Desktops

This must be what it feels like to give birth. I personally have not given birth to a human, but I do feel I’ve given birth to past Alienware products and am really excited about the new products joining the family very soon.  I’ve been seeing and hearing some amazing things about these units – not just performance-wise but the design mixed with functionality makes me proud to be part of this ever-loved brand culture.  We did some really exciting things to support the M17x launch back in June with the all powerful campaign and we are continuing to message our upcoming launch.  With the support of some interesting teasers images and a three-part video teaser, the mystery and lure of the Alienware’s brand continues.  Below is the latest video, check out the Alienware YouTube channel for others.

All the rumors and speculations will roll up to the big fireworks launch at the Tokyo Game show. At our booth we will showcase our entire new product line, with all the systems playing the latest PC games. There will be gaming tournaments on site, giveaways for our fans and a special promo they are running at the show to where customers can get a free Alienware TactX headset.   For all of those die-hard Alienware fans, follow our Facebook page, we will have show updates including video, pictures and coverage from IGN.com and Gamespot.com. It’s going to get rowdy but in a good way. Stay tuned.

Dell began selling in retail stores in late 2007. Now we have more than 43,000 points of sale all over the world. China represents about 20% of that total with more than 6,000 retail locations across the country selling Dell laptops, netbooks and PCs. Today we opened the first Experience store in Shanghai, China.

Update: Take a look on the Dell Flickr photo site to see images from the store opening event.

Our consumer business leaders are focused on exploring new ways to reach consumers, listen to them and respond to their needs with new products and services. It’s part of a drive to create a 360-degree customer experience and retail stores are an important channel for Dell to deliver on that customer promise.

Design and personalization are at the core of our DNA. Our new store provides a single location where our consumers can truly discover, try and buy Dell products and enjoy the fun of self expression. The Dell Experience store showcases the entire Dell consumer product portfolio and delivers “over-the-counter personalization”, allowing customers to design every aspect of their PC. The 205-square-meter store features five interactive brand experience stations, including a dedicated zone for small and medium-sized business customers.

We introduced the Adamo into China in March. This brand represents the very finest in craftsmanship and materials science and has turned into a hot topic with local lifestyle media.

Gamers can test their competitive skills on Alienware M17x in our Alienware zone. Alienware invaded China this summer and quickly became a hit with gaming enthusiasts. They may soon see new Alienware laptops, desktops, monitors and accessories launched here and there is no better place then the Dell experience store to get a hands-on demo of what real power means to gamers.

Our new Mini 10 netbooks are displayed in our Lifestyle zone. We’ve embedded, China Mobile 3G technology into our smallest, lightest and most colorful-designed laptops Dell has ever produced.

 The last zone is where consumers can work with our professional sales team to build their own Dell. The Build-to-Order bar has a 6-meter wide video wall that shows all the choices available to you. You can design and personalize your own Dell at our BTO bar and have the most the most personalized PC on the planet made just for you.

The new Dell Experience Store is located on the first floor of the newly opened Buynow II electronics center at Cao Xi Road and Zhao Jia Bang Road. Our partner, Buy Now, was founded in 1998 and has become one of the most prominent IT malls in China. Now there are 11 Buynow IT Malls, located in major cities in China. In the near future, Buynow will have at least 35 IT Malls in operation across China.

Shanghai now has become one of the hottest spot for tourists all over the world. If you have opportunity to visit Shanghai you are most welcome to drop by at our Experience Store.

For those of you who haven’t heard, next week is Climate Week. Climate change, cap and trade, greenhouse gas emissions – there’s been a ton of talk on these topics this year as the United Nations Climate Change Convention in Copenhagen grows ever closer.

The  challenge is a big one. No question about that. But it’s important to remember that every one of us - in our homes, in our businesses - can do our small part to contribute to significant, important change. And the simplest thing we can do is use…less…electricity.

So in the spirit of Climate Week, I’m taking this opportunity to remind you of a news release Dell issued back in July of this year, when we announced our broadest line of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star 5.0 compliant desktops, workstations and portables ever. Nearly 60 (59) percent of our laptops and 63 percent of our desktop computers are now Energy Star 5.0-compliant. Additionally, almost all of our desktop computers, workstations and laptops consume less than 5 watts in a low-power mode – this exceeds current energy efficiency requirements set by the EPA.

Part of our commitment to the environment is providing customers with computer systems that make a minimal impact on the planet. So when choosing your next computer, consider more than just screen size, battery life, processor speed… Consider how much energy it will require to run over its lifetime. By choosing Energy Star 5.0 products, you choose minimize your carbon footprint. Each one of those choices can, and will, add up to equal real progress for our climate. 

Learn more about Dell’s energy-efficiency efforts here. 

Sorry for the delay. Due to some technical difficultes with our registration database, I had to post this a little bit later than I wanted to. Folks who read sites like Anandtech and other enthusiast sites have known that Intel’s Lynnfield chipset and new Core family of processors were due to be introduced. Lynnfield and the new processors are here, and so is a pair of new desktops from Dell—the Studio XPS 8000 and 9000. Here’s a picture of both side by side:

The Studio XPS 8000 is a great option for the kind of user who needs performance and power without a massive full-size minitower. It is the smaller version of its big brother the Studio XPS 9000, which was formerly known as the XPS 435 desktop that I blogged about back in February. The Studio XPS 8000 stands at 16.1” tall and is 7.32 inches wide and weighs around 16.5 pounds.

Both machines are built for high-end performance, supporting the newest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Whether you’re interested in using a PC to watch and record HD content, view and edit photos, listen to music or to edit your own HD videos, or playing games either machine is up to the task. Beyond that, it’s powerful enough to serve all that kind of content throughout the house.

The Studio XPS 8000 is available to customers in the United States today at a starting price of $799. It’s built on Intel’s P55 chipset, and it features the following:

• Quad core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors (specifically, the Core i5 750 and the Core i7 860 and 870 processors)
• DDR3 memory (supports both 1066MHz and 1333MHz up to 16GB max)
• ATI and NVIDIA graphics card options (ATI’s HD 3450; NVIDIA’s GT220, GTS240 and GTX260)
• Up to two hard drives (capacities of 320GB, 500GB 640GB, 750GB 1TB and 1.5TB are all options)
• 8 USB  ports (2 angled ports on top + 2 front + 4 back); 1Gb Ethernet adapter, 1 eSATA port in the back; 6-pin IEEE 1394a port in the back and more
• Top-mounted power button, microphone and headphone connector

The power supply is 350W. The optional TV tuner allows you to watch and record over the air HD signals. The Studio XPS 8000 also supports up to two optical drives, including a 6x Blu-ray disc burner and 16x DVD+/-RW drive. The front-mounted 19-in-1 card reader supports all kinds of flash-based memory cards to make it easy to import photos and videos into the PC.

Speaking of videos, there’s also a pretty cool software option for both the Studio XPS 8000 and 9000 desktops called MediaShow Espresso. It’s an application that speeds the video transcoding process (converting video from one format to another). In a nutshell, it uses the combined performance of your CPU and GPU to make converting videos a much quicker process. And regardless of what GPU solution you opt for, MediaShow Espresso has you covered since it works with NVIDIA’s CUDA technology and ATI’s stream technology. Extremetech posted an in-depth review of the transcoding software complete with tons of performance data. Bottom line, if you spend any amount of time converting videos to play on your Xbox 360, Sony PSP or PS3, iPhone or other devices, buying this software for an extra $20 is a no-brainer.

Note: Click on either of the photos in this post to see larger versions of these images. To see more photos of the XPS 8000, take a look at this set on Dell’s Official Flickr page.

Earlier this week, we launched a social shopping experiment in Canada called Swarm. I asked for some details from Laszlo Molnar from our team in Canada and here’s what he told me. Even if you're not in Canada, I'd welcome you to poke around the swarm site there and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Lionel

Swarm comes to Canada

Our friends in Canada are testing piloting something from Dell and Intel called “Swarm.” Check it out by clicking here.

Swarm is all about joining a group to drop the price of a Dell computer you would like to purchase. Whether it is with friends or people you don’t know, the more people who join the Swarm group, the more the price comes down. While everyone pays the same low final price when the Swarm closes, you’ll still be able to customize your computer to your personal liking before purchasing it.

Here’s a YouTube video that explains the Swarm concept:

Swarm is a new program we are piloting in Dell Canada, created in partnership with Intel. This represents the second trial we’ve launched—Singapore was first. Due to its success, we are now bringing it across another continent and giving it a try in Canada.

You can check out the site here: www.dellswarm.ca, or click on the image below.