Dell updates the Vostro lineup with 1320, 1520 and 1720

Dell, after a long time, finally extends the Vostro product line with the 13-inch 1320, 15-inch 1520 and the 17-inch 1720.

1320

1520

1720

 The Vostro computers are primarily aimed at business users with a high sense of mobility. It is also the budget line for Dell. But still, it has long been kept idle i.e. not any new additions to the family. This largely owes to the fact that suddenly there was a flurry of smaller machines called “netbook” in the market that took away all attentions from the vendors and customers alike. Now finally Dell adds not one, not two, but three new notebooks to the Vostro family – the 13.3-inch 1320, the 15.4-inch 1520 and finally the 17-inch 1720. We’ll look at them one-by-one.

Vostro 1320

Main characteristic of Dell is that it lets the customers customise the machines that they are going to buy.  Same policy persists here.  The 1320 comes to you in three packages -- base, productivity and ultimate with starting price of $679, $878 and $1003 respectively. The 1320 is powered by an Intel core2 duo T9550 processor with a clock speed of 2.66 GHz along with 1066 MHz FSB and 6 MB of L2 cache.  You get 1GB of single channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800 MHz with the base back, which is increased to 2GB and 4GB with the productivity and ultimate pack, with a maximum of 8GB.  You get 80GB of SATA hard drive with the base pack, which is actually doubled in the other two packs, with an option of increasing upto 250GB.  Graphics is handled by the Intel integrated graphics media accelerator 4500 MHD and a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS Graphic Card in all the packages.

As far as the external look is concerned, the1320 has that typical executive look with Matte-finish black body, and easy-to-use keyboard with the trackpad positioned below that. Both the mouse buttons are positioned below the trackpad.  The 13.3-inch widescreen WXGA antiglare display panel has a 1280 x 800 resolution.  Loaded with the 8X DVD+/-RW, Blu-Ray Disc, this machine comes with advanced security features like biometric fingerprint reader and encrypted hard drive with wave software.  Connectivity is taken care of by an 802.11a/g/n WiFi and 2.0 Bluetooth.

Other features include,

—  Mobility Solid State Drive 128GB

—  2 speakers

—  Optional 1.3 Mega pixel camera with single digital microphone

—  4-cell, 6-cell or 9-cell Lithium battery

—  One year limited warranty

—  Weight: 4.1 lbs

You have an option of choosing the OS ranging from Windows Vista Business with “Downgrade Rights Service to Windows XP Professional” to Windows Vista Ultimate with this baby, and if you think you can yourself manage that, get the free DOS.

Vostro 1520

The bigger 15.4-inch machine is also heavier at 5.38 lbs. The larger panel accounts for a sharper resolution also – of 1440 x 900. Other features are pretty similar to the respective packages of the 1320. The ultimate pack comes with a 64-bit Vista Ultimate though.

Price starts at $619 for the base package, with the productivity and the ultimate pack starting at $718 and $893 respectively.

Vostro 1720

Again the main and significance difference lies in the size only, inside being pretty much the same. This 17-inch WUXGA system comes with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, and a higher capacity NVIDIA card with 512MB. There are 6 USB ports here instead of 4 as in the other models. The WiFi uses b/g like the 1520 and unlike the 1320.

Price starts at $699 for the base package, with the productivity and the ultimate pack starting at $848 and $973 respectively.

You can order them at dell.com .