Search results for 'app:weblogs' matching tag 'Laptops'

Multi-Touch Comes to Dell's Studio 17

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

As some may have seen in blog posts from sites like Electronista or SlashGear, Yesterday, we added a really cool option to the Studio 17—a multi-touch display. This is the first Dell laptop to offer a multi-touch display option. Some of you may not get excited at the thought of running your fingers all over your laptop’s screen (this is one of my husband’s pet peeves – Do.Not.Touch.My.Display), but I am here to tell you, once you start using multi-touch, it becomes second nature in how you interact with your PC.

For most people, the first introduction to touch was your neighborhood ATM machine. Today’s touch screens are much more sophisticated, able to handle multiple simultaneous touches (the Studio 17 is a true four-touch solution) and gestures, like pinch, drag, rotate and flick. I think you will be surprised at how quickly you will adapt to using touch when the opportunity presents its self. And as Ed Baig at USA Today discussed in a recent column, the arrival of Windows 7 with support for multi-touch in its DNA should accelerate the use of touch in PCs going forward

To help ensure using touch becomes second nature, we pre-install a suite of touch software applications on the Studio 17 with multi-touch display. For example the Dell Touch Zone lets your fingers do the walking to quickly locate touch applications and media content. You can edit photos or create slide shows or even flick favorite photos to Flickr.com, create music playlists, select, start and stop videos, and leave virtual sticky notes for family members. Note: Click on any of the images in my post to see a larger view, or to see more pictures click over to the Studio 17 Multi-touch set on Flickr.

Youngsters and the young at heart will enjoy doodling and finger painting with YouPaint by Cyberlink. This nifty program will get your creative juices going, with fun activities like coloring, stamping, or modifying favorite photos (It was amazing fun taking a favorite picture of my two dogs, outfitting them with stylish hats and introspective thought bubbles.)

For the truly imaginative, there is the TouchCam application also from Cyberlink, which allows you to add in all kinds of amazing video effects things while you are using your webcam. For example, add a hat to your image (reminds me of the day in the park in Mary Poppins), or celebrate with an animated confetti parade, frame your image in roses, or go incognito and use an avatar. And, you can capture and upload these Oscar-deserving efforts to YouTube for posterity.

As you’ll recall we unveiled the new and improved Studio 17 in conjunction with the launch of Intel’s mobile Core i7 quad core processors. It has an impressive 17.3-inch HD display and an excellent array of entertainment features, like JBL branded audio solution, which makes it an ideal choice for a desktop replacement. For those who don’t require the four-on-the-floor power of Core i7, we have expanded the processor selection to include Intel Pentium Dual Core and Core 2 Duo processors, and adjusted the starting price to $699.

For those of you who are interested in how the watch is made, yes, GottaBeMobile.com, we teamed with N-trig to add the multi-touch display option on the Studio 17. Their DuoSense dual-mode digitizer solution uses a highly accurate capacitive sensing system that delivers quick and responsive multi-touch capability – true hands on computing as they call it.

You may have gathered from this blog post that I might be a fan of multi-touch capability on the PC. I am. I anticipate that sooner rather than later one of my morning rituals will be scrolling through my local paper on a PC with a multi touch screen in my kitchen versus racing my husband for the sports section. For those of you who are interested in getting your hands on* a unique laptop, check out the Studio 17 with a multi-touch display, starting at $899. (Note: the multi-touch display will be available with Core i7 systems in a few weeks).

*Pun Intended

Packaging in the Limelight

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

It’s been a big week for packaging – and let’s face it, packaging doesn’t get many big weeks...

Amazon has taken its frustration-free packaging initiative to the next level by launching a certification program. If your product’s packaging is certified ‘frustration-free,” you know you the packaging is easy to open and recyclable. I thought this video demonstrated the concept pretty well.

You might have seen on sites like SlashGear that our Dell packaging engineers got to show their stuff this week, too, with the introduction of bamboo packaging. We’re using it to form the cushions that cradle our Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v inside a box made from 25 percent post-consumer material. You’ll see bamboo incorporated into more of our product packaging early next year, and our engineers are investigating other agricultural materials into our packaging portfolio.

I never thought I’d be one to get excited about packaging, but you have to hear Oliver Campbell, our lead packaging engineer, talk about it. His passion for this stuff is infectious (see Oliver herein the YouTube video in Todd Dwyer's post from last year). I can see why he's excited, especially when you look at what makes bamboo such a great alternative to the paper, foam and corrugate that’s often used for packaging.

It grows fast. Bamboo is among the fastest growing woody plants in the world. It can grow up to 24 inches per day and reaches full harvesting maturity in three to seven years, significantly faster than hardwoods.
It’s strong. How’s this for surprising? Bamboo’s tensile strength is similar to that of steel, so customers benefit from really strong packaging protecting their new computers in transit. (Bamboo’s strength is also a reason it’s often used for scaffolding in Asia).
It’s easy on the environment. Bamboo helps promote healthy soil. It has a deep root system that protect against land erosion, and when harvested correctly, it doesn’t require replanting after harvest.

Oliver and his team are also working hard to ensure all processes associated with the bamboo’s production meet the highest standards. For example, we source our bamboo from a forest that follows Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria, and the bamboo forest is located far away from pandas’ known habitats. See the map below (click on it to see a larger version):

The bamboo is processed mechanically, not chemically, and we’ve worked with our packaging provider to reclaim all the water used during processing. We’re also working with Unisource Global Services (UGS) to secure FSC-certification for the bamboo’s full chain of custody, from the forest to the manufacturing facilities (which are right there in China), and partnering with Unisource Global Services and Environmental Packaging International to certify the packaging for recycling.

So in summary, our bamboo packaging is good news for customers, products, pandas and the planet. You gotta admit... that’s kind of exciting.

Dell, DPC Latency, and You

DELL-John B — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

You may have seen some chatter recently about an audio issue on the Alienware M17x on Engadget, NotebookReview and Dell’s Community site. The discussions revolve around deferred procedure call (DPC) latency, and its affect on audio performance. We are aware of the issues customers are reporting, and are currently working to address them.

Some folks are using tools to measure DPC latency, and while measuring it is one thing, it may not actually cause performance issues. The few customers who have symptoms are reporting the following:

Audio stutters, clicks, pops, and drops
Frame drops while watching videos
Audio/Video desync during video playback

DPC latency is not an issue that is specific to Alienware or Dell. This is a complex problem to address, and there are no simple solutions. DPC latency can be caused by numerous issues including the system BIOS, a sound card or audio chipset, drivers, the operating system itself or a combination of those things.

We will continue to dig deeper into this. As we make progress on this issue, I'll report it here.

Adamo XPS Now Available on Dell.com

Lionel_Menchaca — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

If you're the kind of person who reads about laptops and mobile devices on the web, you've probably already seen some online reactions to Adamo XPS. In the initial post about the latest Adamo laptop, Michael Scheschuk addressed linked to some of the blog activity and provided an overview.

Today, Adamo XPS is available on Dell.com both in the US and in several countries around the world. In the US, the starting price is $1,799. Here are the default specs for that config (click on it to see a larger version).

To mark the occasion, Alex Gruzen, Dell's Sr. VP in the Consumer Product Group wanted to take a few minutes to share his insight into the product and Dell's goals behind it. Here's the video:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Take a look at www.adamobydell.com/xps for more information. And if you want to see more images of the lastest Adamo, visit here on our Flickr page. I've added a few new pictures there. Click this page below to see Adamo XPS on Dell.com:

Adamo XPS: Thin, Elegant and More

DELL-Mike S — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

You might have seen some of the online buzz about the Adamo XPS on sites like Gizmodo, CNET and Engadget since our recent announcement. I wanted to take moment and provide some insight into this addition to our Adamo product line-up. Like Lionel mentioned, the Adamo brand has always been about providing cutting-edge innovation, premium design, craftsmanship, and luxury to the high-end consumer. This started with the original Adamo Thirteen which utilized authentic materials throughout including an aluminum frame and glass display assembled with Swiss watch-like craftsmanship. With the original Adamo, we worked to deliver this at a mere 16.4mm high and that helped make it the world's thinnest laptop at the time.

We wanted to build on that. That's why we decided to take some of the knowledge gained during the Adamo Thirteen development and push it even further. The result is the Adamo XPS a laptop that is 9.99mm. To give you an idea of how thin 9.99mm is, most cell phones today are thicker. The current iPhone is 12.3mm thick and a common USB port, found on most computers these days, is 7.5mm.

To arrive at a product this thin, we had to really start from the ground up. The traditional 'clamshell' laptop design just would not work. Over lots of late nights brainstorming, sketching, and prototyping we finally arrived our unique hinge design which results in an angled keyboard that is similar to a traditional desktop keyboard.

This angled keyboard allows for more efficient cooling, improved acoustics, and most importantly it folds into the display essentially disappearing when the laptop is closed. When you want to open the system again just swipe your finger across the cover and the keyboard pops open. Very cool and very James Bond! I've seen that GottaBeMobile.com mentioned that the latch does require power to open, which is true. If you find yourself needing to open the system for some reason without power (or if there's a technical issue with the battery and AC adapter), we've provided an override tool that does the trick. We've also included a 'hot swap' feature that allows you to switch batteries while in sleep mode without turning off your system.

The engineering team needed to be really creative in order to maintain the 9.99mm height. Lessons learned from Adamo Thirteen included unique mounts that allowed us to remove the metal casing surrounding the Solid State Drive. The team also split the motherboard into multiple pieces to allow the other components to be in the same plane. That is, in a traditional laptop the motherboard sits at the bottom, the keyboards and other component sits on top. All of this was too tall for the Adamo XPS so we effectively put the keyboard, and other components at the same level as the motherboard to minimize height. The team also needed to relocate the I/O ports (USBx2, audio, Display Port, and power) to the LCD since the palm rest was thinner than the ports.

Beyond making it thin, we didn't want to compromise on hardware. It sports a Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz ULV processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD drive and a slick 13.4 inch HD display. If you want to see more photos, Brian Solis posted some good ones on his blog, or you can check out the Adamo XPS set on Dell's Flickr page.

With its ultrathin yet sturdy design, aluminum enclosure, diamond cut logos, metal keycaps, and wing-inspired design accents we set out to make the Adamo XPS simply breathtaking. A lot of effort went into designing the next product under the Adamo brand. We hope you like the Adamo XPS.

OPI Colors Now Available in Dell Design Studio – That’s La Paz-itively Hot!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

As you may have read, Dell has partnered with the color experts at OPI to bring 26 classic nail polish colors to the Dell Design Studio. Starting today, you can personalize your Dell Studio, Inspiron or Mini laptop with your favorite OPI color at Dell.com, whether for yourself or a holiday gift for the color lover in your life.

Many of OPI’s top selling colors including I’m Not Really a Waitress, Big Apple Red, Princesses Rule!, Louvre Me Louvre Me Not, Cajun Shrimp and Green-wich Village are now available. Looking for something bright? Check out Need Sunglasses? yellow, In My Back Pocket orange (Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig’s at Allure Magazine’s favorite) or my personal favorite Teal the Cows Come Home. Want to make a statement with some shimmer? Try Happy Anniversary, Smitten with Mittens or Holiday Glow.

You can view all the 26 options online and check out the full set of images on our Flickr site. Let us know what you think!

Also, check out the inspiration from OPI behind some of your favorite shades:

La Paz-itively Hot!

“Inspired by the lifestyle and culture I equate with South America – a passion for music, for love, for life – this color expresses the kind of wild abandon that makes me want to take off my shoes. And dance on the beach. With the wind in my hair. What can I say – it’s a hot color, not for the shy.” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

I’m Not Really a Waitress

“Living in LA puts me in the heart of the entertainment industry, where you can see celebs and celebutantes just by grabbing a latte. My inspiration behind I’m Not Really a Waitress, OPI’s best-selling shade of all time, is the response you hear from every would-be actress who is waiting tables until her big break comes along. Created for the OPI Hollywood Collection, this is one shade that’s totally ready for its close-up!” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

Big Apple Red

“Who doesn’t love New York? It has everything – fashion, theatre, four distinct seasons, energy, excitement, and the best bagels anywhere. Hands down. The place where the official color of fashion is black, this city offers big buildings, big ideas, big beauty – and big inspiration. For this big color.” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

Latitude XT2 XFR: The World’s Thinnest Rugged, Convertible Tablet PC

DELL-Troy W — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

From the FCC to you, today, we introduced another product in our rugged line-up.

The Latitude XT2 XFR is the industry's smallest 12.1-inch rugged convertible tablet PC and is the first with a multi-touch display. It's designed for demanding environments and meets the needs of our customers in the military, police, border patrol, field service organizations, first responders and government field case workers.

How do we know it meets their needs? Earlier this year we made it a priority to work with customers across each vertical segment in our Global Public business to create purpose-built technology solutions. The XT2 XFR continues this commitment and is another example of an industry-first product that was developed based on customer feedback. It can be mounted into first-responder vehicles or easily carried by field-service and industrial-manufacturing workforces to perform in tough environments.

The Latitude XT2 XFR adds to Dell's Rugged Mobility Solution offering that includes the fully rugged Latitude E6400 XFR that Patrick blogged about earlier this year and the semi-rugged Latitude E6400 ATG laptops we brought to market in 2007. It is available with a range of accessories and services that include mobile rugged docking and mounting solutions with mobile broadband pass-through, as well as end-to-end services.

We understand that reducing total cost of ownership is a priority for larger organizations, that's why we are committed to providing our customers with long lifecycles, stable image, tools and service offerings to simplify IT management, so they can focus on their mission. The XT2 XFR continues this tradition.

To see more Latitude XT2 XFR images, click on this Flickr set. See below for an overview video and a short video that shows the kinds of tests we do on the Latitude XT2 XFR and all of our ruggedized products.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Create a Mini for Me with Dell Design Studio

DELL-Anne C — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today we expanded the Dell Design Studio to include the Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v. This means that you can order a Dell Inspiron Mini that is distinctly and uniquely yours because for $85 you customized it with one of more than 200 original works of art and designs. For example, to celebrate the upcoming World Series, Yankee and Philly fans should check out their respective team design options (I will be checking out the Cardinals in anticipation of next season). Remember - each team has three design options ranging from the conservative "classics" to the edgy "die-hards."

Another favorite category will be the (PRODUCT) RED artwork, which generates a $20 contribution to the Global Fund in the fight to eliminate AIDS in Africa. We recently updated this collection adding new artists like Ben Grieme and Emil Kozak. Ben's designs are based on details found in his own photography - he will zoom in on one small element in an image until it's unrecognizable in its original form. Emil on the other hand has an eye for detail, and then subtly works in another, almost subliminal layer that often contains obscure references, or codes and hints.

Here's perspective from Ben Grieme: "(PRODUCT) RED challenges us to think differently about ourselves and how our responsibilities towards others affects all of us as whole. It asks for personal responsibility towards ourselves, our world, and to share ownership of worlds plight. In this series of work, I ask the viewer to give new life and meaning to the objects presented in their hues by adding the contexts of their own lives to the work. Mirroring the challenge set forth by (PRODUCT) RED to give life to a cause by sharing ownership, I hope to give life to the work through sharing ownership of the pieces with you all."

The Art section of the Design Studio currently houses the "Illuminations" collection, organized by guest curator Gordon Hull (check out the interview with Gordon - it definitely provides some interesting perspective.) I took my daughter on a tour recently and she picked out Rainbow Cloud Colorful light by Kamau Patton as her favorite, while I lean more toward Jim Drain's Wellwell.

We moved several of the most popular designs and artists like Derek Welch (Horizonte del Infinito) and Korakrit to the Classics section. Amazingly enough, designs by our inaugural artist, Mike Ming, remain some of the most popular, and can be found there as well.

We will of course continue to offer several color options on the Inspiron Minis, the most popular being Passion Pink, which generates a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. However, in the next week or so we will unveil an expanded palette created in conjunction with the color experts from OPI, with unique choices like Dear Santa, Smitten with Mittens and Pompeii Purple. As we moved closer to announcing our relationship with OPI, there were two reactions inside Dell: the women were excited and the men confused (most had to be told about OPI, leading nail lacquer supplier worldwide). I advised one of my more skeptical male colleagues to do some quick market research with his wife, which he did. Within a couple of minutes of hitting send on an email to her, she responded with her current top three colors, plus what their 11-year old daughter prefers. She definitely validated that this program resonates with women everywhere.

By expanding our personalization options to include the Inspiron Mini devices, we are allowing people to customize a Mini for Me (not to be confused with Mini Me). So have fun, make it unique and ensure Inspiron Mini is never confused with someone else's no matter where your travels take you.

Make Your Own Statement With Dell Design Studio

DELL-Anne C — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

This is one of those days I really enjoy as a Dell employee. Today in New York, Alex Gruzen and Ed Boyd are unveiling an update to our Dell Design Studio, and it’s pretty amazing – a phrase I don’t use lightly. If you’re the kind of person who likes to make a personal statement or share your passions, you’ll want to click on over to the new Dell Design Studio to see some cool new ways to personalize your Dell laptop.

Just in time for the Major League Baseball playoffs, Dell is unveiling more than 90 unique designs that tie back to all 30 of the MLB teams. Starting today, baseball fans can declare their support choosing one of three designs for each team that range from “understated” to “loud and proud”– we call them classic, fan, and die-hard. Sharing these designs internally has lead to some interesting revelations. In my group alone, colleagues have claimed the Seattle Mariners, the Baltimore Orioles, the Toronto Blue Jays and my favorite – the Red Birds of St. Louis. We have posted images ALL of the MLB designs on Dell’s Official Flicker account, and of course you can “try them on” in the Design Studio with several Dell laptop models including the Inspiron 14,15, and 17 laptops, and the Dell Studio 15 and 17.

We are also announcing a unique relationship today that resonates with most of my female colleagues. We are partnering with OPI, the world’s No. 1 maker of high-fashion nail lacquer. Starting next month, you will be able to personalize your Dell laptop or Inspiron Mini with one of 20 OPI classic colors, like “I’m Not a Waitress” and “Princesses Rule!” plus six Holiday Collection colors like “Dear Santa.” We have posted a few sample images in the Dell Flicker account, and the full collection will be revealed next month.

We also are continuing to update and expand the original artwork and design collection in the Dell Design Studio. Today we are unveiling the Illuminations collection, organized by Curator Godon Hull of Surface to Air New York, which features cool new designs created just for Dell from a cadre of hip young international artists. We’ve also added several new (PRODUCT) RED designs that generate a donation to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa. Finally, past best-sellers have been move to the Classic section.

Let Dell Upgrade a New Windows 7 PC for You

Lionel_Menchaca — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

For those of you who are waiting for Windows 7 to arrive, Dell has a deal for you. We are expanding our upgrade program (see Daniel Judd's post for details about the original program) with a new option - the Windows 7 Free and Easy upgrade program - which takes the hassle out of upgrading a PC to Windows 7 because Dell will do it for you. Now you can purchase popular PCs like the Inspiron 15 or 17 laptop, Studio 15 laptop, Inspiron 546 or Studio desktop and we will install Windows 7 Premium on it before shipping it to you.

As the program name implies, there are no additional charges associated with this. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to order a new PC powered by Windows 7 and get on with your daily business, and around Oct. 22, or soon after your new PC will arrive. Of course for you do-it-yourselfers, we are still offering the Windows 7 Technical Upgrade program, in which a customer buys a qualifying PC with Vista Home Premium, Vista Business Pro or Vista Ultimate, and registers for the Windows 7 upgrade kit, which then ships within a few weeks of Oct 22.

We are looking forward to your feedback on this new option in our upgrade program, and depending on customer response we will investigate adding additional PC models as well as expanding it on a global basis. So head over to www.dell.com/windows7now, customize and order your PC and we’ll take care of things on the Windows 7 front.