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260

Why wait to release specs?

260 points posted to New Product Ideas, Desktops and Laptops by mostlyharmless22 May 13

Eee 900 PC and HP Mini-Note 2133 are selling like hotcakes and just about every other laptop manufacturer in existence has released tentative specs for a low-cost sub-notebook. Meanwhile, Dell drags its feet on releasing specs for its own. If you read the blogs, there are multitudes who want to wait to see what Dell comes out with but are losing patience and buying the new Eee or, if they aren't worried about mechanical hard drives, the HP Mini-Note. Every single Eee 900 or Mini-Note sold is a sale that Dell coud have had. Very bad idea.

jervis961
May 13		 While we would love to know what Dell is up to, sometimes it is better to not share the information. Dell is still trying to find a happy medium.
mostlyharmless22
May 13		 Happy medium? That doesn't make any sense. People are snatching up the few Eees available, even though they are only available in that ugly white color so far. This is a huge market and Dell is losing it because the perception is that Dell sees itself as "above" competing in it and/or being unnecessarily secretive. They are leaking plenty of info about their new line of huge, cumbersome machines they try to call laptops but not this? I'll wait until the black Eee is out at least but all bets are off beyond that. I'm in the market now, I have the money now and Eee has pretty much all of the features I'm looking for now (except the Dell name, Dell customer service and possibly better colors). By the time Dell announces or leaks, I wonder what Asus' sales figures for this new version will total?
jervis961
May 13		 The leaks so far say it won't be out until the same time the Atom is released. If they release information months early it gives the competition time to duplicate things. I understand your frustration but they aren't comfortable enough yet to show thier cards so early.
mostlyharmless22
May 13		 Early? Hmmm. What I heard was a June release. This is mid-May. If it's been delayed past June, they could at least leak that.
jervis961
May 13		 The Inspiron 1535 is rumored to be coming out on the 26th and they are still pretty quiet about that too. They are called rumors for a reason. :)
swcodfather
May 14		 To be fair to Dell here, I think the shrewd move is to wait for the new Intel Atom to be laucnhed. These early HP2133 and Eeepc 900 with their VIA/Celeron processors will look dated. The Atom will offer better battery life, 64bits, multi-cores. This will be out in June, and volume shipments by the end of the year. I have already bought an eeepc 701 last year, so I don't need to rush until the next generation is launched. I think patience here is the wise move.
I also have to say that the new XPS m1330n Dell I bought is the best laptop I have owned for a while, so an ULPC based on these lines would be a fantastic seller, especially if it has ubuntu pre-installed.
winoffice
May 14		 Maybe Dell is hiding information so that other manufacturers cannot use it to their advantage.
mostlyharmless22
May 14		 The other manufacturers have either announced their specs or are already releasing their machines overseas. Seems like the right time to leak a little info anyway...
mostlyharmless22
Jun 1		 On another site, they are claiming that someone calling him/herself "topsecret" posted on the Dell blog saying "Here are the specs for the Dell Mini Inspiron: Atom 1.6 GHz, 3 USB ports, ethernet, card reader, Kensington lock, adapter socket, mic/line-out, VGA port, screen resolution at 1280x800. Scheduled to be released by the end of June 2008. It costs less than $500." Well, we all know the Atom is coming out about the same time as the Mini Inspiron and we're hoping for the higher resolution; ethernet is a duh. The rest of this can be gleaned from the pictures released. This guy is passing himself off as some kind of insider.
sgogeta4
Jun 2		 While that particular user could have fabricated the specs, most people who are in the know are under NDA and cannot reveal any info. Releasing specs won't change the fact that people are buying the Eee or Mini-Note now since Dell is not ready to sell them.
mostlyharmless22
Jun 2		 Anxiously waiting...
mostlyharmless22
Jun 27		 I've seen some "leaked" specs for what they're calling the Dell E. Come on Dell, give us something semi-official. I'm still holding off waiting to see what Dell has in store for us!
brokencrystal
3 days ago		 How much longer...........?
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