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West African painter Joseph Amedokpo created the above "New World" design for Dell, while Siobhan Gunning conceived of "Shine Within," pictured below.

(Credit: Dell)

Dell announced three new artsy laptop designs Tuesday that let you spruce up your computer and do some good at the same time. The designs expand on Dell's Art House offerings with special-edition computers that support the Global Fund's fight against AIDS. For each Dell (Product)Red design purchased, Dell will contribute $20 to the fund.

As part of the effort, Dell Studio laptops can be customized, with original artwork by Joseph Amedokpo, Siobhan Gunning, or Bruce Mau permanently infused into the laptop's display back. The Dell Studio 15 starts at $649 and the Dell Studio 17 starts at $799.

(Red)'s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and money for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (Product)Red mark contribute a portion of profits to the fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, particularly those that emphasize the health of women and children.

Related story:

Project Masiluleke taps cell phones in AIDS fight

This post was updated at 1:50 p.m. PDT with new information about availability.

Dell is adding a little more flash to its notebook lines this week.

The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker is offering a 128GB solid-state drive as an option on its Latitude, XPS, Alienware, and Precision laptop models beginning Tuesday. Though Dell isn't usually the first to jump into the fray when it comes to tech trends, the company says it's planning to further push innovation in the next couple of months.

All Dell XPS laptops will come with a 128GB SSD option.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Though solid state isn't new technology, it isn't exactly mainstream yet at the 128GB size. Only Toshiba has shipped a consumer notebook with an SSD that big. But the prices have been dropping significantly, so expect more PC makers to start shipping 128GB notebooks in the next few months.

Dell says the 128GB options will include just a $600 premium over the same version of a notebook with a traditional hard drive. That's the same premium the company was charging a year ago for a 32GB SSD.

In other Dell laptop news, owners of the Latitude XT Tablet PC can actually start using the multitouch feature that the company showed off last year.

The driver, which will unlock the capability, can be downloaded from Dell's support page starting now, the company said.

(Credit: Michelle Thatcher/CNET Networks)

Driving through West Hollywood earlier today, I found myself stopped by a gaggle of paparazzi standing in the middle of the road. I'm not sure who they were trying to shoot, but for the first time I kind of understood how they felt. I mean, we here at CNET were all over the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 like a 'razzo on a starlet. First, there was the news that it had arrived in CNET Labs. Then we posted our initial impressions after using the laptop for a day. And finally, the full Lenovo IdeaPad U110 review. But who were we to resist? The little laptop is simply the most beautiful laptop we've seen in years.

Other laptop-related reviews we posted this week include the Averatec 2575, a reasonably priced 12.1-inch ultraportable, and the Lapworks Futura laptop desk. We also saw more leaks about Dell's new Inspiron line, and the 9-inch Asus Eee PC landed in our Labs.

Also this week, Consumer Reports issued the results of its annual assessment of the computer industry, and we were combing the brand repair history to figure out who makes the most reliable laptops. The conclusion? No one brand stands out particularly prone to problems. That's happy news for Dell, who announced this week that it will fix the funky keyboards that showed up on some Vostros, and for Apple, who announced that it would issue refunds to consumers who had to buy a replacement power adapter for their iBook or PowerBook.

Other stories worth reading: Hitachi busted out a 320GB notebook hard drive; Dell got in touch with its artsy side by issuing a special edition Inspiron 1525; NEC introduced a tough ultraportable in Singapore; and we checked out two kinds of laptop sleeve, both DIY and high-design.

In non-laptop-related news, I visited an open house NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory last weekend and posted a slide show of rover prototypes that were on display. I also put together a short list of tech gift ideas for Mother's Day, many of which can be picked up at your local retailer.

Have a great weekend, and happy Mother's Day!

(Credit: Engadget)

Surprising virtually no one, Dell has some top-secret new laptops coming out, and there's already a bunch of leaked docs about them floating around the Interwebs this morning.

The mainstream Inspiron line, currently sitting at the 1420, 1525, and 1720 level, is getting an upgrade with three new models--the 14-inch 1435, the 15-inch 1535, and the 17-inch 1735, according to Engadget. (At least they stick to a simple, relatively obvious naming system--now can someone please explain to me why HP's 14-inch laptop is called the 2700?)

These look like they have a tapered design and prominent side hinge that's similar to the well-regarded XPS 1330 and 1530 models, as well as slot-loading optical drives and capacitive touch buttons.

The leaked docs we saw give a release date of October for the 1435, May 26 for the 1535, and June 9 for the 1735.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Dell announced Tuesday that it would introduce three new laptops in its Vostro line for small businesses. The 13.3-inch Vostro 1310, with a starting price of $749, brings a new form factor to the lineup. Meanwhile the 15.4-inch Vostro 1510 (starting at $599) and 17-inch Vostro 1710 (pricing not yet available) are refreshes of existing models.

The low starting prices are part of the plan to appeal to companies with one to 25 employees who need business-level systems, but don't have a full-time information technology staff. Hardwarewise, the laptops aren't very different from Dell's existing lineup; the key differentiator lies in security and support options. The Vostro line offers such niceties as a Trusted Platform Module, Webcam, and fingerprint reader, as well as a generous 30-day return policy that lets you take the laptop for a test drive without paying any restocking fees.

Vostro owners also have access to a dedicated support line (with "small business trained" technicians), plus one year of free access to 10GB of online backup space and to the company's Automated PC Tune-up, which regularly performs basic system maintenance. More details can be found on Dell's site.

Though Tuesday marks the global announcement of the new Vostro laptops, they won't be available in North America until May 1 (and the Vostro 1710 isn't expected until mid-May). We have a Vostro 1310 review unit in our offices, and so far, we're pleased with its upscale looks and sturdy construction. We're still putting it through the paces, though, so keep an eye out for a full review of the Vostro 1310 within the next few days.

(Credit: Crave UK)

We've discovered a worrying new feature in some Dell laptops: If you touch them, you may get an electric shock. This discharge can vary in strength from a gentle tingle to a sudden jolt. Disturbingly, you could also be shocked when connecting printers, PDAs and other peripherals to the offending laptops.

We know this because several CNET staff were hit with an electrical charge while using Dell's new XPS M1530--and we're not the only ones. Dell's forums are littered with user complaints about the shocking experiences they've had with some systems.

The problem only seems to occur in Dell laptops that have a brushed-aluminium finish. These include the XPS M1330 and XPS  M1530. It's caused by the two-pronged connection between the mains lead and the power adaptor, which isn't earthed properly because of its lack of a third pin.

The laptop therefore exhibits an electrical potential (voltage) between its exposed metal parts (the brushed aluminium wrist pad) and earth ground. Since there is no earth, the human body basically acts as a wire that can conduct electric current, hence the tingling, jolting sensation.

This can be exacerbated depending on the conditions of a person's skin--whether it's oily or dry--and the surrounding environment. Humidity levels, flooring types or desk material all play a role here.

Dell had not responded to a request for comment at time of publication--we'll update if they ever get back to us. When our colleagues rang Dell to complain, they were told Dell is willing to replace all affected two-pin power supplies with a three-pin connection. But the company doesn't seem to publicly acknowledge there's a serious problem. According to a Dell Knowledge Base article:

"The electric current on all Dell products have been measured and proven to be well within the safety limits per safety standards--IEC950, EN60950, UL1950, etc., even with an input voltage of 240 volts. The voltage (tingling sensation) does NOT present any risk of injury to the user. It is recommended to unplug the AC adaptor from the parent device before attaching any cables or accessories, as this reduces the possibility of experiencing the tingling sensation."

While this may reassure some users, we're still slightly concerned. Back in 2004, the company recalled 4.4 million laptop power adaptors because of a fear they could overheat, creating a risk of fire or electric shock. The problem affected some Latitude, Precision and Inspirons between 1998 and 2002.

Have you been affected by laptops that give out an electric shock? Has your laptop exploded and caused horrible facial injuries? Let us know by posting in our forums.

(Source: Crave UK)

Click for more on Dell's new colors

(Credit: Dell)

From Apple's fruity iBooks to Gateway's Legally Blonde edition pink 450, colorful laptops are no longer novel.

However, the names Dell has given the eight colors of its new Inspiron line of notebooks--flamingo pink, sunshine yellow, spring green, alpine white, ruby red, jet black, midnight blue and espresso--are fresh and ripe.

Count on Crave for sneak peeks! Just click on the photo for more images of Dell's delicious new colors.

It's getting pretty hard to keep a secret these days, especially when it comes to laptops. Eagle-eyed bloggers already managed to rain on the Santa Rosa parade in early May, and we've since seen leaked laptops from Sony and Lenovo.

The latest unplanned product announcement comes from Dell, where Engadget has managed to get their hands on some promo literature for the upcoming Dell XPS m1330, a new 13-inch laptop. Purported highlights include:

(Credit: eBay)

Better luck next time, Sparky. Remember those two special-edition World of Warcraft Dell laptops we mentioned that were up for charity auction on eBay? In case you missed it (shame on you for not reading Crave more carefully), they were a pair of custom XPS M1710 gaming notebooks painted by artist Mike Lavallee and signed by Michael Dell himself.

The company announced the winners, Trip Hoover of Texas and Daniel Marinow of Germany, whose combined bids totaled nearly $12,000, according to Laptoping. So don't feel too bad. The proceeds went to the America's Second Harvest.