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Dell gears up for back to school and the holidays

Dell launched three new home computers today, including twist on the traditional desktop and a notebook designed with students in mind.

The announcement comes as Dell starts to ramp up its releases for the second half of the year, which includes back-to-school and holiday shopping.

Dell Studio Hybrid

Dell started online sales of its new Studio Hybrid model today. The oval-shaped PC is 80 percent smaller than most other small desktop towers and uses 70 percent less energy, the company said.

The Hybrid, which starts at $499, comes in six colors. Customers also can replace the plastic case with more environmentally-friendly bamboo for an additional $150. It will show up in stores later this fall.

Dell also added two models to its Inspiron line of home computers. The Inspiron 13, a 13-inch laptop, weighs less than five pounds and is targeted at students. A $699 version of the notebook will go on sale next week at Wal-Mart stores, and it will be available online later in August.

The Inspiron 518, a gloss-black desktop designed for home use, starts at $349 and is available immediately online.

Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |

Comments

By Mike

July 29, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

Neat! Dell now makes Mac Mini and MacBooks for a couple hundred bucks less than Apple, AND with cheaper, lower quality bulk parts! Sounds like a deal. Not.

By LS

July 29, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this

Whoopeee! I would rather buy an HP than Dell. I have a Dell and it sucks!

By Dan Price

July 29, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this

I like it. Very nice. I like the HDMI port.

By Dale O'Marr

July 29, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

Darn it…I bought the HP media center PC which is also a mini desktop but still boxy. I would’ve bought this in a heartbeat and it’d look better with the other gadgets in my media center.

By Jim

July 29, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

Dell still makes computers?

By JJ

July 29, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

“Dude, you’re getting a Dell?” NOT!

I’ll never buy another DELL. From now on, I’m either continuing to build my own or I’ll buy a Mac.

By chris

July 29, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

Yeah dont get a dell, dont support the local economy. All you hobos bashing dell, I hope someone that gets laid off from Dell takes your job.

By Randall

July 29, 2008 3:41 PM | Link to this

Good for Dell for being trendy and environmentally friendly! I have 2 Dell’s in my home and love them. They still make some of the best products around. My advice to shoppers is to put up the extra cash for Vista Ultimate or Business, whichever is available. It’s more secure & stable than Home Premium and you wont have as many hiccups.

By Angela Messina

July 29, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

DELL SUCKS!!! I have a dell laptop that lasted for maybe 6 months, if that. If anyone is looking for another computer, I suggest you put your money into something else. Dell computers are cheap and the customer service is horrible. If you need assistance with your computer, don’t even bother to call the customer service number. You will waste hours on the phone with someone that does not even speak English. How can you resolve your computer issues with someone you can’t even understand. You do better trying to fix the problem yourself. Michael Dell is just a money hungry company that doesn’t care about quality,they are only looking to make money. Let’s spend our hard earn money on something that we will last. The economy is tight these days and we don’t need to be giving money to such a horrible company.

By Angela

July 29, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this

DELL SUCKS!!! I have a dell laptop that lasted for maybe 6 months, if that. If anyone is looking for another computer, I suggest you put your money into something else. Dell computers are cheap and the customer service is horrible. If you need assistance with your computer, don’t even bother to call the customer service number. You will waste hours on the phone with someone that does not even speak English. How can you resolve your computer issues with someone you can’t even understand. You do better trying to fix the problem yourself. Michael Dell is just a money hungry company that doesn’t care about quality,they are only looking to make money. Let’s spend our hard earn money on something that we will last. The economy is tight these days and we don’t need to be giving money to such a horrible company.

By All Computers

July 29, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this

Dell makes a good machine, you can get into it and fix things rather quickly. If you buy any machine, get a warranty, they will all usually break down at some point. You can buy a Dell laptop with a 4 year drop/damage/service contract that will make sure the machine is covered against anything for the entire time and still come way under the price of a similar MAC. Apple also seems to drift towards “no service” and want you to buy another, rather than fix it yourself, or upgrade. It takes about a minute to replace a hard drive in a PC these days, try it with a MAC and see what happens…….

By keith

July 29, 2008 10:51 PM | Link to this

If you have a Dell that’s broken, then it’s your own stupid fault and probably did something to make it break after 6 months….I have several Dell’s and never once had a problem with any of them….other than software issues which is a Microsoft problem, not a Dell problem. Alot of computer users are real quick to add ‘cute’ programs to their system and then complain that the system sucks when it screws up….

By JSS

July 30, 2008 12:21 AM | Link to this

Please, you can still support the local economy if you buy an Apple. There are 2 stores here and they have offices in town. I don’t buy not supporting the Austin economy as an excuse to have to buy an inferior Dell computer.

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