By Chris Scott Barr

Wireless charging is not a new concept, as we’ve already seen it in at least one mainstream product, the Palm Pre. With the optional accessory, you could set your Pre down on the dock and it would charge. No wires, no connectors, just power. Well it seems that Dell took quite a liking to the technology, as they have decided to implement it into one of their upcoming laptops.

The Dell Latitude Z is set to be the first notebook with a wireless charging solution. If you purchase the special $299 dock, your laptop will be able to charge simply by setting it on the dock. It’s probably safe to assume that other Dell notebooks will be able to take advantage of this dock sometime in the future. Of course it’s also probably safe to assume that they will carry a hefty price tag, just as the Latitude Z does.

If you want the wireless charging ability, the Latitude Z is going to start off at $2,159 (includes the dock). This is also going to get you a 16-inch screen, Core 2 Duo SU9400, 2GB of DDR3 and a 64GB SSD. The laptop is available for purchase now, though the dock will not ship for a a few weeks.

[ Dell ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Shane McGlaun

Netbooks are great for many reasons, they are cheap and lightweight. These points are both important when you are looking at notebooks for use in schools. The machines have to be cheap enough for schools and parents to afford and light enough that kids can handle the machines.

Dell has announced the first 10.1-inch netbook designed for the education market. The machine is called the Latitude 2100 and featured a rubberized exterior to protect it from bumps and drops that are associated with life around kids.

The machine has an optional anti-microbial keyboard and can be had with HDDs or SSDs. OS choices include Vista Basic, XP home, and Linux. We can assume from the available Vista OS that the rig can be had with 2GB of RAM and it runs the Atom N270. The Wi-Fi equipped machine also has a network activity light on the front cover so teachers can tell if little Johnny is surfing the net instead of paying attention to the lecture. The machine is available now for $369.

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By Shane McGlaun

I am a big fan of netbooks, I like the small size and portable nature plus the machines have plenty of power for everything I want to do while I am on the road. My wife doesn’t like netbooks, she prefers a larger screen when she uses a notebook.

Dell has announced new products that will meet the needs of both the netbook and notebook shopper on a tight budget. The new Dell Inspiron 15 comes in several colors and offers a starting price of only $399 for a notebook with a 15.6-inch screen. The low-end model runs Vista Basic and offers 160GB HDD, 2GB of RAM, and an Intel Celeron processor. Many options are available that can greatly increase the price of the notebook.

Dell has also added a bargain netbook called the Mini 10v with a retail price of only $299. The model selling for that price gets a 10.1-inch screen, 120GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, Intel Atom N270 CPU, and a 3-cell battery. Different storage options are available along with Ubuntu Linux.

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By Shane McGlaun

With the sales of laptops down significantly you might think that computer makers like Dell would holding off on introducing new notebooks. Dell is still coming up with new gear for those with the money to buy and the latest new notebook is the Studio 15.

As the name implies the Studio 15 has a 15.6-inch LCD supporting 720p and full 1080p resolution. The machine can be optioned with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 discrete graphics card with 256MB of 512MB of RAM.

The machine comes in black chain link, red, blue, purple, green, and pink colors. Wi-Fi is built-in and Bluetooth and mobile Internet are optional. Connectivity features include eSATA and HDMI out. Blu-ray is optional as is a 5.1 surround sound speaker system with a 3-watt subwoofer. The keyboard also has a backlit option. Pricing for the Studio 15 starts at $649.

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by Shane McGlaun

One of the things that sat Dell apart from its peers in its early days of operation was that you could choose the hardware inside the machine rather than simply taking what HP or other makers thought you would want. Later Dell began allowing users to choose the color of their notebooks allowing for options other than black or silver.

Dell has now announced that it will be allowing users to choose the color on two of its new Inspiron desktop computers. The two machines are the new Inspiron Slim and mini-towers. Both machines can be clad in suitably bright hues including Piano Black, Pure White, True Blue, Formula Red, Tangerine Orange, Spring Green, Plum Purple, and Promise Pink.

Under that colorful exterior buyers can choose from an array of Intel and AMD CPUs, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 750GB of storage, and either integrated graphics or ATI discrete graphics cards. The mini-tower also has a Blu-ray drive as an option. The machines are available in China now and will be offered worldwide sometime this spring at prices starting at $299.

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