One of the best arguments for building your own PCs is that you make the decisions regarding parts,which means you don’t have to scrap the whole system or buy sub-standard hardware from the manufacturer when it is time to upgrade. This is especially true for gaming rigs. Dell, one of the biggest offenders when it comes to this issue, has announced that proprietary parts like power supplies and motherboards will be a thing of the past.
newVideoPlayer("dellred.flv", 475, 376,"");The Pitch A Super Bowl debut we somehow overlooked, this Dell spot features a cast of thousands swarming around one lucky laptop owner. With an XPS M1530 tucked beneath his arm, our handsome protagonist goes roaming around the streets of a European metropolis, Mick Jagger’s “Charmed Life” pumping on the soundtrack. The city’s denizens hail his approach with cheers, butt slaps, and at least one passionate kiss, treatment usually reserved for sporting heroes rather than users of mid-range computing hardware. What has this shaggy-haired Everyman done to deserve such adulation? Well, that Dell of his is part of the special-edtion (RED) lineup, so US$50 of his purchase price went to The Global Fund. A noble endeavor, to be sure, but (and excuse the ensuing crassness) will this good-hearted approach really help Dell move product? Read on for an answer, as well as a special “Making of…” clip.
Okay, so while Dell’s had Linux on a meager smattering of systems for a while, it wasn’t on anything A-team or available globally. Sweet news, freetards (in FSJ’s words): Ubuntu 7.10 is now available in several Euro countries on the XPS 1330, Dell’s compact, almost un-Dell-like performance notebook. [Direct2Dell]
If I’ve learned two things in life, it’s that it’s noble to jump on some bandwagons, and some things just look sexy in red. That’s why I was pretty happy to see that Microsoft and Dell were joining the (Product) Red charity for global AIDS relief, and that for every one of the sweet new red XPS One’s that are sold, US$80 of the purchase will go directly toward buying 6 months of antiretroviral medication. If you buy a (Product) Red XPS M1530 or M1330, the donation is US$50, and if you buy the red 948 all-in-one printer, somebody gets 10 days’ worth of medication. Some of you are sceptical about this program—tell me, don’t you think these numbers prove that (Product) Red is working? Jump for details and more Red-ified product pics. AU: Will look into whether these will be available in Oz and update as soon as I hear back
[Dell]
We’ve been keeping an eye on Dell’s discontinued CableCARD systems since they first introduced them on the XPS 410s because they were a relatively cheap way to get HD recording on a reasonably-priced desktop. Well, fantastic news! Chris Lanier says that Dell’s reintroduced the CableCARD option on their XPS 420s, which you can customise and get out the door starting at about a thousand bucks. According to Dell, this is a “functional upgrade to the platform”, which means you’ll be able to get the CableCARD on this line for the foreseeable future. Sounds like a cheap alternative to our set-top-box wishlist item. [Dell via Chris Lanier]
Dell’s $US4500 WoW-themed XPS M1730 gaming notebooks are hot shit, even if you aren’t into WoW: overclockable Intel Extreme Edition Core 2 Duo processors, NVIDIA SLI DX10 graphics cards, PhysX card, Full HD 17-inch widescreen, pre-loaded with WoW and Burning Crusade expansion, plus a plethora of other limited edition WoW merch. Check out a more thorough groping of the loot horde, the first hands-on video, and the full press release w/ all the specs after the jump.
PC Mag reviews the Dell XPS One’s high end $2400 version of the all-in-one with all the trimmings like Blu-ray, a TV Tuner, N flavored Wi-Fi, and a wireless keyboard. They also liked the user-serviceable case, but weren’t stoked about the ATI Radeon HD 2400 graphics card. [PC Mag]
Give a little wave to the XPS One A2010 from Dell, which got its first outing on the FCC website. The FCC also posted Dell’s system manual on their site, which reveals that the A2010 contains an optional TV tuner. What else do we know? It’s a fairly good-looking Asustek-manufactured desktop with Intel Core 2 Duo, 1000:1 contrast LCD and a 3.5-inch, with a maximum 300GB, HDD, and an optional TV tuner. Take a closer look at the gallery and the stats below.
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It appears that Dell is making an attempt to take on the likes of HP and Apple with the release of the XPS 420 —a rig focused on the multimedia enthusiast. Features include: Intel Core 2 Duo or Extreme processors, your choice of ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards, a max of 1TB storage, 1-4 GB of Dual DDR2 SDRAM, a 20-inch LCD monitor, and Xcelerator technology —which makes converting video quick and easy. The XPS 420 also comes bundled with Adobe Systems Elements Studio, which includes Photoshop Elements 6, Premiere Elements 4, and Soundbooth CS3. As you might have guessed the XPS 420 won’t come cheap, regardless of the options you choose. Prices range from $1500 to $2,500. [Dell via Information Week]
Word on the new Dell XPS M1530 seems to have leaked, and it looks like another step in the right direction for Dell lappies. Think of the M1530 as the skinny XPS that hits its 4lb weight by eating right and exercising, not avoiding food altogether like the waifish M1330, or gorging to near immobility in trade of strength like the sumo M1730. Expect the M1530 in early November. Hit the jump for a full stat smattering.
