Dell Unveils Vostro Small Business Notebooks and Desktops
Ever go shopping for a Dell system on the company's small business site--and wonder what, exactly, is different about the Dimension systems sold there as compared to the ones you could buy on Dell's consumer site? Dell is removing that potential for confusion today, with its new line of Vostro small business desktop and notebook computers. The Vostro--Latin for "yours"--line of products and services marks the latest evolution of Dell's rejiggering of its brands, which began in June with the release of its home and home office Inspiron desktop PCs.
The company introduces four Vostro notebooks and one Vostro desktop today. A second desktop will be available later this summer.
According to Dell brand manager Chris Shelton, the Vostro line of products and services is targeted at businesses with fewer than 25 employees. "When you get up to that 100-, 150-employee space, that?s where networks get more complex, and you?ve probably hired an IT person by then," says Shelton. "Our OptiPlex and Latitude brands will serve those areas. If you know what a BIOS is, and want components that stay around for a while, OptiPlex and Latitutde are the brands for you."
Whereas the old consumer Dimension systems tended to be the same as those sold through the small business store, with Vostro, "we expect these two brands to become more different over time," says Shelton.
In doing research with their small business customers, brand manager Shelton notes that Dell learned much about what the small business market needs. "They want fast, convenient repairs--and reps who will work with them," says Shelton. "They don?t have a network IT person. We also heard a lot about data backup.?they need to have a way to back their data up. Resource-wise, they?re looking for advice?they need that relationship, and they need it to be simple."
Among the steps that Dell is taking: eliminating system clutter by axing the annoying trial-ware that usually comes preloaded on the PC. "We?re the first company to go out with no trial-ware on the system," proclaims Shelton. "The systems will have a very professional design, but we?ll also have lots of customization available. We?re going to have trained salespeople to deal with small businesses. And we'll have a 30-day money back guarantee, with no restocking fee and no return-shipping fee. That gives you the safety net to try the system and see if works with your legacy software. It gives you a worry-free experience."
Dell is offering several small-business-centric support tools for no cost in the first year of Vostro ownership. Among the tools: Dell's Automated PC Tune-Up for system maintenance and security; Dell Network Assistant, for assisting with troubleshooting; and Dell DataSafe Online for backing up up to 10GB of data online (that's 7GB more than Dell now offers with some of its consumer systems).
Among the notebooks, the models introduced today start at $449, with the Vostro 1000, and include the Vostro 1400 (pictured above), with a 14.1-inch display; the Vostro 1500, with a 15.4-inch display; and the Vostro 1700, with a 17-inch display. The desktop model available now is the Vostro 200, in slim tower and minitower (seen above) forms; the Vostro 400, a minitower system, will ship in August.
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Absolutely astonishing that Dell would introduce a new line of PCs without the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) geared to the small business community Also small business has to protect data-at-rest but without the TPM Microsoft Vista's "Bitlocker" is virtually unusable without the TPM. Moreover, according to industry forecasts, in 2008 almost all PCs built will feature a TPM, not only the mid-level and high-end PCs. Services leveraging the TPM will come onboard...but will not be useable for those small businesses that now buy a Vostro Dell PC. Astonishing!