14 DAY TRIAL // With most of the major expos of the first half of the year over, one would think that hardware makers and PC suppliers would take some time to sit back and relax while their newly-introduced devices engage each other on the consumer market. This is definitely not what is happening. In fact, the past week has been filled with announcements of new laptops and desktops, with certain companies even coming out in force and unleashing entire product lines one after another. No doubt these IT players aim to exploit the enthusiasm of the summer holidays and, at the same time, prepare for the arrival of the back-to-school period.
Dell came out and made public the existence of the Inspiron R series of entertainment mobile computers. At present, the series is composed of the 14R, the 15R and 17R, predictably with screen sizes of 14 inches, 15 inches and 17 inches, respectively. They have a Core i3 or Core i5 CPUs at their center, backed up by up to 8GB of RAM and a hard disk drive with 640GB of storage space. AMD discrete graphics are available as an option for those unsatisfied with the Integrated Intel GMA HD.
Needless to say, all three newcomers came equipped with the full range of connectivity and I/O options, such as Gigabit Ethernet, SRS Premium Sound, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a multi-card reader, optional wireless display connectivity and a built-in webcam.
Finally, Dell pre-loaded Windows 7 on all of the mobile PCs and is set to start shipping them on June 25.
"The Inspiron R takes the rock solid Inspiron line and amps up the cool factor with a sexy and practical machine for entertainment, and social networking along with all the usual home, school and work functions," said Glen Robson, vice president, product marketing, Dell. "Photos, videos and personal files can also be securely stored and shared with DataSafeOnline for peace of mind right out of the box. This is a laptop that moms will love and youths will ask for.".