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Dell takes Ubuntu-equipped Inspiron 1525 international, Americans wait
Ubuntu lovers, rejoice. The Round Rock powerhouse has saw fit to add the open-source OS to yet another one of its products, this time the recently released Inspiron 1525. No surprises here -- just a vanilla 1525 with Ubuntu 7.10 loaded in along with built-in DVD playback capabilities and a warm, fuzzy feeling to boot. It should be noted, however, that US users will be forced to wait until "later this month" before being able to snap up one of these rigs, while consumers in the UK, France, Spain and Germany can indulge right away.
Dell Inspiron 1525 review roundup
This laptop wasn't much of a secret as it was, and it turns out reviewers got an early shot at it as well. The Inspiron 1525 from Dell is about as cheap as standard-size laptops go, with a starting price of $500, but Dell has made surprising gains in the looks and size department -- the major complaints levied towards the 1520. Dell shaved 25% off the size, 30% off the thickness and half a pound off the weight in building this new model, and while it might not exactly have the looks of the m1330, it's certainly not the eyesore the 1520 was. Reviewers got to play around with a $999 configuration, and found performance to be just fine for standard applications, but the lack of a dedicated graphics option makes this one a non-starter for gamers. Perks like HDMI out and solid battery life for this price range are icing on the cake, and there are multiple color options and patterns you can trick out your 1525 with, but for the most part this is a simple but nice budget laptop, so we're guessing you've already got a decent idea if it's what you're looking for.[Thanks to everyone who sent these in; image courtesy of NotebookReview]Read - Laptop Magazine (4.5 out of 5: "Our favorite mainstream budget notebook.")Read - NotebookReview - ("The Inspiron 1525 is exactly the notebook that the Inspiron 1520 should have been in the first place.")Read - PC Mag - (3.5 out of 5: "Unfortunately, the slimmer design also means that it had to forgo an option for dedicated graphics.")
Inspiron 1525 hits Dell's Australian site with pricing
The Inspiron 1525 was supposed to hit sometime in "mid-December," and although that didn't happen, it looks like it still managed to squeak into the oh-oh-seven -- Dell's Australian site just put up a bunch of pages detailing the new machine. The 15.4-inch machine doesn't come packing a ton of surprises -- 2GHz T7250 Core 2 Duo, X3100 integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM, 160GB or storage, and WiFi -- but it's at least kinda cheap, at AU$1399 ($1228). The site lists an Australian ship date of January 9th, so we'd imagine we'll be seeing these hit the States relatively soon. Just don't tell anyone who scored a 1520 for Christmas, dig?
Dell's Inspiron 1525 / 1526 leak out, set to land next month
Those pondering the purchase of an Inspiron 1520 / 1521 should probably hold off for a month or so if you can, as it looks like suitable successors will soon be available for both. The 6.6-pound 1525 and 1526 machines are the 15.4-inch replacements for the aforementioned pair and should target small businesses / low(er)-end consumers. Initial specs sheets reveal that the 1525 will be based on the Santa Rosa architecture, while the 1526 gets AMD-powered and offers up an ATI Radeon X1270 graphics set. Furthermore, the pair will feature up to 4GB of RAM, WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ panel choices, SATA hard drives, an optional Blu-ray reader (1525 only), built-in WiFi, optional WWAN and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. You'll also find four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector, Ethernet / 56k modem, VGA out, optional HDMI, audio in / out, a 8-in-1 multicard reader, ExpressCard slot and your choice of Vista or Ubuntu Linux. Not much looks to have changed in the design department, and apparently, you'll still be able to order 'em with a custom lid color. Also, there's no definitive word on price just yet, but you can safely expect 'em to land in the same neighborhood as the units they are replacing when the duo ships to nearly every corner of the globe in mid-December.
