Dell execs show off new thin and light Inspiron laptops at an event in Paris Tuesday.
(Credit: Nate Lanxon/CNET)
PARIS--CNET got a "world first" teaser at a Dell keynote here in Paris, when Dell execs Michael Tatelman (pictured right) and Phil Bryant surreptitiously showed off two new laptops coming to the company's Inspiron lineup--both described as belonging to the "thin and light" category (as opposed to fat and clunky, one trusts).
Similar to the stunt the PC maker pulled at CES in January with the Adamo, nothing was revealed about specs. We were able to talk with Tatelman after his keynote, where he confirmed both models would launch in "late summer" this year. He didn't reveal what lost bet caused Bryant to appear with the pink version.
The most interesting of the two models is the one on the right-hand side in the photo above. It appears to be a thin, much sleeker 15-inch Inspiron. The model on the left, also an Inspiron, is possibly a thinner, lighter Mini 10.
Look for more news of these notebooks over the coming weeks.
A closeup of one of the new laptops coming this summer from Dell.
(Credit: Nate Lanxon/CNET)(Source: Crave UK)
A Dell Mini 10v: $299
(Credit: Dell)Owning a portable powerhouse of a lap-dwelling machine may be a bit economically out-of-reach for some, but there's never been a better time to get a decently-performing laptop for a great value. Just follow these tips:
Try a Netbook. If your computing needs are low, or even basic (web browsing, office doc work, and not too much need for heavy-duty graphics or HD video), Netbooks offer a great package for very little money. Mainly equipped with Intel Atom processors and running Windows XP, they're not so great a multitasking, but they'll do the work that most computers handled five years ago with ease. Low-end Netbooks are where the best value's at, with some coming in at under $300, like Dell's Mini 10v. Some are on sale online for even less, or are subsidized by cell carriers (the HP Mini 1151nr costs $199). You will, however, need to sign up for a wireless 3G data plan for a subsidized Netbook, which will cost more in the long run than simply looking for free Wi-Fi hotspots.
Thin-and-light laptops are getting cheaper. It was just a year and a half ago when the MacBook Air cost an arm and a leg for super-light computing power. While the Air is more affordable now, there are a variety of similarly-powered machines running lower-cost CULV processors just hitting the market that cost even less. MSI's X340 is practically a Windows version of the MacBook Air, with an equally good form factor (but made of plastic instead of aluminum), but costs $800.
Leave off the extras. Go for the bare-bones configuration unless you really need more RAM or a larger hard drive -- those can sometimes be added later, usually for less money. ... Read more
HP's first 13-inch laptop, the Pavilion dv3500t
(Credit: HP)If 12 is too small and 14 too big, HP now has a laptop to sell you. With the Pavilion dv3500t, the company has slotted a 13-inch model into its already crowded laptop lineup. The dv3500t features a choice of four Intel Core 2 Duo processors (up to the T9400), up to 8GB of RAM, a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics card, and up to a 400GB hard drive. The 13.3-inch display features a 1280x800 resolution, and an LED-backlit display is offered for an added $100, which HP indicates will shave nearly a half pound off the system's 4.1-pound weight. Unlike most of HP's laptops, the Pavilion dv3500 does not offer a parallel AMD version (a dv3500z, say, to the Intel-based dv3500t).
The only color option is HP's bronze finish, which brings to mind the Pavilion dv6985se we saw earlier this year. And like the Pavilion dv5, the dv3500t features an HDMI port, an eSATA port (housed inside one of the system's USB ports), and a remote control that you can store inside the ExpressCard slot. A Webcam and fingerprint reader come standard, as does a four-cell battery. We'd recommend spending the extra $29 for the six-cell option.
The $999 baseline configuration features a Core 2 Duo T5800 CPU, 2GB of RAM, GeForce 9300M GS graphics, and a 160GB hard drive. Look for our review of the retail $1,199 HP Pavilion dv3510nr later this month.
HP now sells 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-inch laptops. Add the 9-inch HP 2133 Mini-Note PC to the equation, and product gaps at 10- and 11-inch sizes are suddenly revealed. Get on that, HP.
(Via Laptoping.com)
Even though we rail against tiny products that defy common sense, we still like small laptops (we're an enigma). So we naturally clicked on Pocket-lint's headline trumpeting a "smallest and lightest" notebook from U.K.-based Evesham.
(Credit:
Evesham Technology)
The dimensions are certainly small enough for a laptop with 12.1-inch screen: It measures about 11 by 9.4 inches and 1.4 inches thick. But the "Light Book" tips the scales at more than 2.6 pounds--not tubby, but certainly nowhere near as light as Sony's recently announced laptop under 2 pounds.
The reason for Evesham's claim, as Pocket-light points out, is one adjective: "optical." It says the Light Book is the first laptop of its size with an optical drive. That's great, but we don't know if people who want small laptops are also lusting after optical drives. It does, however, have finger-print identification, which we think would be a more attractive feature to the thin 007 crowd.
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