The Inspiron-like Dell Vostro laptops have been
haunting us for weeks now, but the mystery deepens with this Vostro 2510 that was spotted in a flier. The August 2008 Dell Business flier reads as such: "Coming this month: New! Dell Vostro 2510. Style meets performance." As far as listed specs, we've got an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB hdd, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GPU, and integrated webcam. Pretty decent specs for the $899 price tag, we gotta say. The URL listed in the photo is indeed for the Vostro lappies, but the 2510 is, as of right now, mysteriously absent.
UPDATE: The Canadian Dell site has some
official Vostro 2510 information and specs. [Thanks, jorvay!]
[Thanks, Dirk]
posted Jul 31st 2008 10:17AM
Don't buy until Nvidia unscrews their GPU heat issue. I have that same card and it gets so hot that you can't touch the laptop. Dell's official word: "Use the laptop on a desk, not your lap"
Gotta love it when they kinda defeat the purpose of a laptop
but yea that laptop looks nice....
First of all, you never use the "lap"top on your lap... just not advised for any brand.
Second, as far as I know nVidia fixed it months ago.
"you never use the "lap"top on your lap"
Seems to defeat the purpose of a laptop...
"as far as I know nVidia fixed it months ago."
You have a reference to this? Me being a current Nvidia owner have not had the hardware fixed.
New ones (as of the fault announcement on the old ones) are shipping with fixed GPU's.
laptop now called "desktop"
If you can't use it on your lap, it's not truly a "laptop".
I just don't understand the point of getting a "laptop" that's too thick (this is a 1/2" thicker than Apple's thickest "laptop") and heavy to carry, and too hot and unbalanced to use on your lap! I say: Go small or go home!
seriously. On my vostro 1500, after playing COD 4 for 3 hours, I put the laptop on my lap and got a 1st degree burn
That is one pretty design.
Seconded
hell, i would buy it.
... If it were Mac OS X, said the village Apple Fanboy.
.....pocket full of shells
=)
Details are up on dell's site:
http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx?c=ca&cs=cabsdt1&id=laptop-vostro-2510&l=en&s=bsd
Sounds interesting, but I'll personally hold out until some more slightly smaller options come along.
How did you manage to dig those details up when the site doesnt list it in the vostro section? ummmmm
Through my vast insider knowledge...or more accurately: google.
I typed "vostro 2510" into google.ca.
Clicked on the first/only sponsored link.
It took me here: http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/products/topics/en/ca/vostro_landing?c=ca&cs=cabsdt1&l=en&s=bsd&ST={vostro}&dgc=ST&cid=3852&lid=728644
the rest was pretty obvious.
Don't the 8400's have faulty chipsets?
yes, they do, how nice off them to continue to use the faulty chip to save a few bucks.
"we're sorry, extended warranty is not available"
Um yeah... I bought this (same specs) from Dell in November for less than $600...
yeah same here. i was expecting centrino 2 or something more impressive.
What model?
Will that GPU play BF2 ok?
I play BF2 on mine with no problems..other than heat.
Hrmm.......1300 = 13" screen, 1500 = 15" screen, 1700 = 17" screen,
2500 = ........25 INCH SCREEN!? ................Maybe not.
But I sure hope it isn't one of those little midget screens the like to throw on all these super-thin notebooks most manufacturers have been putting out lately. Business to me means presentation and/or important work-related functions, both of which require large displays IMHO.
Really? Cause business laptop to me means something that's small and lightweight yet sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of travel. I don't think I've ever been in important meetings where everyone was huddled around one laptop screen. You may want to look into something called a projector.
The "2" in 2510 stands for the second generation of that line of business. (15" Vostros) And the "1" stands for the first version of that generation.
Nvidia has made a terrible mistake...
PS:haha i finally changed the picture
hey thanks i was waiting to hear about that. you gonna be at the mall l8r?
weight and (real-world) battery life.
weight and (real-world) battery life.
weight and (real-world) battery life.
If I don't see it in the specs for a laptop, I'm presuming it's a brick or doesn't run for more than an hour and I move on.
All the other specs these days are practically useless because they are mostly presumed since almost all other components are commodities. The GPU might be a head-turner, but it's just not ready for prime-time yet (and still irrelevant to most).
http://www.freestufftimes.com/contests/31/dells-synergistic-mission-critical-out-of-the-box-sweepstakes/
I am not a fanboy, but this definitely takes ques from a Macbook Pro.
haha, to little to late.
If that's in reference to your lack of differentiation between "too" and "to" you're dead on. :)
Any idea when it would be available worldwide, also the Canada price(1159$) of vostro 2510 is different from the mag pic...
I was about to buy Inspiron 1525.. till when I should wait...
Am I the only one who thinks this thing looks like a MacBook Pro?
Yup.
au contraire, Curtis. RL Burkas below thinks that also
I know.. it's like totally rectangular and square-ish, with a hinged lid that has a screen on the inside and a keyboard on the bottom.
Why does everybody have to copy apple???
Except for the speakers it doesn't really look like a Macbook.
With only one catch...computer starts at $1,1594 NOT the $899 in the flyer. Either the site is wrong because it is from Canada, or the page is wrong on the pic.
http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx?c=ca&cs=cabsdt1&id=laptop-vostro-2510&l=en&s=bsd
Thats what I just suggested some post earlier, but I guess its different in different countries.....
First the site says 1159 and second that is in Canadian not US dollars!
1. No bluetooth available ( check it out yourself )
2. Price differs on website from magazine
3. Similarly configured Studio 15 costs less.
How much model differentiation can you REALLY get ? C'mon. Just make a laptop with the following specs for $1000 and people will beat a path to your door.
1. 802.11b/g ( N is nice, but no one's going to die w/o it, and most public access spots don't have it )
2. Bluetooth 2.0 ( c'mon, in this day and age, it should be built in, most business people have phones with bluetooth of one sort or another ).
3. 250Gb hard drive ( please the differential between 160 and 250 is not $100, not even between 160 and 320 )
4. Display at 1440 x 900 resolution , 15.4" widescreen.
5. 256Mb discrete graphics chipset ( did they HAVE to put in the 8400GS with all it's overheating problems ? )
6. Core2Duo at 2.00 Ghz ( a fair mid-line between the cheesy lower end 1.6/1.8 CPUs and the ultra-overpriced 2.5/2.6 CPU's )
Build this Dell. Build it. Build it for me, for $1000, and you'll see how many more "me's" are out there.
The main difference between the 2510 and 1510 is that this has theIntel 965PM chipset (instead of the 965GM) chipset. This qualifies itto carry the "Centrino Pro" and basically carries the "Intel ActiveManagement Technology (AMT)". I saw a couple advertised onwww.ndc.co.uk here in UK at a decent price but they went off the sitepretty fast, dunno if they sold them or were taken off for otherreasons.
Great fine Engadget. Now find some information on the XPS line, please please please!
Finally someone got the port design down right already!
Power, ethernet, and vga out on the back!
What's the difference between this and the Vostro 1510? Just the colour?
Dell Vostro 2510 laptop pops up in flier, $899 for Core 2 Duo and 256MB GPU, looks like a MacBook Pro (at least the speakers)
VOSOTROS
260$ more in Canada! Is Dell trying to steal Canadian?
No kidding! I checked the basic build specs just in case, and they are indeed identical. USA: $899, CA: $1159. It must be that extra $260 it takes to ship it all the way over the boarder...
It's up on the American site too.
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-vostro-2510?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
And worst of all : Windows Vista only
MacBook Pro at half the price? Looks interesting.
MUCH too thick. It's fairly obvious that Dell's trying to compete with Apple in terms of design as of late. If for some reason Mike Dell or one of his cronies reads this; these laptops NEED to go on a diet. Why do students and frequent travelers flock to Apple? Is it OS X? Yes, for some. But for those who aren't OS X advocates; they like the simple shape, and thin design. They're unobtrusive in hand or in bags; even though the weight is comparable. And believe me, Dell is about the only company that's even CLOSE to Apple in terms of design. They've got a digital monitor output (which, I prefer HDMI to DVI anyway), they've got the slot loading optical drive, they've even got the backlit keys and thinner, more efficient LED screens. The closest thing is the M series, and they're just not in Apple's fashion-foreward design territory yet.
My suggestions
1 - Ditch the VGA. You've already got 1 graphics port. Give users a dongle. Only business users even use the VGA output, and that's for projectors. Most people use theirs for an external display, most of which are DVI or HDMI. What gives?
2 - Tapered design is everywhere, use it. Treo's and smartphones use this to no end, Apple's used it in the Air, and I wouldn't be surprised if their next major revision of notebooks do too.
3 - All one color. It looks less busy, and overall this is how Apple shines.
4 - Magnetic power cord. I don't understand why EVERY laptop doesn't have this.
5 - Drop sensor. Ditto.
Come on Dell, you could be #1!
This is a business laptop, so why would they drop VGA.
I agree with Level 5. I run Windows on a Mac. I got the Mac because it was thinner, lighter, and well-balanced. Lenovo is another option.
Engadget, at least post the model of the GPU in the headline... 256mb of VRAM doesn't mean anything.
"It's got 256mb of video RAM!"
"WHOA!"
"I present to you... the ATI Mobility X700"
"Greeeeeat"
Anyway, does look like a decent laptop for the price, although it may have the faulty GPU in it. Do note that this does come with the BIOS upgrade but this still doesn't mean that your GPU won't fuck up. It just is there to push the notebook out of the warranty period.
btw, the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar now, so this is definitely a ripoff in Canada compared to here if the pricing in that pic is correct... the $1149 CA is = $1170-$1190 US
correction to my previous statement... it's the other way around :) $1.03 CA = $1 US
hahaha I got this flier at work at 7/28/08 and tried to enter their website to see it and also the contest to win that laptop. much to my dismay, I found out that this flier is not valid until 7/31/08 to 08/03/08... No wonder why I can't get in on their site...
just to point it out again, there is no way to FIX the GPUs. all they have done is send out a bios update which cranks up the fan to help alleviate SOME thermal issues. Junk is junk, just a matter of it dieing in 13 months (out of warranty) instead of 11 (under warranty).
You're best bet is not to buy any NVidia chip in the series, so no 8300/8400/8500/8600. NVidia has done a wonderful job avoiding the issue ...don't let them!!
Hmm I think it looks pretty sexy. Am I in a minority here? Sure a white laptop like the Macbooks are nice but you just can't argue with a black/red colour scheme.
It is up on the US site now: http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-vostro-2510?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
i hope this doesn't overheat too... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=m1330+overheat&btnG=Google+Search
The main difference between the 2510 and 1510 is that this has the Intel 965PM chipset (instead of the 965GM) chipset. This qualifies it to carry the "Centrino Pro" and basically carries the "Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)". I saw a couple advertised on www.ndc.co.uk here in UK at a decent price but they went off the site pretty fast, dunno if they sold them or were taken off for other reasons.