Dell jazzes up Vostro lineup with new look and Core 2010 processors, keeps prices in check
By Joanna Stern 
posted March 9th 2010 12:01AM
posted March 9th 2010 12:01AM
Dell Celebrates Entrepreneurial Spirit with New VostroTM Laptops
Vostro 3000 Series Offers World-Class Security, Services and Reliability to Help Small Businesses Succeed
ROUND ROCK – MARCH 09, 2010 – Following the successful launch of the ultrathin and light Vostro V13, Dell is offering business customers even more choice with the stylish Vostro 3000 series – a range of new thin, lightweight and durable laptop computers. Featuring powerful processors, high-end graphics and built-in security, the Vostro 3000 series is designed for small businesses that require robust mobile computing solutions.
Today's SMBs and entrepreneurs want notebooks that are powerful and attractive, and the new Vostro 3000 series was designed to meet and exceed both those needs. For the most demanding tasks, the Vostro 3000 series sports the latest powerful Intel® Core™ processor technology, including, the optional, Core i7 Quad Core processor available on the Vostro 3700. For those that demand portability and productivity, the Vostro 3300 is one of the industry's thinnest commercial 13" laptop with an integrated optical drive. For those that can't afford to be chained to their desks, the 14" Vostro 3400 offers a full day of mobile productivity with up to 8 hours of battery life with an optional 9-cell battery.
"To succeed, small businesses need simple, reliable and affordable technology solutions," said Alex Gruzen, SVP, Consumer, Small and Medium Business, Dell, Inc. "These entrepreneurs want technology that makes them more productive and helps them compete, and the Vostro 3000 delivers in a package they will be proud to show off in the airport or the boardroom."
"Dell continues to sharpen its focus on SMB customers with the new Vostro 3000 series," said Ray Boggs, VP of SMB Research at IDC. "Small and mid-sized firms are returning to the PC market after a year in the recessionary wilderness, and they are ready for the kinds of capabilities, including Microsoft Windows 7, that will get them to the next level of productivity."
"As the first PC brand designed exclusively for small businesses, over the last year, Dell has introduced several new Vostro laptops and desktops to serve their distinctive needs. Ranging from our recently announced, super dependable Vostro 230 or future-proof and powerful Vostro 430 desktops, or the ultra-thin Vostro V13 laptop, Vostro products are designed for small businesses helping them stretch their budget and protect their data, and come with dedicated small business services and support to keep a small businesses moving," added Gruzen.
Worry-Free Business IT
All of the Vostro 3000 laptops have embedded webcam and microphone for collaboration through videoconferencing, while the Vostro 3500 and 3700 offer the option of high definition WLED screens and the 3700 offers the option of up to 1GB of NVIDIA® GeForce® discrete graphics to help ensure one of the best visual experiences. With the built-in HDMI port, users can even make high definition presentations to clients when required.
These new Vostro notebooks are also backed by a dedicated and specially trained small-business sales and support team of experts, which is a key pain point for small businesses that typically have little or no IT support. Inclusion in Dell's FastTrack program enables select configurations of the Vostro 3000 series to ship within 48 hours of ordering, further removing worry from buying a new laptop.
Durability is another feature more customers are demanding from their laptops. The Vostro 3000 series laptops sport durable hinges and are encased in aluminum for extra protection while away from the office. Shipped with a 30-day return policy, the Vostro 3000 notebooks also feature a suite of customizable service and support solutions to keep business data protected and business moving at an affordable price.
Vostro 3000 Series: At a Glance
• Stay in Touch: With the integrated webcam and microphone, users can make Internet calls, conduct video conferences and remotely exchange files to help increase productivity.
• Always Be Connected: Users can go wireless with a full range of connectivity options: 802.11g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and WWAN mobile broadband.
• Memory to Spare: Run Windows® 7 effortlessly while performing everyday tasks quickly with support for up to 6GB of DDR3 SDRAM memory.
• Protect Your Work: Keep your critical data under lock and key with optional finger print reader and full-data-encrypted hard drives.
• "Set & Forget" Online Data Protection: Easy, secure and automated Dell DataSafe online backup protects and helps recover business-critical data.
• Coverage Now and Later: Users can extend their basic Limited Hardware Warranty from 1-3 years to stay covered into the future.
• Remote On-Call Support: Small businesses can get help when they need it with DellConnect, which allows tech-support agents to troubleshoot and help resolve system issues remotely.
• ProSupport to Simplify IT: Businesses can choose their own level of 24x7 IT support with optional Dell ProSupport™services.
Available in the US and parts of Asia starting from today and available in Europe and Latin America and other geographies from March 16. Visit www.dell.com/vostro for additional information.
About Dell
As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. Honored for technology deployment by the 2009 IDC SMB Excellence Awards, Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way with ProManage-Managed Services, Optiplex desktops, Latitude laptops, the designed-for-small business Vostro line, energy-efficient PowerEdge servers and Small and Medium Business Solutions Center.
Dell, Vostro, Datasafe, DellConnect and ProSupport are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.
Pricing may change without notice.
Vostro 3000 Series Offers World-Class Security, Services and Reliability to Help Small Businesses Succeed
ROUND ROCK – MARCH 09, 2010 – Following the successful launch of the ultrathin and light Vostro V13, Dell is offering business customers even more choice with the stylish Vostro 3000 series – a range of new thin, lightweight and durable laptop computers. Featuring powerful processors, high-end graphics and built-in security, the Vostro 3000 series is designed for small businesses that require robust mobile computing solutions.
Today's SMBs and entrepreneurs want notebooks that are powerful and attractive, and the new Vostro 3000 series was designed to meet and exceed both those needs. For the most demanding tasks, the Vostro 3000 series sports the latest powerful Intel® Core™ processor technology, including, the optional, Core i7 Quad Core processor available on the Vostro 3700. For those that demand portability and productivity, the Vostro 3300 is one of the industry's thinnest commercial 13" laptop with an integrated optical drive. For those that can't afford to be chained to their desks, the 14" Vostro 3400 offers a full day of mobile productivity with up to 8 hours of battery life with an optional 9-cell battery.
"To succeed, small businesses need simple, reliable and affordable technology solutions," said Alex Gruzen, SVP, Consumer, Small and Medium Business, Dell, Inc. "These entrepreneurs want technology that makes them more productive and helps them compete, and the Vostro 3000 delivers in a package they will be proud to show off in the airport or the boardroom."
"Dell continues to sharpen its focus on SMB customers with the new Vostro 3000 series," said Ray Boggs, VP of SMB Research at IDC. "Small and mid-sized firms are returning to the PC market after a year in the recessionary wilderness, and they are ready for the kinds of capabilities, including Microsoft Windows 7, that will get them to the next level of productivity."
"As the first PC brand designed exclusively for small businesses, over the last year, Dell has introduced several new Vostro laptops and desktops to serve their distinctive needs. Ranging from our recently announced, super dependable Vostro 230 or future-proof and powerful Vostro 430 desktops, or the ultra-thin Vostro V13 laptop, Vostro products are designed for small businesses helping them stretch their budget and protect their data, and come with dedicated small business services and support to keep a small businesses moving," added Gruzen.
Worry-Free Business IT
All of the Vostro 3000 laptops have embedded webcam and microphone for collaboration through videoconferencing, while the Vostro 3500 and 3700 offer the option of high definition WLED screens and the 3700 offers the option of up to 1GB of NVIDIA® GeForce® discrete graphics to help ensure one of the best visual experiences. With the built-in HDMI port, users can even make high definition presentations to clients when required.
These new Vostro notebooks are also backed by a dedicated and specially trained small-business sales and support team of experts, which is a key pain point for small businesses that typically have little or no IT support. Inclusion in Dell's FastTrack program enables select configurations of the Vostro 3000 series to ship within 48 hours of ordering, further removing worry from buying a new laptop.
Durability is another feature more customers are demanding from their laptops. The Vostro 3000 series laptops sport durable hinges and are encased in aluminum for extra protection while away from the office. Shipped with a 30-day return policy, the Vostro 3000 notebooks also feature a suite of customizable service and support solutions to keep business data protected and business moving at an affordable price.
Vostro 3000 Series: At a Glance
• Stay in Touch: With the integrated webcam and microphone, users can make Internet calls, conduct video conferences and remotely exchange files to help increase productivity.
• Always Be Connected: Users can go wireless with a full range of connectivity options: 802.11g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and WWAN mobile broadband.
• Memory to Spare: Run Windows® 7 effortlessly while performing everyday tasks quickly with support for up to 6GB of DDR3 SDRAM memory.
• Protect Your Work: Keep your critical data under lock and key with optional finger print reader and full-data-encrypted hard drives.
• "Set & Forget" Online Data Protection: Easy, secure and automated Dell DataSafe online backup protects and helps recover business-critical data.
• Coverage Now and Later: Users can extend their basic Limited Hardware Warranty from 1-3 years to stay covered into the future.
• Remote On-Call Support: Small businesses can get help when they need it with DellConnect, which allows tech-support agents to troubleshoot and help resolve system issues remotely.
• ProSupport to Simplify IT: Businesses can choose their own level of 24x7 IT support with optional Dell ProSupport™services.
Available in the US and parts of Asia starting from today and available in Europe and Latin America and other geographies from March 16. Visit www.dell.com/vostro for additional information.
About Dell
As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. Honored for technology deployment by the 2009 IDC SMB Excellence Awards, Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way with ProManage-Managed Services, Optiplex desktops, Latitude laptops, the designed-for-small business Vostro line, energy-efficient PowerEdge servers and Small and Medium Business Solutions Center.
Dell, Vostro, Datasafe, DellConnect and ProSupport are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.
Pricing may change without notice.
Zune HD laptops, yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
I am very aroused.
Love it.
Love you Dell.
Loyal customer.
@hellojoaquin
Truth I need to make a damn decision! This, precision(most likely), or xps...the vostro has been good to me just time for some of that i7! :-P
@Gi Vostro. These things are sexy! But in a business way. :)
Wow, thats a lot of bang for the buck, and plain but not bad looking. Will need to kick the tires on one of these for sure.
Does Dell have any laptops with high-end graphics cards? I don't like the look of the Alienwares.
@einhanderkiller Doesn't get much higher end than the quadro cards on their precision line.
@GeekPI
What about gaming cards?
@einhanderkiller The Studio 15,16,17 can have i7s + ati mobility HD5650/HD5470/HD4670/HD4650
Looks and sounds sexy.
This is what annoys me about Apple. When they refresh their products, they are normally top of the line, best you can buy. But then they take so long to refresh again that they quickly become outdated. Props to Dell for keeping up with technology.
@kevin52094 I looks like you can now spec out the lowest dell notebook (not netbook) to handily whoop the Macbook Pro in terms of performance and price.
@kevin52094 I have to agree. My MacBook has been happily purring along for a year or two now, but it's way, way behind these machines in terms of performance. Dell definitely has my eye for the near future if I need to upgrade though.
pre order on Dell Australia :) with nvidia 310m graphics
I'm glad they went back to a very square look. The previous lineup looked like Acers in their worst time.
these are on pre-order on dell australia
and the graphics are
vostro 3300,3400,3500 - nvidia 310m
vostro 3700 - nvidia 330m
bronze is an odd color
??? these look like about the same vostros that dell has been selling for almost a year now. all i can see different is they've added a few colours.
Digging the Vostro 3300. I wonder how the build quality is, though. I'll be first in line when they show up on the Outlet, though.
Sony Vaio Zs (VPC11X) still dominates this, at a price.
@NuShrike
...? thats like 3x the price of these models.
@oringal The Vostros 3K seem overpriced for their offering in contrast with very limited power options (probably not to content with their Alienware).
OTOH, the Sony Z is only < 2x more, and looking at what you get for it (if you can justify it), is definitely worth every cent. slightly faster i5-540, SSDs, 1/2 the weight, ~2x times the battery life, discrete Nvidia graphics, carbon fiber ... It's a desktop replacement.
Otherwise, the Thinkpad X201s also seem to be an alternative contender at a more competitive price.
Dells design's are looking really amazing lately, good on them!
The reason I bought a MBP had a lot to do with those screwed up wedge batteries and the complete lack of portability they provide by bulking up an otherwise moderately slim laptop. Plus I hate typing on thoroughly wedged keyboards. I know they add battery life but I cannot help but think that if someone at dell put more thought into the laptop design they could fit a plentiful battery into the actual computer like apple does.
matte screen = sexy
Wow. Maybe it's just me. But with the Adamo line, the XPS line, and now a restyled Inspiron, I'd say Dell has become the Ford of the car industry! Went to check out laptops at BestBuy othre day, couldn't help seeing how much slimmer and lighter the Inspiron 15 was compared to the 8lb bricks Dell once sold!
Too bad I need an ultraportable.
can't find the 3000 on dell.com in the usa. a google search for "vostro 3000" yields many hits from blogs and news sites but nothing from dell.com. are these on their usa site yet?
@scwtech
They're on Dell Australia, but for some reason not on Dell US yet.
http://www1.ap.dell.com/au/en/business/vostronb/ct.aspx?refid=vostronb&s=bsd&cs=aubsd1&ref=lthp
Sounds like Dell decided it was a mistake to chase the high-end market with Adamo, and came back to his senses.
So these (rather handsome and well-equipped) laptops all feature Intel's latest processors (I-series), roomy hard drives, media card readers, plentiful USB ports, discreet graphics options, et al, starting at US 699.99 yet there are other companies touting last-generation Core 2 Duo processor-based laptops with far fewer features for considerably more, yet still claim their wares are 'state of the art? Nonsense - LOL!
WIN for DELL!
hopefully these use metal for some of the chassis and have nvidia optimus or battery life will take a pretty big hit
Vostros for the most part are repackaged Inspirons. If you want the metal chassis, buy Latitude.
Of course, these show up right after I get Dell to replace my faulty Vostro 1500 with a Studio 1555. They wanted to give me a Vostro 1520. They couldn't offer a video card comparable to the 8600 GT in the 1520, so I had to force them to offer me another model.
Oh well, at least they gave me tons of upgrades elsewhere for my trouble. I'm missing my matte screen though. :(
I'd really like to see a high-res option. Anti-glare is very awesome, but 1366x768 is not.
@bradsh
To be fair these are business 'books, so there's not a huge usse case for a 1080p panel, but as you say, a few more pixels for Excel wouldn't be a bad idea.
@bradsh it's ridiculous! even their Studio 17's are saddled with Intel gfx chips, with no options for an nVidia/ATI upgrade.
@(Unverified) I'm just looking for 900p IE 1600x900 actually. 768 vertical resolution is just not enough for business tasks.
Not much wrong with this guy. Can't seem to choose the colour on the ozzie website though. Would really like a high res screen option though 1330 on the 3300 is a pretty low resolution
I rather like the bland design. All these newfangled laptops with etched patterns and whatnot are pretty tacky if you ask me. especially hp laptops, they just plain try too hard.
Good Deal.
does anybody know where one can get that desktop weather widget? i'm talking about the one on the "Vostro 3000 series hands-on gallery" image 18 and 19.
Seem pretty nice. Just got a Latitude E6400 today myself. Wonder how long their battery life will be though!
Man these Vostro's look damn good! Better than new ThinkPads imo. Cant wait to see what they have for 12" space, might reconsider my affinity for X201.
Btw, anyone knows what materials do they use, is it plastic only or some kind of alloy?
@ver
Ok, ive found@au site that 3300 has aluminum case, i assume the rest of the family as well.
Dell mini 5 please! :D
I love my vostro 1520!
What about the Latitude 13? I think that's a new one too.
Just looked at 3300 with the i5 520 on the UK site looks good, like the style and the idea of a back lit keyboard as standard but the battery was limited to a four cell which wasn't so appealing and all for just under a grand i think was a bit too much.
Core i processors? e-Sata? HDMI? No one wants those options.
- Steve
Sent from my MacBook Air