the mega-retailer may have a short lifespan.
[DigitalTrends