Today's students and young professionals need a versatile notebook that can serve as their workhorse by day and entertainment center at night. The new Dell Studio 14z powered by the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor provides a perfect blend of performance and portability with graphics support for gaming, HD video, and creative self-expression.

The GeForce 9400M in the Dell Studio 14z delivers up to five times faster graphics performance than Centrino 2 notebooks to accelerate image editing, video playback, and video conversion. With vReveal, the Studio 14z can fix grainy, shaky video twice as fast as comparable notebooks, and then let you upload the video to YouTube in minutes.

Super Talent Technology today also adds to the broadest SSD portfolio in the industry by introducing faster and larger capacity upgrade modules for the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook PC. The modules come in two form factors, the standard Half Mini PCIe form factor and Super Talent's innovative Double Wide Half Mini PCIe form factor. Both families of products feature a custom IDE/PATA interface used in the Mini 9 netbook.
"For the first time ever Mini 9 users can upgrade their netbooks with a high performance 128 GB SSD without any case modifications. We installed the hardware in less than 60 seconds and reinstalled the operating system in less than 30 minutes. We started thinking about how we could better solve our customers' problems, when we saw them posting videos online sawing their case apart to put in larger SSDs. So we innovated and invented the Double Wide Half Mini PCIe form factor to make upgrading to a high capacity SSD a whole lot easier."

Dell today brings Latitude 2100 to little students and their activities in class. The new Latitude 2100 netbook is also well suited for any business or public institution that needs affordable, durable, Internet-ready devices for e-mail and collaboration. It harbors traditional netbook internals, with kid-friendly design, along with options for a carrying handle, shoulder strap, antimicrobial keyboard, and even a touchscreen LCD. A 10.1-inch LCD screen, an Intel Atom N270 CPU and a choice of three operating systems - Microsoft Windows XP Home, Vista Home Basic or Linux Ubuntu - give live to the netbook. Standard models come with a 3-cell battery and weight 1.32 kg. The base Latitude 2100 configuration retails now at $369.

Prominent server builder Dell is looking to tap the potential of VIA's Nano processor, in building compact server called XS11-VX8, that will be ready for high-density web-server applications. The compact form-factor, coupled with its energy-efficient chipset made the 64-bit Nano the obvious choice.

Dell intends to make this a "hot-plug" server, which is not much larger than a 3.5" hard drive. Twelve of these servers could fit into a 2U chassis, so power cooling, and connectivity could be shared and managed better. Each server will have room for its dedicated hard drive, and will have up to 3 GB of RAM.

This product will be marketed by Dell's Data Center Solutions group, which targets customers who buy these in thousands of units at a time. There are reportedly 30~40 such companies worldwide. The server also uses low power consumption as one of its biggest selling points. According to Dell, it idles at a mere 19W, and consumes no more than 29W at full-load. The XS11-VX8 will be officially introduced in June.

Thanks to Microsoft's free sneak preview of Windows 7 in the form of its downloadable release candidate. Users world over are enjoying a fully-functional license of Windows 7 Ultimate that will expire in June 2010. In the mean time, Microsoft expects you to get a hang on the new OS, help it with mass-testing, and gear-up for its commercial launch later this year. The pricing of the OS however, seems to have people like Dell's Darrel Ward, director of product management worried. "If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," he said, in a telephonic interview with CNET.

"In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a strong swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista. Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford [the additional cost]. Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like," he added. Apart from its pricing, Dell however, feels optimistic about Windows 7. The OS seems to have already built up a lot more momentum, and enthusiasm than what Windows Vista could manage.

Dell has quietly rolled out three new budget LCD monitors, that include the widescreen P2210, plus the standard 4:3 ration E190S and E170S models. The 22-inch P2210 display supports 1680x1050 16:10 native resolution, analog VGA, DVI-D with HDCP, or DisplayPort connections and a USB 2.0 hub with four ports. Model P2210 also meets EPEAT Gold and Energy Star standards.
The 19-inch E190S offers maximum resolution of 1280x1024 pixels, with 800:1 contrast ratio and 250 cd/m2 brightness. Only VGA connection is supported, although the monitor could be used for both business and home use. The device meets Energy Star and EPEAT Gold standards, while integrating halogen-free laminates and using a chassis composed of 25-percent post-consumer recycled plastics.
The E170S features the same eco-friendly design as the E190S, but in a more compact 17-inch screen size. The monitor supports 1280x1024 resolution and comes only with a VGA port.
Dell is now offering the monitors for $240, $130 and $110, respectively.

Intel has everything going its way when it comes to mobile computing, and the processors it sells that power notebooks and netbooks across every segment of the market. Intel uses the common classification of portable computers (consumer segment), using sizes and form-factors to differentiate mainstream notebooks, performance notebooks, ultra-thin notebooks, "larger" sub-notebooks (netbooks), and common entry-level netbooks. To cater to each of these, Intel made things easier by coming up with platforms (sets of processor and chipset combinations), a market approach both Intel and AMD have been using recently.

Starting with mainstream, and performance notebooks (traditionally above 14-inches in size, above US $1200 in price), Intel has the Calpella platform, that marks the entry of Nehalem architecture to the mobile scene. This is slated for 3Q 2009. Intel will simultaneously lower the prices of its current Montevina platform, to let inventories digest. Major hardware manufacturers are preparing their "launch-vehicles" for the Calpella platform, which will make it in time for Q3 2009.

Dell has substantially extended the amount of art available for its Studio notebooks, according to the company's official press release posted yesterday. More than 120 additional art choices are now at your disposal, waiting to be applied to any of Dell's popular Studio 15 and Studio 17 laptops. The artist names that stay behind the new arts are Deanne Cheuk, Maya Hayuk, Jason Holley, TWEEQIM (the design studio made up of husband and wife team miQ and Thuy3), Thailand native Korakrit Arunanondchai, Filth (the nom de guerre of designer and artist Lucas Irwin), painter Robert Hargrave, Peter Stevens, Keith Warner and OBVLN. To make your choice easier, Dell has categorized the art by theme: classic designs, artists, patterns, colors and (PRODUCT) RED. The company will offer the full line of new designs in the US only for now. More info here.

The updated Dell Studio 15 laptop that was rumored for two months, is now finally available for purchase. This newer version comes with improved 15.6-inch LED-backlit display, which packs a native 1366 x 768 resolution, and gets image from the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics with either 256 MB or 512 MB of on-board memory. The rest of the specs remain unchanged. The machine can still be powered by a range of Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The built-in 2 MP webcam, 5.1 channel sound, HDMI output, plus the optional Blu-Ray drive and backlit keyboard are still present. The Studio 15 is also offered in six different colors including Black Chainlink, Ruby Red, Midnight Blue, Plum Purple, Spring Green and Promise Pink. Base prace starts from the reasonable US $649, all options will bump it considerably.

Samsung Electronics on Thursday said it is boosting security on solid-state drives by bundling data encryption software from Wave Systems' Embassy with drives from 64GB to 256GB.

The drives with encryption software will be available from PC makers, Samsung said in a statement. Coinciding with Samsung's announcement, Dell said it would offer the self-encrypting SSDs with its Latitude line of laptops in the upcoming months.

Full-disk encryption is already available for hard drives, but this is the first time it is available for SSDs, Samsung said. The software automatically encrypts information as data is stored on the SSDs. Additionally, the company claims that SSD performance is not affected by encryption because the drive has no moving parts.

Dell, the world's No. 1 workstation supplier for the last nine years, today unveiled Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 tower workstations. One of the first workstation lines to ship with Intel Xeon 5500 "Nehalem," the Dell Precision T5500 and T7500 deliver up to 90 percent better multi-threaded digital content creation application performance versus previous generation systems. The new systems are purpose-engineered for professionals in engineering, media, entertainment, biosciences, exploration, economic modeling and risk analysis.

Style-minded families, students and teens want to personalize their PCs to meet their performance and lifestyle needs - blogging, chatting, sending photos or running a media center. Highly-stylized products, like Dell's new Inspiron slim and mini-tower desktops, deliver on design and customization, transforming the brand from the "built-for-me" model, into "made-for-me."
Dell's new Inspiron slim and mini-towers expand the design and personalization possibilities for consumers. Available in eight vibrant colors, Dell is the only major consumer desktop manufacturer to offer such extensive personalization options to reflect individuals' personal style or to complement their bedroom or study.
Inspiron slim and mini-tower desktops debut today in China and are available for purchase through Dell.com, distributor Digital China or retailers Suning and Gome. Starting at $299 US, the systems will be available worldwide later this spring.

Style-minded people who place a premium on precision craftsmanship and design can now add Adamo to their list of must-have items for 2009. Dell today unveiled the world's thinnest laptop as a kick off to the new Adamo by Dell brand.
Adamo, derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love," will serve as a flagship in a line of products created to disrupt the personal computing space with the combination of new design, aesthetics, personalization choices and sought-after technologies.

Dell today debuted its new multi-touch Studio One 19 PC in Japan. The all-in-one "entertainment PC" comes in a variety of colors to match your kitchen's main accent. The best you can put in the Studio One 19 is an Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 4 GB of memory, 750 GB hard disk, 6x USB, integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400 graphics, and a Blu-ray player. Of course, you can choose from a number of other parts, and make the final price more affordable. All configurations ship with the same 18.5-inch 16:9 (1366x768) HD display. It is up to you to decide whether you want it with multi-touch capabilities or you want the normal glossy screen. Starting price of the Studio One 19 is ¥149,800 or around US $1,538.

Dell today added three laser printers to its printer product line. The printers introduced today are the two color multifunction models 1235cn and 2145cn, and the budget-priced offering in the black & white category - 2230d. Each printer is Energy Star certified and RoHS compliant.

If your work requires special equipment or if your wife is clumsy enough to spill water on the family notebook every once in a month than you have urgent need of Dell's second-gen Latitude E6400 XFR. With its super-rugged design the Latitude E6400 XFR is engineered to withstand heat, dust, vibrations, impacts and direct blasts of pressurized water (your wife's spilled glass of water won't be an excuse for a new laptop anymore). The laptop's body is made of a material Dell calls PR481, which is said to have twice the impact strength of magnesium alloy and structural stability at extreme temperatures. Because of PR481, the Latitude E6400 XFR also meets 13 military specifications (MIL STD 810F), including drop tests, sea fog, temperature extremes, thermal shock and explosive environments. Inside the armor is a Core 2 Duo processor paired up with both a discrete 256 MB DDR2 NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M and an integrated Intel 4500MHD video cards that drive a sunlight-readable 14.1-inch WXGA display. The Latitude E6400 XFR also comes with a 12-cell battery with ExpressCharge for faster battery re-charge times. All the features come with a price of course, the laptop's starting price is $4,299. For a video overview of the Latitude XFR E6400, take a look at this blog here.

DigiTimes recently reported that four out of the top-five branded PC vendors - Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo and Acer - have been listed as branded PC products eligible for subsidies under the China government's rural stimulus program, and as a result are expected to enjoy increased sales in the China market in 2009. However, the number five ASUS did not gain the government's approval. According to ASUS that's because the company market their PC products under multiple tradenames. BenQ was another company not to find favor with the Chinese government. Exact details concerning the deal between the listed manufacturers and the Chinese government are still unclear.

Dell today introduced next-generation data center infrastructure products designed to help customers simplify and manage their data center environment while improving energy efficiency. The Dell PowerEdge 4220 and PowerEdge 2420 rack enclosures support Dell's broad portfolio of servers and storage systems and can be used in virtually any environment, including data centers, remote offices, wiring closets or even factory floors.

We continue to give you the latest information on the Psion versus Dell and Intel saga. In episode three, Psion counter attacks and surprisingly demands $1.2 Billion from Intel. Psion Teklogix has filled a counterclaim against Intel in response to the chip giant's attempt to get the Netbook trademark freed from legal responsibilities. Part of the complaint, filed with the US District Court for Northern California, says:

Intel has acted willfully and maliciously, has unlawfully attempted to trade on the tremendous commercial value, reputation and goodwill of the Netbook mark, and has deliberately and intentionally confused and deceived the public as to an affiliation, connection or association of Intel with Psion, and/or as to the origin, sponsorship or approval of Intel's goods and/or services,

checkmate

Here's a quick reminder before going straight to the story. Recently both Intel and Dell filed petitions asking for the cancellation of Psion Teklogix' "Netbook" trademark. Both manufacturers said they need the "Netbook" term liberated from any trademark responsibility, so they can use it as unified term for new class of ultra-portable laptop computers designed for use on the go. Currently makers like Dell, ASUSTeK, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Samsung, MSI, GIGABYTE and many others sell products branded as netbooks. Today Psion responded to the legal accusations, by sending an official response to the public. The full statement, because too big, will appear after you click on the read full story marker.

Normal for Dell, the company has launched a new 24-inch LCD monitor, without informing the public. The new monitor just appeared on the company's website and that's all. "Designed with the environment in mind", the Dell G2410 monitor is one of the firm's greenest LCDs. It comes with Dell EPEAT Gold rating, that reduce environmental impact by using halogen-free laminates in circuit boards and chassis plastics that contains 25% post-consumers recycled plastics. Max supported resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, response time is 5 ms, contrast ratio is 1000:1, brightness level is 250 cd/m² and the horizontal/vertical viewing angles are 160° and 170° respectively. Connectivity options of G2410 include single VGA and DVI-D connectors. Dell is now offering the monitor for $349 on its online store.

Dell has quietly listed a new desktop system on its site, the Dell Studio XPS 435. The slick, angled casing of Studio XPS 435 hides a 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition processor, an Intel X58 motherboard, up to 24 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM working at triple-channel, ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card with 1 GB GDDR5 memory, up to 4.5 TB of storage and a Blu-Ray disc drive. As standard you get a Gigabit NIC, integrated 7.1 channel sound, 15-in-1 memory card reader, and eight USB 2.0 ports. If you want to go beyond that, there's an optional Creative X-Fi sound blaster, BOSE 2.1 sound system, and a wireless network card. The system is yet to be priced.

Close to ten days before ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series rolls out at the upcoming CeBIT event, one of its eggs seems to have hatched a little early. Dell's Indian website has already started listing it in the specifications of the Studio 15 notebook. Enter Mobility Radeon HD 4570. This mGPU is derived from the 55 nm RV710 graphics processor, and intends to be a handy performance boost over integrated graphics. It features 80 stream processors, 8 texture memory units, and 4 raster operations units. It connects to GDDR3, DDR2 memory using its 64-bit wide memory bus. The card used in Dell's Studio 15 sports 256 MB of memory. The mGPU is expected to outperform competing NVIDIA G110M by 20~30%, while keeping its TDP rating at a mere 13 W. Once formally announced, one could expect to hear more about this mGPU.

Dell has filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office requesting that Psion's "netbook" trademark must be canceled. In the petition for cancellation Dell puts forth three logical reasons for nullifying the "netbook" trademark - abandonment, fraud, and genericness. Psion Teklogix is yet to make a reply to the petition. The company has time until March 30, 2009 to do that. A copy of the petition is posted here at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System web page under number ESTTA267087.

E-tailer QVC.com has updated its online offerings to include the latest Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook. Available now for pre-order and first announced at CES in Las Vegas, the small Inspiron Mini 10 will ship to owners who pre-payed $559 for it on March 20, 2009. Those who wish to buy one can choose from six different colors: black, white, red, pink, green, and blue. Specs for all variants are identical and include a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor Z530, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500, 10.1" diagonal glass LED display with 1024x576 resolution, and a 160GB hard drive. Dell will ship the netbooks with a legal copy of Windows XP Home SP3 and one year limited warranty.