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It’s been a while since we took a look at a desktop model, so today we’re taking a peek at the Dell Inspiron i3847 Desktop machine which is currently retailing at US$320 over at Amazon. It also sports 4.5 stars, so there’s something worth looking at!
At the moment this is the hottest monitor over at Amazon, grabbing a 4.5 star rating in the process. so we thought we’d take a look at what all the fuss is about.
The Dell E2414Hx is a high-res widescreen 24 inch LED PC display boasting reliability, brilliant screen clarity with an environment-conscious design. Here are the numbers and features for the unit
Aimed at the business user with space consideration a top priority, Dell have launched the Optiplex 780 USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor). The base on this unit measures a mere 9.4 x 9.4 inches yet the box contains the usual bits and pieces you’d associate with a ‘normal’ sized desktop. The Optiplex 780 USFF also has a neat $624 price tag with customisations and for that you get the following bells and whistles
* Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic SP1
* Intel® Celeron® 450 (2.2GHz, 512K, 800MHz FSB)
* 1GB DDR3 Non-ECC SDRAM, 1066MHz, (1 DIMM)
* 160GB 2.5 inch SATA 3.0Gb/s
* Integrated Video, Intel® GMA 4500
* Dell USB 2-Button Entry Mouse with Scroll, Black
* Dell USB Entry Keyboard
Of course there’s no optical drive or monitor, but with most workplace installs done over a network and monitors chip as chips, well almost, the 19 inch Dell E190S will set you back $169, for a touch over $800 you get yourself a corporate desktop. As usual with Dell PCs you can ramp the base Optiplex 780 up a touch with a Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz) powered unit with 2 GB memory, 320 GB HDD and 8X DVD+/-RW SATA optical drive costing $902. Not bad if you’re looking for something compact for your office workstations.
Source: Dell
Usually a lightweight laptop means sacrificing processor speed, but not with the Studio 14z laptop from Dell. The 14z weighs in at 1.95 kg with the six cell battery option which isn’t bad for a laptop sporting a 14 inch display. Dell have achieved this weight by removing the optical drive, that’s right, there’s no internal DVD or Blu-ray player, so if you’re after a fast light-weight laptop but aren’t stressed by the absence of an optical drive then Dell’s Studio 14z may be an option for you. Here are the rest of the specs on the 14z
* Intel® Pentium™ Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
* 14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display
* 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
* 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
* NVIDIA® GeForce® 9400M G
* Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
* 56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
* 13.23 x 1.22 x 9.02 inches
* 1.95 kg
And all this for a very respectable US$650. Dell offer a portable CD/DVD-RW drive with the Studio 14z for a mere $90 if you must absolutely have an optical drive. Plus the 14z is available in a range of colours from Ruby Red through to, err, Promise Pink. Actually moving away from the standard Black option will cost you an extra $40 but who wouldn’t do that to be able to say they have a Plum Purple laptop.
After a plethora of under-powered laptops around, it’s nice to see Dell offering a slimline option that doesn’t skimp on processing power and still has a reasonable price tag with it.
Source: Dell
Their Inspiron 1525 laptop range start as low as US$879 with a Blu-Ray Disc Combo option, tack on another $200 for the Blu-Ray burner. Here are the specs on the $879 Blu-Ray player, err, laptop
* Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83 GHz
* Vista Home Basic
* 15.4 inch 1280 x 800 res display
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
* 1 GB DDR2
* 80 GB SATA hard disc drive
* Dell Wireless 802.11g card
* 28 Whr battery
And of course your Blu-Ray combo drive. The laptop has an HDMI output so you can hook it up to your HD home system and supports 720p.
So $879 for a laptop/Blu-Ray player, not bad, eh? Obviously the specs are nothing special, but if you’re looking for a basic laptop and a HD player then this could be a great option. Hopefully this also heralds price reductions with other Blu-Ray integrated hardware.
Dell will start to sell its PCs via Wal-Mart retail stores in the US from June 10. This is a major shift for the manufacturer which relied on direct sales throughout its 23 year existence.
Consumers will be able to buy a $700 PC with accessories through Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in the US and Canada. Dell were unable to provide details of what was included in the accessories package.
Dell PCs will cozy up along side PCs from HP, Acer and Gateway on the shelves at Wal-Mart which are already sold by the chain.
According to PC World there appears to be two main reasons for the shift
But the direct-sales business model is no longer such an advantage, since competing PC vendors say they have learned their lesson and trimmed their own costs. And critics note that buyers in developing countries don’t trust their postal systems enough to purchase expensive PCs through the mail.
Hopefully this should be good news for all PC consumers.
Source: Reuters
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