Tag Archives | Dell

Sprint Plans a Bevy of 4G Devices, But Where’s the Galaxy Tab 4G?

Posted by Jacqueline Emigh on October 26, 2010 at 11:32 am

While boldly talking up intentions for more phones, PCs, and sundry other 4G devices in New York City this week, Sprint also issued a press release announcing that its edition of Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab tablet will be available nationwide on November 14 for $400, with a choice of two 3G wireless plans.

“We will have a lot more 4G devices,” Sprint VP of Business Marketing Tom Roberts told me on Monday at a customer and press launch event for Sprint’s 4G services, now set to start November 1 in the New York City metro area.

With WiMax rollouts also slated for San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston some time in the near future, Sprint and its partner Clearwire will have penetrated more than half of the major US metro markets by the end of this year, said Roberts.

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Dell Launches XPS Laptops with 3DTV Play and Optimus

Posted by Jacqueline Emigh on October 20, 2010 at 10:06 pm

Dell is today launching three new laptops which deliver a multifaceted upgrade to its entertainment-oriented XPS series, adding new features that include NVidia 3DTV Play, built-in Optimus switchable graphics, and a Webcam capable of HD video streaming.

With the new 15-, 16-, and 17-inch models, Dell’s XPS family now becomes a trio instead of a duo, replacing the 13- and 16-inch models rolled out in an earlier product line-up refresh in 2009, said Kellie Mater, Dell’s senior laptop merchandiser, at a press briefing I attended in New York City.

At starting prices ranging from $899 for the new 15-inch XPS laptop to $949 for the 17-incher, the upgraded XPSers cost about twice as much as the refreshed Inspiron R models introduced by Dell just a few months ago, which begin at $449.

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Why Can't US Dell Streak Buyers Pay Like UK Dell Streak Buyers?

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 10, 2010 at 11:24 pm

If you live in the UK and are willing to sign a two-year contract for a data plan that costs 35 pounds a month–that’s about $55 to us yanks–you can get Dell’s Streak superphone/tiny tablet for free. (The wireless carrier is O2, which seems to specialize in free phones: It’ll even give you an iPhone if you commit to a pricey enough plan.)

Assuming the Streak appeals to you, it’s a tempting offer; I first heard about it a few weeks ago, when I asked a Dell representative what the device might cost in the US. He mentioned the UK deal and said that the Streak was a hit.

Dell finally announced stateside availability and pricing for the Streak today. It’ll go on sale on Thursday. AT&T is the carrier. And if you sign up for a two-year contract, you’ll pay $299.99. Sans contract, the Streak will be $549.99.

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More Dell Streak Details

Posted by Harry McCracken on July 27, 2010 at 12:27 pm

Dell still isn’t saying precisely when it’ll ship its Streak 5″ tablet, but it’s taking preorders, and has released a few additional tidbits: The phone device will come with Android 1.6 but be upgradable to 2.2 later this year, and won’t work on T-Mobile’s 3G network. It’s $299.99 with an AT&T contract and $549.99 without one–pricey given that people in the UK who sign up for a contract can get one for free.

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Dell's Streak: Is It a Huge Smartphone or a Tiny Computer?

Posted by Harry McCracken on July 8, 2010 at 10:50 am

The time I’ve spent with Verizon Wireless’s Droid X has made one thing clear to me: I like great big smartphone screens. As impressively elegant as the iPhone 4’s 3.5″ retina display is, the X’s 4.3″ superscreen makes for larger type and easier tapping. It’s like the difference between a highly refined sportscar and a roomy SUV. I hope phones in both sizes flourish.

And then there’s Dell’s Streak…which makes the Droid X look like a pipsqueak. At five inches, its screen is so expansive that it’s not clear upon first glance whether this device is a phone. It is. Or at least it can be one: The Dell executive I spoke with at a demo yesterday described the Streak as being “capable of making phone calls.” In other words, Dell sees it as a data device that does voice rather than a phone that does data.

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Dell Rolls Out More Usable Inspiron Laptops

Posted by Jacqueline Emigh on June 19, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Dell today announced U.S. availability of the sleek new Inspiron R laptops first launched a few months ago in parts of the world such as Australia and India.

Like Dell’s existing 14-, 15- and 17-inch Inspirons, the new R models are geared to carrying out multiple roles, ranging from replacing desktop PCs, to serving up multimedia home entertainment, to acting as take-along workstations on visits to Starbuck’s. Yet the Inspirson Rs bring a cooler look and a smoother feel.

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Palm and Dell Phones on AT&T

Posted by Harry McCracken on March 22, 2010 at 10:39 am

I’ve landed in Las Vegas for CTIA Wireless, the U.S.’s biggest phone confab. The show floor doesn’t open until tomorrow, but news is already breaking. AT&T, for instance, has announced that it’s adding Palm’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to its lineup, as well as Dell’s Android-based Aero–the first Dell phone to ship in the U.S.

At the moment, it’s fashionable to declare Palm to be dead. It’s true that things look bleak at the moment, but pundits have been writing premature obituaries for the company for years, so I’d take the current round of knowing analysis with a grain of salt. With the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus’s arrival on AT&T, there are Palm handsets on ever major U.S. carrier except T-Mobile. That can’t hurt, and might help.

(I’m sorry that the AT&T Pre Plus lacks the nifty Mobile HotSpot feature that’s available on the Verizon version. But I’m not surprised: If AT&T had enabled MHS on the Pre while continuing to deny iPhone users the tethering it said was “coming soon” back in 2008, iPhone users would have headed towards AT&T headquarters with pitchforks.)

Dell, meanwhile, is a company that hasn’t had much luck with handheld gizmos in the past (remember the DJ?). The Aero runs Dell’s own Android interface and is based on the Mini 3, which has only been available in China and Brazil until now.  I’ll try to track one down before I head home from the show.

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Dell’s Adamo XPS: Incredibly Thin! Unexpectedly Odd!

Posted by Harry McCracken on November 6, 2009 at 11:56 am

Dell Adamo XPSOkay, now we know why Dell was being so secretive about its new Adamo XPS laptop: It’s not only remarkably thin (9.99mm) but also uses a design which is unique, as far as I know. The keyboard hinges to the display not at its edge but part way up,so the keyboard is angled upwards. As seen in the photo above, the ports are on the display half of the system rather than the keyboard part. And you swipe your finger across some sort of band to open the case. Very, very unusual.

Most attempts to “improve” laptop design have flopped, but the Adamo is intriguing, at least. It’s kind of hard to figure it out without seeing it in person–which I haven’t done–but reports from those who have are at least guardedly positive, and say the angled keyboard makes for comfy typing.
Props to Dell for trying something different, at least. It has a preview site up with basic specs for the new Adamo; it’ll cost $1799 and be out for the holiday season.

Any guesses as to whether the slanty keyboard will be successful? Can you envision other PC manufacturers plagiarizing the idea, or is this the 2009 equivalent of an IBM butterfly Thinkpad?

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