Dell have just released a promotnial video of the Dell Inspiron Duo which is due out before the end of the year (in the USA). Needless to say if this computer has 3G and decent battery life then I could seriously be tempted to trade in my iPad.
Tag: Dell
Tags: Dell, Duo, Inspiron
Intel and Dell have just shown off the new Atom based dual core (N550) networks with a horizontal swivelling screen that converts the laptop into a slate form factor.
The new Dual core Atom processor means that the device has much better performance and can handle play back of HD video without the battery drain.
This new design looks really great and make me wounder why no one thought of this before. Personally I think windows running on a device of this form factor is going to be fantastic and ideally suited for Windows based devices…. I can definitely see this replacing my iPad.
Check out the videos below:
Dell Inspiron Duo
Source Dell’s Atom-powered Inspiron Duo: 10-inch netbook / tablet hybrid with a crazy swivel and Dell Sparta Atom N550 convertible tablet at IDF 2010
This is an new version of my Apple iPad vs. Windows 7 comparison that I have done except this time it is a direct comparison of hardware and software of my own Dell Mini 9 with Windows 7 with the Apple iPad.
VS
Now to compare Apple’s to Dell’s (Oh… I mean oranges… hahahah) I am going to be comparing the lowest end model iPad (Wi-Fi 16gb) with the lowest end version of the Dell Mini 9.
| Dell Mini 9 | Apple iPad WiFi 16gb | |
| Software | ||
| Browser | IE,Firefox,Chrome,Safari | Safari |
| Yes | Yahoo,Gmail,Hotmail,AOL,MobileMe | |
| Games | Yes (Limited) | Yes (Limited) |
| Photos | Yes | Yes |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes (Not HD) | Yes (HD via external adapter) |
| Application support | 3 Million | 130,000 |
| Newspaper reader | Yes | Yes |
| eBook | Yes (Various) | iBook |
| Magazines | Yes | Yes |
| Map Providers | Bing, Google and various | |
| Multi-Tasking | Yes | No |
| Adobe Flash | Yes | No |
| Silverlight | Yes | No |
| Camera | Yes | No |
| Video Chat | Yes | No |
| Voice Chat | Yes | No |
| Password Logon | Yes | Pin |
| Mobile Internet Connectivity | No (Optional 3G) | No (Optional 3G) |
| International Availability | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Touch Support | No (OS supports, not hardware) | Yes |
| Office Software | Yes | Custom iLife |
| Application Store | Yes | Yes |
| Hardware | ||
| USB Ports | 3 | No (External adapter) |
| Memory Card | Yes (Inbuilt SD) | No (External Adapter only) |
| GPS | No (Optional) | No (3G model only) |
| CPU | Intel 1.66ghz Atom | 1ghz Apple A4 |
| Storage | 16gb (up to 64gb) | 16gb (up to 64gb) |
| LED Screen | Yes | Yes |
| Screen Size | 1024×600 | 1024×768 |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (802.11g) | Yes (802.11n) |
| 3G | Optional | Optional |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | November 2008 | March 2010 |
| Cost $$$ | $550 au | $599 au (estimate) |
Its Here! Its Here! To my absolute pleasure my Dell 21.5” Widescreen HD Multi Touch Monitor (SX2210T) with Webcam and Microphone arrived last night. I waited for my daughter and wife to go to bed and then I had the absolute cracking the box open to see what it could do.
Below are a few photos and comments from the opening:
The box looks pretty standard but was glad that it looked a little bigger than I expected as that had to mean the monitor was bigger as well.
The monitor still in its Styrofoam case with all the cable and stuff on top. Best to open the box horizontally and not by tipping it up side down as this will result in crap going everywhere.
If there was any doubt how to install the monitor the plastic protector tells you to plug in the USB cabled and then the driver disk and Yes it was really that easy.
All the accessories including a very nice cleaning cloth (see on left) that I think will get a pretty strong workout.
The screen tilted back the maximum to 25deg. Surprisingly the base is actually a solid piece of metal and will twang if tapped with your finger. This gives the whole screen quite a bit of weight which it probably deliberate so that you don’t push the screen over when you touch the screen.
The new and old monitor side by side. Was not expecting the screen would be so glossy.
Two USB ports on the back on the monitor. There are another 2 underneath along with HDMI,SVGA and DVI.
Bezel around the edge is a little deep but this is for the camera sensor pick up for the device.
Monitor all setup on my desk.
This is a shot of the four soft keys on the right of the screen the overlay is actually very easy to understand and i had no problems with the menu interface. It might be hard to tell by the arrows, tick and cross are actually on the screen with the buttons around the side out of view.
I also had a chance to use the inbuilt Webcam and Microphone with Skype which pretty much worked as expected.
Good.
- Easy to setup. Plug the USB in and then stick the CD in the drive and click install driver reboot and your away.
- Comes with DVI and SVGA cable.
- Has HDMI in
- Easy to use and understand buttons.
- Full HD 1920×1080 resolution
- Built In Camera and microphone
- Inertial based scrolling is super cool (just like the iPhone) but so far I have only screen it work with Windows Explorer and Microsoft Word.
- A really good solid heavy metal base.
Bad
- Glossy screen. This is very much a personal choice but I just don’t like looking in a mirror every time the screen goes blank.
- Only 2 point multi touch. As this screen uses cameras along the edge of the screen (presumably to keep the cost down) then it is only capable of two points of touch. This is not a big thing as you can still take advantage of all the gestures such as pinch and rotate but it is not nice as a screen that uses capacitive touch technology.
- As this screen uses camera’s it will respond when your finger is just hovering a few millimetre’s above the surface.
- Holding arms out to the screen can get a bit tiering after a while… I found that holding the edge of the screen and using your thumb was the most comfortable way to use it.
- Smudges on the screen… As expected after some use the screen does have some smudging.
Overall this monitor is very good and at $499au it is very good value. The HDMI input option is feature also nice as I can use it as a monitor for a Blue-Ray DVD or a Xbox 360. Cool monitor and definitely recommend for anyone who wants to use a touch interface with their Windows 7 computer.
I will give it a 8.5 out of 10 mainly due to the glossy finish of the screen.
Definitely a good gift idea for your children and/or wife’s computer.
Are you getting computers with duplicate GUID’s in SCCM when joining computers to the domain. Then if it is a Dell check the service tag of the computer has been configured correctly as this is used as the seed to generate the GUID. To do this go to the dell support web site and search for the asset.com program and make a dos boot disk to set the Service Tag. You will need to use the secret switch “asset /s SERVICETAGHERE” to configure it correctly and then reboot to confirm the GUID has changed.
