Dell notebook aims high
Published: 12 Sep 1996 15:41 BST
Dell will introduce a notebook at the Rolls-Royce end of the market later this month, taking it into direct competition with Toshiba's Tecra family and IBM's ThinkPad 700 series. While the firm has made big strides in the notebook arena over the last two years, this is the first time it has turned its guns on the top-end, where PCs cost the equivalent of a car.
The direct seller's alternative to the big names is the Latitude XPi CD-P150ST, a 150MHz Pentium-based unit that weighs 3.3Kg and comes with 16Mb RAM, 1.2Gb hard drive, 12.1-inch 800 x 600 TFT screen based on 128-bit NeoMagic graphics, six-speed CD-ROM drive, 4Mbits/sec infra-red, trackerball, two CardBus slots and 3D sound. It costs £3,499, way below the £5,000-plus prices demanded by IBM, Toshiba and Compaq for top-end units. An infra-red pointing device is also bundled.
"Dell's comeback in notebooks is one of the most interesting stories around. We're currently number four and we want to be in the top three in UK notebooks by the end of the year," said Julian Phillips, notebook sales manager at Dell.
Philips also predicted that the vendors will no longer be able to charge huge prices for notebooks. "You'll start to see £5,000-6,000 notebooks disappear soon. Buyers won't pay that premium for desktop functionality on a mobile PC. Gone are the days of notebooks being toys for the boys."
PCDN Comment: Dell has made an excellent recovery in notebooks after its serial fiascos of a few years back. While recent products have been solid, the new models round out the high-end of the line. Compaq, in particular, looks vulnerable to the Dell mobile charge.
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