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Gadgets Dell Updates Vostro Business Notebooks
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - April 3, 2009 5:54 PM

17 comment(s) - last by AstroCreep.. on Apr 7 at 2:39 PM

Dell Vostro 1320 (Source: Dell)

Dell adds security features and video conferencing software to Vostro line

Dell has announced an updated line of Vostro notebooks for businesses. The machines are very clinical in their design, lacking any of the visual appeal of sexier Dell products like the Adamo. Still, businesses don’t want sex appeal; they want functionality and low acquisition prices, which the updated line of Vostro machines appears to offer.

Among the newly updated models are the 13.3-inch Vostro 1320, the 15.4-inch Vostro 1520, and the 17-inch Vostro 1720. All of the new models include video conferencing software pre-installed to help businesses save money on travel expenses with pre-configured software for meetings. The software requires the Vostro notebooks be fitted with an optional webcam and microphone.

The new notebooks also have additional security features including SSDs with worry free data protection, fingerprint readers and software encrypted hard drives. Exactly why Dell chose software encryption rather than any of the readily available bulk data encryption hard drives is unknown.

Other features of the updated machines include only pre-loading the software requested by the buyer, meaning no crapware bloating the system. The LCDs get a Premium Panel Guarantee that promises zero bright dots on select systems. Dell also offers a 30-day return policy on the Vostro line.

The machines are available now in North America with availability in Europe, Middle East, and Africa on April 7 and select Asian countries in May; pricing for the new Vostro 1520 notebook starts at $569, the 1320 starts at $629, and the 1720 starts at $649.

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New Latitudes

By AstroCreep on 4/3/2009 9:08:51 PM , Rating: 1

Anyone use the new E-series Latitudes yet? I'm not a fan...
My company is an exclusively Dell shop (for servers & PCs, anyway), but the new E-series Latitudes have made us look outside of the Big-D.
I personally am not a big Dell fan to begin with, but the boss likes them and we've been getting them at a good price point for the last five years or so (we're also a reseller).

These new Vostros, while sharing a lot of the design with the new Latitudes, appear to have a better layout. The next wave in our refresh we might have to consider the 1520.

RE: New Latitudes

By brshoemak on 4/3/2009 10:20:26 PM , Rating: 2

What specifically don't you like about the E-Series? I have an E6400 and I have two minor/medium complaints. The Dell Control Manager software can be a bear sometimes and it takes too long to come out of hibernation initially but that issue seemed to go away after using it for a couple weeks. Otherwise it has been rock solid and has provided good performance - it's currently running a couple VM's off a VMWare server install.

BTW, I am coming from a Dell D630 - those things were tanks.

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RE: New Latitudes

By tjr508 on 4/4/2009 12:16:22 AM , Rating: 2

I don't see how a business notebook can get any better than a D630. Mine takes serious abuse almost every day and I don't even need a case to protect it.

I don't like the E series as much, but I don't see my company going to them until we are forced to anyway; especially without an on-board serial port.

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RE: New Latitudes

By AstroCreep on 4/4/2009 11:00:40 PM , Rating: 3

Where to begin?

I hate the fact that the exhaust vent has been moved from the back to the left side of the unit. I can't describe how much I love taking a sip of warm Diet Pepsi because I forgot I can't leave the can on the left side of the computer anymore.
I hate that the VGA connector is on the left side of the unit. Nit-picky, perhaps, but what was wrong with the back? And when are we gonna start seeing DVI connectors instead of VGA? :p
I hate that the Print Screen key is now a "Function" key. I have to write documentation pretty frequently and it's just annoying. I've been used to pressing Alt+Print Screen, not it's Alt+Fn+F11. I'll get used to it, but it's still something that annoyed me.
I hate that they finally did away with the serial port. Sign of the times, I know, but it was nice to not need a USB converter when configuring a switch.
I have already gone through two of the DVDRAM drives and I've only had the system since January.
The NIC passes traffic when the system is turned off. Not just receiving but transmitting as well. There have even been collisions on the switches from these systems while powered down. Could be a vPro thing, but still annoying.

There are some things I do like about it, however. Esthetically it's pleasing. I do like the new keyboard (except the whole Print Screen thing); has a nice, smooth feel to it and it looks like it doesn't have the textured surface that gets rubbed away with time/finger oil. I also like the addition of the eSATA port, but these niceties aren't enough to outweigh the negatives.

I really liked the most recent incarnation of the D-series. We bought the D830s which I liked much, much more than the E-series. May not have won any style points, but functionality and amenities were near perfect IMO.
I also like how I was modded down before I even gave a list of my grievances. Can't say there weren't some fanboys trolling the forums over the last day or so. I'm wasn't bashing Dell simply for the sake of bashing Dell. ;)

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RE: New Latitudes

By brshoemak on 4/5/2009 8:45:11 PM , Rating: 3

quote:
I hate the fact that the exhaust vent has been moved from the back to the left side of the unit.

I do wish they had left the 9-cell battery slice up front, it made a nice wristrest. This would have let them move the vent to the rear of the unit.

quote:
And when are we gonna start seeing DVI connectors instead of VGA? :p

It's called DisplayPort, check the back of your laptop. I know a lot of monitors don't use DisplayPort YET but they will and you'll have the ability to move that direction. Smaller port, better for laptops. Cheap DisplayPort->DVI adapters available.

quote:
I hate that they finally did away with the serial port. Sign of the times, I know, but it was nice to not need a USB converter when configuring a switch.

I'll definitely give you this one, I had another laptop between my D630 and the E6400 which also only had USB. Like you said, sign of the times, but I would often drive out a customer site and have 10 Cisco console cables in my bag only to find that someone swiped my USB->Serial converter. What are you going to do though? I miss onboard serial but there are VERY few laptops that still have them - beyond older Dells, some ThinkPads still do I believe.

I guess at the end of the day it's like any other piece of technology - far from perfect, not exactly how you would have designed it but it works.

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RE: New Latitudes

By hlper on 4/6/2009 10:19:24 AM , Rating: 2

So, I read your post and the one you responded to as being from people who have some special/advanced requirements from a laptop.

I have the E6400 as well because my university offered it at an extremely low price. I use it primarily for data analysis and writing associated with preparing my thesis (molecular biology/neuroscience). From that perspective it is quite nice.

I use the Display port -> DVI dongle to give me dual monitors. I leave my power supply plugged in on my desk because the computer will run all day on the 9 cell battery. The LED backlit display is very bright, and the backlit keyboard is nicer than I expected. And, overall, I think the computer looks nice and is fairly well constructed. Overall, I would say that these things make the E6400 a nice laptop for the average user who needs comprehensive office type functionality.

Things I don't like:
I hate the way the speakers sound. I could do without the VGA connector. And that 9 cell battery sticks out pretty far, and you can feel it wiggle a bit when you if you grab it (it's not much movement, but it's not a snug fit either).

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RE: New Latitudes

By hlper on 4/6/2009 10:23:11 AM , Rating: 2

I should point out that our university IT department set up my E6400 and removed a lot of the drivers and dell software. I had to go to Dell and download the NVIDIA control panel, and drivers for my Bluetooth adaptor. However, I am not using the Dell software at all, which means I don't know how well their power management software works, or other Dell specific features.

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RE: New Latitudes

By AstroCreep on 4/6/2009 7:39:06 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
I use the Display port -> DVI dongle to give me dual monitors.

I haven't used the Display port yet; you can't run two monitors and the notebook display at once (three total screens), can you? That would make me love these, lol.

quote:
I hate the way the speakers sound.

Ditto. Those things suck donkey. I even made a post on the Dell forums saying that "The speakers suck" and they deleted my post. How quaint! :p
Surprises me because the recent D-series speakers were quite decent...in the realm of notebook speakers, I mean. ;)

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RE: New Latitudes

By tjr508 on 4/6/2009 10:45:17 AM , Rating: 2

Exactly!
The removal of the serial port was a HUGE blunder imho.
Latitudes are supposed to be developed for people in the field. That's the whole idea of a Latitude.
People in the field use equipment.
Equipment uses serial ports plain and simple.
I work with lots of different machines and am yet to see a USB interface. Luckily, my D630 will last forever!

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RE: New Latitudes

By AstroCreep on 4/7/2009 2:39:22 PM , Rating: 2

You'll be hard-pressed to find any OEM who is making a notebook/laptop with a serial port anymore though.

I don't think you can find them on newer ThinkPads, either. :(

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RE: New Latitudes

By GoodBytes on 4/4/2009 12:28:17 AM , Rating: 2

I have the Latitude E6400, and I love it. Perfect laptop.
Insane machine with crazy features. Cooling is so good, I over clock my GPU quiet a lot. The closest GPU to my performance I get is a Geforce 9600M GS (mine is a little slower).

~9 hours of battery life, anti-glare screen, backlit keyboard, quiet (system and keyboard/mouses), metal base/screen lid, really fast, bright LCD for outdoor view. definitely worth every penny. And with the minimum 3 year warranty and a contracted technician coming at your place coming at your place when you went starting the next day for also 3 years free of charge is unbeatable.

The machine comes with ultra light and fast Dell Control Panel smartly done (you install the base application with the ultra light onscreen notification software, and you add extensions to the program if you want them (I did not need them)). Dell really surpassed itself with this machine with superb service quality from people from your area that just want to get you to be happy, and an excellent machine.

The only down side in this machine, is that the speakers are not the best,as they decided to use ultra small ones. The 15inch model, because has more space, used larger and better ones. But they are really loud and I mostly use headphones so I don't care.

Oh, and the machine comes clean. Fully updated Vista (with actual clean OS disk), needed drivers (with disk), Roxio (easy to uninstall), and PowerDVD (both with there disk).

Based on my remarks from forums... it seams that dell software and drivers are really best under Vista 64-bit. XP drivers and software are the worst with even lack of feature. Dell really doesn't care about XP. Which is fine with me as I don't like XP as well.

My specs: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, digital mic, 4GB of RAM 800MHz, Centrino 2, Nvidia Quadro NVS 160M, Hitachi 5200RPM 160GB (I don't need more space, I got a high-end desktop for that and games), Vista 64-bit, 9-cell battery.

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RE: New Latitudes

By The0ne on 4/4/2009 12:35:06 PM , Rating: 2

Our company's the same with yours. We like Dell simply because service and pricing has been good for us. Bad part, get it replace the next day. Can't beat that.

However, I've purchased the Vostro 14,15 and 17's and I think the material quality and build isn't aren't as good as the Inspiron and Latitude. I'm using the top of the line 17 and while it's very speedy and has a great LCD but still uses the same material and build. But it's not that bad that I have to worry that it'll shatter or something like that :)

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Since when is...

By amanojaku on 4/3/2009 11:25:42 PM , Rating: 3

quote:
Other features of the updated machines include only pre-loading the software requested by the buyer, meaning no crapware bloating the system.

Leaving crap I don't want off my computer a "feature?" I mean, yeah, every vendor puts their sh1t on your PC, so it's best to reinstall if you can get the drivers. But PC manufacturers have the luxury of doing that little bit "extra." Imagine a restaurant telling you that they did you a favor by NOT putting bacon on your cheeseburger. They better not put it on there if you don't want it!

RE: Since when is...

By Jedi2155 on 4/4/2009 2:52:01 AM , Rating: 2

Burger King tried that with "Have it your way!"

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Reminds me of the older ThinkPads...

By iFX on 4/3/2009 6:33:36 PM , Rating: 3

Like the old 600E models. No frills, all looks. I like it!

RE: Reminds me of the older ThinkPads...

By WoWCow on 4/5/2009 3:22:09 AM , Rating: 1

Reminds me of my vostro 1400 with the faulty 8400m gs :(

I really hope they would offer an AMD/ATI alternative... but I guess if that happens, it has to be in the inspiron line first before shipping for business.

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OK by me

By tech329 on 4/4/2009 7:32:30 AM , Rating: 2

I just did two E6500s yesterday. They are actually very good near as I can tell. I trashed the factory install and did a custom one with the stuff I needed for client use. The factory image is far behind the current drivers from the Dell support site. The shipped ones are awful. The updates work great. Based upon that I can't recommend using the E6400 or E6500 out of the box. That is sure to be trouble. Becasue its such a mess, a clean install with current drivers is a must. Dell should never have shipped that image.