Dell is gearing up for the back-to-school shopping season with a refresh of its Inspiron laptop portfolio. They are releasing updated laptops in its Inspiron Z, Inspiron R, and Inspiron R Special Edition computers in several sizes. The systems range in starting/base prices of $599.99 USD and $1,299.99 USD and will be available in June (more specific numbers below).
Dell recently announced that it is releasing a number of new laptops under its Inspiron brand. The three sub-series that are receiving updates include the Inspiron Z, Inspiron R, and Inspiron R Special Edition. The Inspiron Z laptops are thin and light notebooks (the 14z is classed as an Ultrabook) while the Inspiron R series are larger products for everyday computing. The Inspiron R Special Edition notebooks are paired with “studio-quality multimedia and audio.”
The new laptops feature curved edges, a “Moon Silver” band around the edges, Waves MaxxAudio technology, and Skullcandy brand speakers. Sam Burd, Dell’s Vice President for the Personal Computing Product Group stated that “the expanded and redesigned Inspiron family helps parents embrace technology and make a smart investment in their childrens’ success.” Needless to say, the company is pushing the computers hard as college friendly, especially the thin and light Inspiron Z laptops.
Inspiron Z Laptops – Thin & Light
The new Inspiron Z series comes in 13” and 14” varieties with the Inspiron 13z and Inspiron 14z respectively. The thin and light models will offer mobile broadband radios with Dell’s NetReady service which is a “pay-as-you-go” no contract service. Further, both notebooks offer around seven hours of claimed battery life (the 13z claims 7.5 hours, to be more specific, versus 7 on 14z).
Inspiron 13z
The 13z is the smallest notebook of the updated lineup. It features Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processors and HD 4000 graphics, six GB of DDR4 memory, a 500GB hard drive, and non-replaceable battery offering up to seven and a half hours. The hardware then powers a 13.3” TrueLife display with a resolution of 1366×768. It will be available in Moon Silver, Fire Red, and Lotus Pink colors. Further, it weights 3.81 pounds (1.73Kg) and measures .82” thick.
The full specifications of the device can be found below:
• Beautiful color options with SWITCH lids: Moon Silver (standard), Lotus Pink, Fire Red• Standard 2nd Gen Intel Core i3 with HD Graphics 3000 or available 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and i7CPUs and HD Graphics 4000ii pack plenty of performance into this surprisingly slim chassiso 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2367M processor (3MB cache, up to 1.4GHz) (standard)o 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor (3MB cache, up to 2.6GHz)• 6GB dual channel memoryii• 500GB Hard Drive• 13.3-inch high definition (720p) WLED display with Truelife (1366×768 standard)• Battery life up to 7 hrs 30 min (with Intel Core i3 processor, 6GB memory and 320GB harddrive). Dell Inspiron 13z batteries are built into the laptop and are not replaceable by thecustomer• Waves MaxxAudio 4 audio; Skullcandy speakers• Intel Wireless Display supports streaming 1080p & 5.1 surround sound wirelessly• HDMI 1.4a output for HD entertainment and HD aspect Webcam with pre-loaded Skype• USB 3.0 (2); USB 3.0 PowerShare (1); RJ45 Ethernet; HDMI v1.4; 8-in-1 media card reader;Bluetooth 4.0 (standard)• Height: 0.82”-0.82” (20.7mm – 20.7mm); Width: 13.07” (332mm); Depth: 9.05” (230mm)• Weight: Starting at 3.81 lbs (1.73 Kg)• Starting price: $599.99• U.S. availability: June 19
The Inspiron 13z will be available June 19th in the US and Canada (already available elsewhere) starting at $599.99 USD.
The Inspiron 13z will come in three colors.
Inspiron 14z
The 14z is the company’s second ultrabook (the first being the XPS 13), and the first Inspiron branded ultrabook. It starts at 4.12 pounds (1.87Kg) and .83” thick and will be available in Moon Silver and Fire Red (coming later this summer) with a brushed aluminum textured finish. It will feature Intel’s Rapid Start Technology to improve boot times and features a claimed seven hours of battery life.
Full specifications for the 14z are as follows:
• Beautiful aluminum finish in Moon Silver or optional Fire Redi• Standard 2nd Gen Intel Core i3 with HD Graphics 3000ii or available 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and i7CPUs and HD Graphics 4000ii pack plenty of performance into this surprisingly slim chassiso 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2367M processor (3MB cache, up to 1.4GHz) (standard)o 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor (3MB cache, up to 2.6GHz)o 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3517U processor (4MB cache, up to 3.0GHz)• Memory options from 6GB (standard) up to 8GB dual channel memoryii• Hard drive options: 500GB with 32GB mSATA cardiii; optional 128GB SSDiii• AMD Radeon HD 7570M with 1GB GDDR5 graphicsii (option with Core i5 and i7 configuration)• 14-inch high definition (720p) WLED display (1366×768 standard)• Battery life up to 7 hrs 01 min (with Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB memory, AMD 7570M 1GBgraphics, and 500GB hard drive). Dell Inspiron 14z batteries are built into the laptop and arenot replaceable by the customer• Waves MaxxAudio 3 audio; Skullcandy speakers• Intel Smart Response Technology quickly recognizes and caches most frequently used files andapplications, allowing quick access• Intel Rapid Start Technology boots in seconds; resumes in seconds; saves power when sleeping.• HDMI 1.4a output for HD entertainment and HD aspect Webcam with pre-loaded Skypevi• USB 3.0 (1); USB 3.0 PowerShare (1); RJ45 Ethernet; HDMI v1.4; 3-in-1 media card reader;Bluetooth 4.0• Height: 0.81”-0.83” (20.7mm – 21mm); Width: 13.66” (347mm); Depth: 9.45” (240mm)•Weight: Starting at 4.12 lbs (1.87 Kg)vii
Inspiron R Laptops – Everyday Computing
The Inspiron R notebooks are aimed at everyday computing and feature HD displays, Waves MaxxAudio 3 technology, lots of connectivity ports, and have several different processor, memory, and hard drive combinations available to users. They support Intel’s WiDi technology that can wireless transmit video and audio to your home theater setup. They come in 15” and 17” models as the 15R and 17R respectively.
Inspiron 15R
The 15R comes in four colors including Moon Silver, Lotus Pink, Fire Red, and Peacock Blue. The Laptop measures up to 1.34” thick and weighs in at 6.05 pounds (2.744Kg). It comes with Intel’s WiDi to hook up to external displays but it does feature a built-in 15.6” WLED display with 1366×768 resolution. The company claims that the laptop can get up to 6 hours and 46 minutes when equipped with an i5 CPU, 4GB memory, and 500GB mechanical hard drive. Processor options can include either a Sandy Bridge Core i3-2370M processor, Ivy Bridge i5-3210M, or Ivy Bridge i7-3612QM processor running at 2.4GHz, 2.9GHz, and 3.1GHz respectively. Users can select either 6GB or 8GB of DDR3 memory and up to a 1TB 5400 RPM hard drive. Connectivity options include HDMI 1.4a, three USB 3.0, USB 3.0 PowerShare, Gigabit Ethernet, VGA output, SD card reader, and Bluetooth 4.0.
The Inspiron 15R will be available June 19th with a starting price of $549.99.
Inspiron 17R
The 17R is very similar to the 15R in terms of internal hardware with the same processor, hard drive, and memory options. It does have a larger display at 17.3” with a resolution of 1600×900 pixels. It will come in either Moon Silver, Lotus Pink, or Peacock Blue colors and will weigh in at 7.15 pounds (3.24Kg). External connectivity options are the same as the Inspiron 15R as well. The company is claiming a slightly shorter battery life of 5 hours and 34 minutes, however.
The Inspiron 17R is already available in certain Asian and European countries. It will go on sale in the US and Canada starting June 19th with a base price of 599.99 USD. The full specifications for the 17R are as follows:
• Beautiful color options with SWITCH lids: Moon Silver (standard), Lotus Pink, Peacock Blue i• Standard 2nd Gen Intel Core i3 with HD Graphics 3000ii or available 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and i7CPUs and HD Graphics 4000ii pack plenty of performanceo 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2367M processor (3MB cache, up to 1.4GHz) (standard)o 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3210M processor (3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz)o 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3612QM processor (6MB cache, up to 3.1GHz)• Memory options from 6GB (standard) up to 8GB DDR3 memoryii• Hard drive options from 500GB (standard) to 1TB 5400 RPM SATAiii• 17.3-inch high definition plus (900p) WLED display with Truelife (1600×900)• Battery life up to 5 hrs 34 min (with Intel Core i5 processor, and 6GB memory)• Waves MaxxAudio 3 audio; speakers with sub-woofer• Intel Wireless Displayv supports streaming 1080p & 5.1 surround sound wirelessly• HDMI 1.4a output for HD entertainment and HD aspect Webcam with pre-loaded Skypevi• USB 3.0 (3); USB 3.0 PowerShare (1); RJ45 Ethernet; HDMI v1.4; VGA; 8-in-1 media card reader;Bluetooth 4.0• Height: 1.25”-1.46” (31.7mm – 37.1mm); Width: 16.4” (416.8mm); Depth: 10.87” (276mm)• Weight: Starting at 7.15 lbs (3.24 Kg)vii• Starting price: $599.99• U.S. availability: June 19
Inspiron R Special Edition Notebooks – Studio Quality Audio Workhorses
The “Special Edition” versions of the Inspiron R series of notebooks takes the 15R and 17R and upgrades the displays to 1080p, speakers, sound card, Blu-ray optical drives, and anodized aluminum chassis in Stealth Black coloring. Further, the 15R Special Edition gets AMD discrete graphics while the 17R Special Edition gets NVIDIA discrete graphics.
Inspiron 15R Special Edition
The 15R features a 15.6” WLED 1080p display, optical drive (DVD-R/W, Blu-ray reader, or Blu-ray RW), backlit keyboard, and anodized aluminum case. The chassis measures 1.34” thick and starts at 6.10 pounds (2.78Kg).
Internals include either an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M dual core at 2.9GHz or an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3612QM quad core CPU at 3.1GHz. Users can get up to 8GB of DDR3 memory at 1600MHz as well as up to a 1TB hard drive + an optional 32GB mSATA SSD with Intel’s caching and Rapid Start technologies. Discrete graphics come in the form of the AMD 7730M graphics card with 2GB GDDR3 memory. Connectivity options include three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.0 PowerShare port, Ethernet port, VGA output, HDMI 1.4 output, SD card reader, and Bluetooth radio. The company is claiming up to 5 hours and 25 minutes of battery life.
The 15R Special Edition will be available on June 19 and will start at $899.99 USD.
Inspiron 17R Special Edition
The 17R SE notebook is the largest and most powerful of the updated lineup. It starts at a beefy 7.36 pounds (3.34Kg) and is 1.46” at its thickest point. The large anodized aluminum chassis does come packed with a lot of hardware to make up for its weight. On the outside, it sports Waves MaxxAudio 4 audio suit and Skullcandy speakers with sub-woofer, backlit keyboard, up to a Blu-ray writer, and either a 17.3” 1080p WLED display with 400 nit brightness or a 200 nit WLED display with 1080p resolution and capable of 3D output when paired with NVIDIA 3D glasses. Powering the display is a Core i5-3210M or i7-3610QM Ivy Bridge processor, 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM (standard, only option), 1TB hard drive with optional 32GB mSATA SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics card with 2GB GDDR5 memory. Dell claims up to 4 hours and 23 minutes of battery life with the 17R Special Edition’s battery. Connectivity options include three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port with PowerShare, Ethernet jack, HDMI 1.4 output, VGA output, SD card reader, and Bluetooth radio. It also supports WiDi – just like the rest of the Inspiron updates.
The notebook starts at $1,099.99 USD and is available June 19th worldwide. Alternatively, with the 3D display, the notebook will cost $1,299.99 USD.
Wrap-up:
Whew, that was a lot of Dell laptops! In short, Dell is updating their Inspiron family with new ultrabooks, new general laptops, and new media-centric workhorses. All the Inspiron laptops will be available worldwide starting June 19th, 2012. They will have the following starting prices:
Inspiron 13z ———————– $599.99 USD
Inspiron 14z ———————– $699.99 USD
Inspiron 15R ———————- $549.99 USD
Inspiron 17R ———————- $599.99 USD
Inspiron 15R Special Edition —— $899.99 USD
Inspiron 17R Special Edition —— $1,099.99 USD
More information can be found here. Will you guys be checking out the new Dell laptops?
