As part of its launch into the U.S. laptop market, Samsung announced two models designed for small business, the 14.1-inch P460 and 15.4-inch P560. Both laptops are built to take a little extra abuse: the matte-black lids are scratch-resistant and incorporate an internal metal plate that helps protect the screen. A sturdy brushed-aluminum keyboard deck surrounds a spill-resistant keyboard. And the keys themselves incorporate silver nanotechnolgy to fight off bacteria and viruses.
(Credit:
Samsung)
Samsung will offer two fixed configurations of the 5.3-pound P460: one with a previous-generation 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor and a 320GB, 5,400rpm hard drive for $1,199, and one with a latest-generation 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor and a 320GB, 7,200rpm hard drive for $1,399. Otherwise both configurations are the same, with integrated Intel X4500 graphics, 4GB of 1,066MHz RAM, and a built-in optical drive (though the more expensive version adds LightScribe labeling). When it comes to ports and connections, the P460 offers everything you'd expect from a 14.1-inch business system, including Bluetooth, a PC Card slot, and a 1.3-megapixel Webcam. There's also a fingerprint reader that works with the laptop's Trusted Platform Module.
The 5.8-pound P560 also comes in two fixed configurations with discrete graphics. The $1,299 P560 incorporates a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor, a 320GB, 5,400rpm hard drive, and 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics; the $1,499 version has a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor, a 320GB, 7,200rpm hard drive, and 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics. Both models include a LightScribe DVD burner and a fingerprint reader with Trusted Platform Module.
Both the P460 and P560 will be available by mid-November at such online retailers as NewEgg, Buy.com, CDW, and Amazon.
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Toshiba)
Apparently, small business is big business. Merely a week after Dell announced that it was refreshing its Vostro line of laptops for very small businesses, Toshiba has unveiled its expanded range of Satellite Pro laptops.
Granted, the Satellite Pros are pitched toward students and government as well as small businesses, but many of the features are the same: starting prices below $1,100, processor options that include AMD, and crapware-free out of the box. These characteristics help distinguish the Satellite Pro from the company's consumer Satellite line. (Meanwhile large businesses can still look to Toshiba's Tecra line for longer product life cycles and more robust security features.)
Today's announcement includes four new Satellite Pro models, most of which share model numbers with their consumer counterparts. The 13.3-inch Satellite Pro U400 starts at $1,049; the 14.1-inch Satellite Pro M300 starts at $999; the 15.4-inch L300 and L300D (the latter incorporates an AMD processor) starts at $699; and the 17-inch Satellite Pro L350 starts at $1,099.
All the additions to the line incorporate dual-core processors, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and the company's TruBrite displays; the U400 adds a Bluetooth radio, fingerprint reader, and hard drive accelerometer. The new models are available immediately at resellers and through Toshiba Direct; more information and full spec lists can be found at the company's Satellite Pro page.
(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.
Who says magazines are dead? Not Fortune Small Business Magazine, Hearst Magazines, or Red Herring. And certainly not Olive Software, the Santa Clara, Calif., company responsible for creating the interactive digital twins of their print issues.
Fortune Small Business e-zine for November 2007
Like the best discoveries, I stepped into Olive Software's work by accident, while flipping through the digital leaves of Fortune Small Business Magazine. As a champion of downloadable and Web apps for consumers, I wouldn't normally seek out this kind of story, but the experience was too gratifying not to share. After all, would I hold back from you?
Click once and the magazine blooms in its self-contained online reader. Click again, this time on the right arrow, and the cover unfurls to reveal a faithful representation of the magazine's glossy, full-page interior, down to the shadowed hollow where the pages meet the binding. Flip through to read articles horizontally across multiple pages, each one adhering to the original layout, rather than dive-bombing into a vertical scroll that makes do with the Web's predilection for linear storytelling.... Read more
The Dell 1320c is a color laser printer geared for small businesses.
(Credit: Dell)Today, Dell announced two new small-business-oriented laser printers, in conjunction with the release of its Vostro line of small-business desktop and notebook PCs. The printer announcements include the Dell 1320c color laser printer and the Dell 1125 mono multifunction laser printer.
The 1320c starts at $300 for the base model and goes up to $350 with networking options. Dell rates the 1320c for 16ppm (pages per minute) black and 12ppm color, with a monthly duty cycle of 35,000 pages. The Dell 1125 mono multifunction includes prints, copy, scan, and standalone fax. It includes a 30-sheet ADF for batch copy and scans. The $250 printer is rated to print at 21ppm, with a monthly duty cycle of 9,000 pages. The Dell 1320c is available immediately, while the Dell 1125 should be available in a couple of weeks.
Dell's new Vostro line
(Credit: Dell)It seems like a long time since Dell introduced a brand new line to its menu of laptops and desktops, instead of adding onto the current lineup of Inspiron, Latitude, and XPS systems (the long-lived Dimension line was finally retired in June).
Dell on Tuesday revealed an entirely new family of systems, called Vostro (Latin for "yours"), aimed at small businesses with 1-25 employees who need business-level systems that don't require full-time IT people to manage.
"For too long, entrepreneurs have been forced to fit either consumer or large corporate solutions into their unique environments," Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell said in a statement. In real-world terms, that means Vostro desktops and laptops won't include any of what Dell calls "trialware" (we call it "bloatware"), but will include simplified proprietary networking software and versions of the Dell PC Tune-Up and DataSafe Online programs found in the newest Inspiron systems. Vostro systems will also have a dedicated sales and support team, trained to work with small businesses.
Vostro systems available today include:
Hardware-wise, these new systems don't differ much from the current Dell lineup (but Dell expects to introduce a high-end Vostro desktop in August), and the online support and backup services are apparently only free for the first year, but in principle, we like the idea of a line that falls somewhere between consumer systems and systems aimed at larger businesses, which are expected to have at least some basic IT infrastructure.
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