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Dell outs new E series Latitude laptops, Optiplex AIO and desktops to entice the enterprise

Michael Gorman — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:00:00 EST

Round Rock just rolled out some new consumer machines this week, so it comes as no surprise that it's doling out some fresh computing goodies to the enterprise as well. First up is the new Dell Latitude E series laptops that come with a variety of ports for your connecting pleasure: one eSATA/USB combo, two USB 3.0 ports, a serial connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, plus HDMI and Gigabit ethernet. All those sockets come embedded in a chassis made of magnesium alloy that's been powder-coated on the bottom, giving it a lightweight, yet sturdy look and feel. In keeping with the tough-but-light theme, the top of these Latitudes are sheathed in aluminum, and the hinges are made of steel. Additionally, though it's a new machine, it's backwards compatible with many previous-gen Latitude docks and batteries

Gallery: Dell Latitude E6430s hands-on

Continue reading Dell outs new E series Latitude laptops, Optiplex AIO and desktops to entice the enterprise

Dell outs new E series Latitude laptops, Optiplex AIO and desktops to entice the enterprise originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell posts inaccurate graphics card comparison, promptly removes it and apologizes

Amar Toor — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:30:00 EST

Dell's latest attempt to promote its high-end GPUs has fallen flat among online consumers, all because of a rather misleading comparison. The snafu stems from the above image, originally posted on the company's "Help me choose" feature -- an online assistant designed to help users customize their Optiplex desktops. At left is a desktop with a normal graphics card, juxtaposed with an identical machine packing Dell's "high-end" GPU. Both are displaying a Windows desktop at the same resolution, but the render on the left looks noticeably blurry. As many Reddit users soon pointed out, even the most prosaic of graphics cards would be able to transmit a blur-free Windows desktop, implying that the PC manufacturer may have taken some unfounded liberties with its imagery. PC Pro notified Dell of the discrepancy, and the graphic has since been removed. The company also issued the following apology, claiming that it had no intention of bending the truth:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Dell endeavours to help customers to make the best decisions regarding their purchases. It was never our intention to mislead customers, and we apologise for any confusion caused. We have now removed the image from our Global sites. Dell remains committed to delivering the best possible experience to all our customers.

Dell posts inaccurate graphics card comparison, promptly removes it and apologizes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell ultra-slim laptop gets Cougar Point tease, Sandy Bridge Inspirons next week

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:31:00 EST

While the Adamo brand might be dead, Dell's quest for the ultimate ultra-slim laptop is anything but buried. The boys from Tejas just let us in on their plans to unveil a new "ultra-slim" consumer laptop in April guaranteed to "excite and delight" with its "beauty and brawn." Naturally, the new slimster will be riding the reintroduced Cougar Point chipset and Sandy Bridge processors from Intel, as will some new Dell Inspiron systems on deck for an announcement next week. Of course, Dell will also be shipping Cougar Point options for business customers soon, including Sandy Bridge Latitude laptops, Optiplex desktops, and laptops and desktops from its Precision lineup. But hey, we know most of you are only interested in the ultra-slim and its "innovative new form factor." Read the calculated tease from Dell after the break.

Continue reading Dell ultra-slim laptop gets Cougar Point tease, Sandy Bridge Inspirons next week

Dell ultra-slim laptop gets Cougar Point tease, Sandy Bridge Inspirons next week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell expands business lineup with new Latitudes, OptiPlex desktops, and Precision workstations (update: eyes-on)

Ross Miller — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:05:00 EST

Lest we forget, Dell is a major enterprise player, and today's truckload of new hardware announcements should further solidify that notion in your brain matter. There are 24 new "business computing solutions" in all, but to paint a broader picture... lots of laptops and desktops. On the mobile front, the Latitude E5000 series (E5420 and E5520 for the budget-conscious professional, start at $859) and "business rugged" E6000 series (E6220, E6320, E6420, and E6520 ATG) boast the Intel's 2nd generation Core ships, backlit keyboard, and "Latitude commonality" across 26 models. There's also talk of the 12.1-inch Latitude XT3 convertible tablet, but details are sparse beyond that. Mobility not a concern? New OptiPlex desktops (990, 790, and 390; starts at $650) have the Intel vPro processor and small footprints. The Precision T1600 workstation, which has 2nd-generation Intel Core / Xeon processors and AMD / NVIDIA graphics, starts at $840. Interests piqued? We know we're glossing over a lot of the more business-y details, so if you're inclined to find out more, press release after the break.

Update: We got our eyes on those mean business machines at a San Francisco event, and found that the Precision workstation replacement laptops pull a neat trick -- they've got dual-digitizer multitouch screens for both pen and finger input. That should help to make up for the fact that they look (and weigh) like bricks. See all the exposed ports in our gallery below!

Gallery: Dell Latitude E-Series and Precision workstations, eyes-on

Gallery: Dell Latitude, Precision and Optiplex lineup for 2011

Continue reading Dell expands business lineup with new Latitudes, OptiPlex desktops, and Precision workstations (update: eyes-on)

Dell expands business lineup with new Latitudes, OptiPlex desktops, and Precision workstations (update: eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell responds to latest capacitor-related fallout, ignores the whole lying to consumers part

Tim Stevens — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:09:00 EST

The "capacitor plague" issue of the early 2000's has started to resurface, not thanks to another batch of bogus orange-hued electrolytes popping free, but this time thanks to the release of documents relating to a three year-old Dell lawsuit. As we reported earlier this week, those docs show that Dell asked customer service reps to deny there was any problem with their motherboards, telling them to pretend they'd never heard about the issue and to "emphasize uncertainty." Now, Dell is responding to the latest flare up -- sort of.

A post on the Direct2Dell blog reiterates that this was an industry-wide issue, which it was, but more or less ignores the crux of this latest report: those internal memos telling CSRs to play stupid while corporate IT departments panicked as OptiPlex desktops died left and right. (Boxes manufactured during those troublesome years would ultimately achieve an amazing 97 percent failure rate.) Dell also points out that AIT, the company that raised this particular lawsuit, was improperly using its OptiPlex machines as servers and not as mere desktops. That sounds an awful lot like sour grapes to us -- or should we say sour electrolytes?

Dell responds to latest capacitor-related fallout, ignores the whole lying to consumers part originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Documents show that Dell knowingly sold defective computers, misled those needing support

Tim Stevens — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:07:00 EST

What happens when capacitors go bad, spewing out their tangerine innards like the ones in the photo above? Components die. In the early to mid naughties there was a rash of failures, the so-called "capacitor plague" that affected many manufacturers thanks to millions of bogus units filled with an electrolyte mixture that was a bit off. However, nobody was quite affected like Dell. The company took a $300 million charge in 2005 to cover costs related to the faulty machines that went out with these components, and now we're getting a better picture of just how bad it was -- and continues to be.

According to recently released documents stemming from a three year-old lawsuit, Dell not only knew about the bogus components but some of its employees were actively told to play dumb, one memo sent to customer service reps telling them to "avoid all language indicating the boards were bad or had issues." Meanwhile, sales teams were still selling funky OptiPlex machines, which during that period had a 97 percent failure rate according to Dell's own study. (And you thought the Xbox 360 had problems.) With that on the minds of shoppers, plus Throttlegate and some other recent laptop quality issues, we have to think consumer confidence for Dell must be at an all-time low at the moment.

[Image courtesy of Bushtails]

Documents show that Dell knowingly sold defective computers, misled those needing support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell slips out OptiPlex 980 desktop, FX100 Zero Client

Donald Melanson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:34:00 EST

Dell may be branching out with exciting new products like the Mini 5, but it still has to keep its base of business users well stocked with nondescript desktops, and it now has a new pair for them in the form of the OptiPlex 980 and FX100 Zero Client. The latter of those is a barebones remote desktop that was previously only offered when bought with Dell's Precision R5400 rack workstation, but it's now available on its own and boasts some added support for VMware View 4.0 with PCoIP for a bit more flexibility. The OptiPlex 980, on the other hand, is a traditional desktop, and is available with Core i5 or i7 processors, optional SSD drives, an optional Dell EcoKit that promises to cut noise by 50%, and your choice of three different chassis options (minitower, desktop or small form factor). Look for it to be available in the "coming weeks," with prices starting at $807.

Dell slips out OptiPlex 980 desktop, FX100 Zero Client originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell rechristens the USFF with OptiPlex 780 mini PC

Darren Murph — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:17:00 EST

What's smaller than a small form factor PC? Frankly, a lot. Cells, shrimp, quarters -- you name it. That said, there aren't many bona fide PCs out there that can shrink down beyond the admittedly vague SSF dimensions, but Dell's making another push for its Ultra Small Form Factor (USFF) as the "world's smallest fully functional commercial desktop PC with an integrated power supply and Intel vPro technology." Of course, there's quite a bit of qualification going on there (and rightfully so, given just how tiny the fit-PC2i is), but those interested in taking the plunge can order one with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, Windows 7 and a host of other run-of-the-mill amenities starting at $629.

Gallery: Dell christens the USFF with OptiPlex 780 mini PC

Dell rechristens the USFF with OptiPlex 780 mini PC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's OptiPlex 160 'Tiny Desktop Computer' is appropriately named

Jacob Schulman — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:49:00 EST

Dell just dropped the new tiny-tower OptiPlex 160 for businesses and educational markets looking to save space and "go green." This 1.85-inch thick machine packs the usual assortment of ports, and an integrated power supply (no brick!), but unfortunately forgoes the integrated disc drive. The $563 base model incorporates a single-core Intel Atom processor, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, integrated video, and Vista Home Basic SP1 -- most of which reminds us of the Eee Box, other than the extra two Benjamins Dell's asking for. You can also spring for a 64GB SSD and an external DVD-ROM drive, and there will be a dual-core Atom option in 2009. While folks over in Round Rock envision these in the workplace, we certainly wouldn't mind taking one home for a romantic weekend with Ubuntu.

[Thanks, Ivana]

Filed under: Desktops

Dell's OptiPlex 160 'Tiny Desktop Computer' is appropriately named originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell goes industrial with new OptiPlex desktops

Donald Melanson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:27:00 EST

Dell didn't exactly have a high design bar to hurdle in order to top its existing OptiPlex desktops, but it's done a pretty admirable job with its new OptiPlex 960 model, which is available in the usual mini tower, slimline desktop (pictured above), and small form factor versions. Those each sport base configurations that include a 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive, and they'll run you $902, $892, and $912 for the tower, slim desktop and small form factor PC, respectively -- or considerably more if you opt for some of the higher end options like a Core 2 Quad processor or a discrete graphics card. For less demanding folks, Dell has also rolled out the $399 OptiPlex FX160 thin client PC, and updated versions of its OptiPlex 760 and OptiPlex 360 desktops, which now pack a 2.0GHz Celeron processor in their base configurations to help keep prices down to $630 and $478. Head on past the break for a glimpse at the complete line-up.

[Via Electronista]

Continue reading Dell goes industrial with new OptiPlex desktops

Filed under: Desktops

Dell goes industrial with new OptiPlex desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell launches flexible, energy efficient OptiPlex 755 desktop

Darren Murph — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:40:00 EST

We already knew Dell (along with just about everyone else) was jumping on the green bandwagon, and the Round Rock powerhouse sure is tooting its own horn with the launch of the OptiPlex 755. Dubbed the "world's most manageable, energy efficient commercial desktop ever," the system touts Energy Star 4.0 compliance and an Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) "Gold" rating. Additionally, the 755 can be snapped up with Intel's newly-unveiled Core 2 Duo with vPro technology, a 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 graphics card, up to 8GB of RAM, and your choice of mini-tower, desktop, or small form factor enclosure. If you're interested, all three iterations are shipping now and start around $642.

Filed under: Desktops

Dell launches flexible, energy efficient OptiPlex 755 desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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