Dell's new Inspiron 13 and Inspiron 518 are after your back to school dollar

Dell has never failed to provide compelling reasons -- particularly pricetags -- for students and / or their cash-strapped parents to pick up a Dell desktop or laptop on the way back to school. This year seems no exception, with Dell adding some special Inspiron configurations to its already beefy budget lineups. The Inspiron 13 laptop (pictured) is pretty much laptop 101, with a 13-inch screen, 8-in-1 media card reader and slot-loading DVD drive in the base model -- you'll have to fork over extra for WiFi, a webcam or Bluetooth. Wal-mart will be carrying a $699 version starting August 3rd, with full configuration coming to Dell.com later that month. The Inspiron 518 desktop (after the break) is similarly straightforward, with DirectX 10 integrated graphics, gigabit Ethernet and a pair of easy-access USB ports on top of the case, in addition to options for a 500GB hard drive and quad core processors. The starting price is $349, and the systems should be available today.

[Hydraulics Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:27AM]

Wow, both of those products look real good. I think people are going to start viewing Dell's in a more respectful manner instead of thinking of them as cheap trash.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:16AM]

$700? It costs that much for a 13" Toshiba- and you get Wifi included with that.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:30AM]

You can get a Fujitsu A6110 on newegg with a C2D for $600. Yes, it is not 13", but come on people... $700 and no wi-fi?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 3:18PM]

Dell makes some pretty dumb decisions on hardware sometimes, i just got a top of the line xps and it didnt have gigabit ethernet....

[DrSilverworm Posted Jul 29th 2008 11:24PM]

Gotta say the new vaio Z series are worth the dollar for the extra hotness... That's what pops into my mind every time I think "13 inch"

[Anku Posted Jul 31st 2008 1:08PM]

yeah, that z-series is beautiful... not to mention the 16:9 aspect ratio screen... but of course, sony strikes again with crazy sticker shock

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 31st 2008 10:18AM]

Isn't extra for broadband wifi, meaning good old fashion wifi is standard.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 4th 2008 11:06AM]

Ok, to set the record straight. I have one of these. It come with WiFi, not broadband. It appears some websites had some editorial issues and there in lies the confusion.

Decent machine. Its a shrunk down Studio 15 with a black case. Comes with everything but bluetooth and modem.

Unfortunately runs too hot for me. Not a "laptop" because of this issue.

CPU temps web browsing: 52-55C
IGP temps: 51-55C

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 12:49AM]

>Wal-mart will be carrying a $699 version starting August 3rd

I think you guys meant September 3rd?