Dell ups warranty, specs for cheap Dimensions

Dell is increasing the warranty on its cheapest desktop PCs from 90 days to one year and improving its minimum configurations without raising the price. The Dimension B110 series PCs now come with DVD-ROM drives and monitors without a change in the $299 starting price.

Dell also plans to decrease the charge for its three- to five-day delivery option from $99 to $29 for its PCs. The company recently increased its minimum configurations on certain high-end XPS desktops, even though overall desktop-PC shipments are expected to shrink in 2006 in mature economies such as the U.S. as more and more people convert to notebooks.

Sales must be dragging

but then again the hidden $99 dollar shipping charge is what I always had to warn folks about. "Is this Dell a good deal?" "no, It's actually $398 plus tax, not $299, and you have to go to the Post office to pick it up!" This fact has helped me steer people to more honest companies several times recently.

[theKingRich]

Where is the AMD?

When will Dell offer AMD chips in their desktops, laptops and servers?
I like Dell, but I love AMD...

[open-mind]

Still $100+ too expensive....

Why do people think Dell computers are inexpensive?

Let's add the essentials:

Enough memory? $50 Ka-ching.
Speakers? $20 Ka-ching.
Malware protection? $79 Ka-ching.
Restore CD? $10 Ka-ching.
Tax/Shipping? $50 Ka-ching.

So that $299 Dell costs $458, and you only get WordPerfect.

Add software? $200 Ka-ching, Ka-ching, Ka-ching
Extend Malware protection? $100 Ka-ching

Total cost for 3-4 years: About $758.




Now compare that to an "expensive" $524 Mac-Mini from amazon.com:

Enough memory? Included.
Speaker? Included.
Malware protection? Included.
Restore DVD? Included.
Tax/Shipping? Included.
Software? Included.
Extend malware protection? Included.

Add monitor/keyboard/mouse? $100 Ka-ching.

Total cost for 3-4 years: About $624



And the Dell is still missing 802.11, bluetooth, firewire, and DVI that are included with the Mini. We can ignore the cost of adding VISTA, which this Dell box will barely run.

Again,why do people think Dell computers are inexpensive?

[sanenazok]

Good one

You're spending $179 on "malware" protection? You must be McAfee's/Symatec's dream come true. I've been alternating McAfee and Symatec every year and they're free after rebate.

Software - $200, for what? MS Office? Does the Mac come with that? Hmm, then maybe OO is a better comparison and that costs, ahem $0.

Let's see, 802.11, bluetooth, and firewire can be added on to any system for less than $50, heck many cards/dongles are free after rebate.

Other than that, where can I buy a monitor/mouse/keyboard for $100 (apparently shipped too!).

Beyond the monitor, don't forget to add on to your Mini the one thing cheap computer buyers need - a modem. Apple sells a very attractive USB unit for $50.

Let's do a real budget analysis then:
Dell: $299
256MB Memory from Amazon: $20
Speakers: $20
Malware: $10
Restore CD's: $10
Tax/Shipping: $50
FW, 802.11, BlueTooth: $50
Total: $459

Mac: $524
Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse: $200
Total: $724

For the price of 2 Mac's I get 3 Dell's with money to spare. That's why people think Dells are cheaper.

[Stating]

All Depends On What You Need

This new Dell offering out of the box is going to be more than adequate for a large segment of the population. The important things to note are that Dell has extended the warranty to 1 year and reduced the shipping charge. These are things that Dell used to offer as standard years ago, when Dell was a better value. At some point, Dell's strategy changed and they decided to offer "come-on" deals which weren't really good deals at all when you added in extra cosst like $99 shipping. At about the same time, they also increased the prices of Dell Outlet merchandise, to the point where many items now cost as much as comparable new models with discounts. Perhaps Dell is now attempting to return to their value-based roots, at least on a modest scale.

Let's not compare Apples to Dells, because these are two very different platforms. If you are going to do that, then you can just as well say that for $179 you can buy a Fry's GQ Linspire computer. Add a CRT for $100 and you are only out of pocket $279.

[Spimby]

Re: Where is the AMD?

Agreed. I just bought an HP because Dell didn't offer an AthlonX2

Desktop - Laptop - Desktop

I have come full circle. What my Laptop can't do is Video. I need power I am going back to the Desktop, more horsepower for 1/2 the price.

[rcgroups1]

humm. desktop no problem laptop big NOO

Desktop that price with all the things I would buy eyes closed from any vendor. but Laptop from DELL never. Dell laptops sucks. I already wasted two dell laptops with heat problem burning power input socket. Before you even think about buying dell laptop just search internet with problems they have. Spend little more and get compaq/hp/acer or any other brand. But save your money and don't buy dell laptop..

[thedevilbegone]

When comparing ...

Be reasonable and compare between two vendors offering the same product..

The Mac or the Linspire are two different segments. You ought to compare with vendors such as HP and IBM.. Not different OS offered, but the same os by different OS.

Anyways, shipping is free with all HP orders above 100$. That has always been the case for a long time. So no hidden shipping costs. Including any components..

Besides what Dell is offering in terms of support has always been free with HP.
Free lifetime support over chat and email.
Also a 90 day phone support.
With extended warranties, the phone support is free throughout the warranty. Also you can have a tech come over to your place in an extended warranty to replace any defective components. That is a real deal.. Pretty realistic.

[sci50514]

HP support is best

It is more cost competitive to get lower quality components if your warranty is 90 days and the defective rate for the product is a workable 5-10%. Your saving on the lower quality components can easily compensate for the 5-10% defect. That's probably Dell's calculation.

Which is a better piece of mind? A hardware that comes standard with 90 days warranty or you pay a $50 more for a competitor's product with 1 year warranty.

My guess is Dell is switching to better quality parts while HP has being doint that all the time.