Recently Dell launched the XPS 13 an ultra portable device which promises to enhance the user experience by running Intel’s latest technology, including Smart Connect and Rapid Start, both of which enable owners of the laptop to both stay connected and be responsive, no matter where they are.

The Ultrabook has huge solid state storage options of both 128 or 256 gigabytes, and Dell provides a further 100 gigs worth of cloud storage with the device, through Dell DataSafe online. The service offered by Dell provides data backup on a secure server via the internet.

Weighing in at under 3 pounds, and with a whopping 24 hours worth of battery life, the device is priced at an extremely reasonable sub $1,000 price range, and is suitable for both business and consumer users alike. The XPS 13 is a viable alternative to the MacBook air which currently dominates the rapidly emerging market for ultra portable laptops.

The entry by Dell into the Ultrabook segment sends a powerful signal of its intention to exit the netbook segment, which is rapidly being eroded by tablet devices. Dell also intends to reenter the tablet segment, which itself is becoming increasingly crowded. Dell’s next tablet offering will run on the Windows 8 platform developed by Microsoft.

Dell’s strategy of focusing on PC’s is based on the premise that demand for personal computers will not be adversely impacted by growing demand for smartphones and tablets.

Underlying this belief, Dell is expanding its production capacity in China, which based on IDC’s forecast for PC demand, is likely to do extremely well.

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According to Mr. Dell, consumers who were off to college for the first time, with the option of only one device are likely to choose a PC or laptop over smartphone or tablet.

“If you could have two devices, then you would probably choose the phone before the tablet,” the Dell CEO added.

Mr. Dell, made his comments whilst speaking in India, at an event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries.

Mr. Dell’s view is similar to the results of research authored by market analyst IDC, who in October said that it did not expect tablets to displace personal computers. Globally PC shipments rose by 3.6 per cent during the third quarter of the last fiscal according to IDC.

In November last year Dell’s mobility division, which includes both tablets and laptops reported a 2 per cent fall in revenue during the third quarter compared to the same time period in the previous year. Dell also reported a 6 percent decline in revenue from desktop sales.

According to analysts, in some emerging markets such as India, the number of people who use mobile phones is much higher than the number of people using PC’s, primarily because their cost is much lower, and also because the ability to communicate is seen as being more important than the ability to compute.

Mr. Dell reckons that once users experience the internet on a small screen device, they would probably prefer to have a better user experience on a larger screen, rather than viewing sites though a “peephole”

“So think of these small mobile devices as creating the next wave of users who will want larger-screen devices,” Dell said.

Mr. Dell says his company intends to make some announcements in the smartphone segment. According to Mr. Dell, smartphone users consumer a lot of data, which has resulted in rising demand for data centers to host the backend, which represents a significant opportunity for Dell to boost sales of its server products.

The IT industry requires both hardware, as well as software and services, and is the main reason why Dell is transforming itself from being a pure hardware player, into one that also provides software and services, Mr. Dell said.

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The Dell XPS 14z is indeed very powerful, and packaged stylishly, boasting a second generation Core i5 processor from Intel, with the option of a Dual Core i7, and up to 8GB of RAM. The laptop comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium edition.

Dell is hoping that consumers and business users alike who prefer to be on the leading edge of technology, will find the XPS 15z as aesthetically pleasing as any offering from the MacBook range, as well as just as powerful.

“The XPS 14z delivers what professionals want–raw power paired with a stunning, sophisticated design that signals ‘I’ve arrived,’” Steve Felice head of the companies consumer and small and medium business group said.

“The XPS 14z is specifically engineered to help our customers do more in their personal and professional lives–and it advances our industry-leading vision for thin-and-powerful solutions that deliver performance without compromise,” said Felice.

Dell seems to have accomplished that apparently impossible task of delivering a 14 inch screen in a frame designed for 13 inches in large part due to the convex shape of the laptop and the borderless display that runs edge to edge.

The laptop comes with some impressive specifications including a hard drive capacity measuring in at 750GB, the laptop also features a 1.3MP webcam, and a backlit spill resistant keyboard. Dell claims that the laptop’s battery life is as long as six hours 42 minutes.

Prices are likely to start at $999 and depending on the choice of optional, go as high as $1500. The laptop is clearly aimed at business users and consumers who are willing to pay a premium for both form and function, a segment of the market that is dominated by Apple.

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There is a lot to say for laptops in the budget range as well, since you may well end up paying much less than you would for a tablet  made by one of the major companies. Budget laptops imply a more basic machine, but Dell has managed its fundamentals quite well.

• The Vostro 1540 has a responsive and wide touchpad, and whilst the keyboard does suffer from a surface which a tad bit bouncy, it remains both comfortable and snappy, nor are there any layout problems.
• The chassis  is 3.3 cm thick
• The laptop is relatively lightwith a 15 inch screen and weighs in at 2.4 kg, a little less than similar laptops made by rivals. However its design makes it feel rather hollow as opposed to  strong, the rest for the wrist tends to compress with only the lightest of prods, coupled with its weak base and poor screen, results in the screen bending when the rear is squeezed.

Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of having to work under a harsh light overhead, will deeply appreciate the Vostro 1540’s anti-glare matte screen. The laptop is fairly aesthetically pleasing and is made from glossy black plastic, with a sliver of chrome effect border material, which lends the design some welcome sheen. The lid has horizontal raised lines that run parallel to one another and a textured feel.

The laptop has a selection of sockets and ports that are thoughtfully scattered around the side of the machine. There are a couple of USB2 ports located on the right hand side of the machine, whilst an SD/MMC/MS card reader is located on the front of the machine alongside another single USB 2 port and HDMI and VGA outputs. Sitting on the left hand edge of the machine are a couple of audio jacks and a Gigabit Ethernet input.

The laptop is powered by an Intel 2.4 GHz dual core Core i3-370M, and whilst that processor may not be either current or high end, it provides enough force to power through most office applications.

The laptop comes with a DVD writer that is 8x, and 8.2.11n single band Wi-Fi. The laptop has 320 GB of hard drive storage, but if you are someone who used accelerated GPU applications, you will not be satisfied by the Intel integrated graphics chip, which whilst being good for either Angry Birds or playback of HD, is not good for very much else.

Battery life is fairly average, at roughly 4 hours and 46 minutes, which is acceptable, but rival products tend to perform much better in this category, nor will you be able to go through a full day’s work without a socket.

There is no question that the Dell Vostro 1540 is at the lower end of their laptops. However if budget is your main criteria, then it is certainly perfectly usable, and worth taking a look at, so long as you make sure to purchase protective casing as well.

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“Dell is continuing to actively monitor the Thailand flooding situation, and while we expect Hard Disk Drive supply to be limited in the next several weeks, we are working closely with our HDD suppliers to mitigate any customer impact,” the company told AFP in an email.

“We have teams engaging daily with affected suppliers regarding this industry situation in order to most effectively and efficiently manage our HDD supply chain.”

Analysts polled, say they believe that all manufacturers of personal computers could end up feeling the effects of the flooding which has struck Thailand and continued unabated for the last two months, shutting down many of the Thai factories that manufacture HDD’s, and who supply a whopping 40 per cent of the global market for the crucial memory storage device.

IDC reckons that the shut down could result in a 20 per cent cut in global PC shipments during the first quarter of 2012 as a worst case scenario,

“Even the largest vendors are expected to face HDD shortages, particularly for portable PCs where the market is more consolidated,” said Loren Loverde of IDC.

IHS iSuppli, another industry analyst says it believes that the flooding would result in a cut of 51 million HDD shipment units, down to 125 million units.

“Prices for HDDs have already begun to move higher on the anticipation of shortages, and it is likely that prices will remain elevated, possibly by more than 10 percent, for several quarters to come,” IHS said.

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New Dell XPS 14z Laptop

• Intel Core 2.8GHz i7-2640M Processor
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB Solid State Drive
• 14inch HD WLED True Life Display
• 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 520M Graphics Card
• 9.5mm SATA DVD/RW
• Intel Centrino 6230 with Bluetooth
• 8 Cell Primary Battery
• 1 Year Hardware Warranty

Prices start from just $1199, which for a laptop of this size and power, is great value for money. So if you’re on the look out for a smart new laptop that offers performance and portability, why not test drive the XPS 14z, the latest in a long line of fantastic personal computers from Dell Australia.

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The Latitude will come with a 10.1 inch screen and is primarily aimed at enterprise customers, with security and management features that business customers will demand.

Dell has decided that its consumer tablet business will take a back seat as it positions itself in the segment that straddles both work and play. The computer manufacturer is seeking to establish a greater market share in the enterprise segment, and has said that future product development of smartphones and tablets will primarily be aimed at customers who want to use the devices for both personal and business use.

The new tablet device expands Dell’s Latitude range of laptops and desktops which are aimed at businesses, and a separate keyboard can be attached to the device, turning it into a PC. The tablet feature is a big plus since it makes the device extremely portable. Dell claims the device will have a seven hour battery life and weigh in at 1.8 pounds or under a kilogram.

Dell is launching the product on November 1st in 53 countries globally, which will be powered by an Intel Atom processor and have 128 GB worth of storage.
Dell is set to compete in the enterprise segment against HP Cisco and Apple.

The Latitude ST can also be used as a consumer device which is used to surf the internet and check email. The device has 2GB of RAM, comes with Wi-Fi capability, an SD card reader, an HDMI port, with the option to include a 3G chip for mobile internet connectivity.

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Apart from the technologically advanced features giving you unmatched performance, these computers  also enable you to change their look with just a pop and a click. You can choose from 25 interchangeable lids.

The standard 6-cell battery will ensure a long life. With an optional 9-cell battery, the Inspiration 15R will have a battery life of 13 hours!

Some of the other great features of Dell R series are:

• Intel Wireless Display Technology facilitates projection of 1080p video and 5.1 Surround Sound. Used with your home theater system, this will give you a fabulous movie watching experience.
•  When equipped with the optional Blu–ray Drive, you can connect the system to your 3D TV.
• Dell R Series come with a chiclet-style keyboard.
• Integrated Dell Storage Software enables you to have access to photos, videos, music, e-books and social networking sites with a single click.
• These machines  give you a high definition video performance and premium audio from the SRS Surround System.
• These are light weight machines with the Inspiration 14R weighing as low as 4.94 pounds
• These machines are equipped with  HD webcams.
• All Dell R Series Laptops come with  genuine Windows 7 Home Premium with an option for Professional.

With such outstanding features, Dell R Inspiron Series are really inspiring!

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Mr. Dell made his comments at the Oracle Open World conference which took place in October, where he told an audience that the PC business continued to be worth billions of units, and that the company was very happy to remain in the segment.

“Dell does shiny boxes, and we do them very well,” he said. Although he also reiterated that “Dell is not a PC company”, but an end-to-end solutions provider.

Mr. Dell said that exiting the PC business was likely to result in problems in other areas of operation, with the Dell chief noting that 95 per cent of all disk drives are for PC’s, with only 5 per cent required for storage and servers, thus were HP to exit the PC business, it would lose its scale and purchasing power in the components segments, which would mean result in higher end product costs for enterprise customers.

Mr. Dell’s warnings however may prove unnecessary, with the plans to spin of the PC unit currently in limbo, after previous HP chief executive by Léo Apotheker, under whose leadership the plan was announced was sacked, and replaced by former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman.

Ms. Whitman has not yet arrived at a decision, and says she will consider the matter until the end of the month, before making it, with no indication that she is as keen as her predecessor to exit the space altogether.

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