Dell has unveiled its new Vostrio
notebook series, updating the range it unsuccessfully released two years ago. The
laptops are designed to appeal to small to medium sized businesses, claiming to offer performance, security and storage. The laptops come with
Intel Core 2 Duo or
Celeron processors, operating on
Microsoft Windows Vista OS, though it is possible for users to change to
Windows XP if they wish. Unlike the 2007 Vostro range,
Dell have only preloaded essential
software onto the latest
notebooks, after frequent criticisms from customers that the inclusion of excessive trial software consumes valuable storage, as well as slowing down the performance of the
laptop PCs .
There are three options within the series – the 13.3 inch Vostro 1320, the 15.4 inch Vostro 1520 and the 17 inch Vostro 1720. Each
computer has solid state drive storage, and a number of security features. Such security devices include fingerprint readers and
hard drive encryption. The 1320, which starts at $569 in the US, weighs 4 lbs but has no optical drive. Both the 1520 and the 1720 feature
optical drives, weighing 5.38 lbs and 6.8 lbs respectively. UK prices are yet to be released, but the 1520 starts at £422 and the 1720 at £435.