Wayne N. Kawamoto
Managing Editor, www.smallbusinesscomputing.com
Dell introduced two new notebook computers powered by Intel’s Mobile Pentium 4 processors-M, which promise to bring desktop-like performance to consumers and business mobile users alike. The wireless-ready Inspiron 8200 and Latitude C840 notebooks come with Intel’s new Mobile Pentium 4 processors-M, NVIDIA’s new GeForce4 440 Go graphics controllers, large 15-inch high-resolution displays and multiple high-speed optical drives.
According to the company, the combination of the new processor and mobile video technology provide up to twice the performance of other Inspiron and Latitude notebook computers. The improved performance should be notable in the displaying of instant real-time previews during digital content creation and the running of graphics-intensive 2-D applications like Adobe Photoshop and QuarkXPress. The new products should also meet the 3-D performance demands of robust games and engineering applications.
Other technologies in the notebooks include:
– An enhanced Ultra Extended Graphics Array (UXGA) display on the Inspiron 8200 that delivers 80 percent faster refresh rates, a 33 percent better contrast ratio and a 20 percent brighter screen than a standard UXGA display. This may translate into smoother movement and more rich and more vibrant colors in DVDs, digital images and games.
– Faster optical drives for higher reading and writing speeds. Users should spend less time copying, transferring or backing up large data or digital image files.
– Intel’s 845MP chipset, which has a faster processor bus speed (400MHz) and faster system memory (266MHz) to offer better performance on processor-intensive activities like database manipulation.
Inspiron notebooks are designed for the value conscious. Prices and configurations for the new Inspiron 8200 begin at $1,699. The price of a wireless-ready Latitude C840 starts at $2,607.
