Dell have announced on their Direct2Dell blog they will be offering extended warranties for those customers affected by Nvidia GPU issues.

I have previously written about these issues here and here.

From their Post

“Dell will offer a 12-month limited warranty enhancement specific to this issue. For all customers worldwide, we plan to add 12 months of coverage for this issue to the existing limited warranty up to 60 months from the date of purchase.”

The affected Dell models are the:-

Dell Inspiron 1420

Dell Vostro Notebook 1310
Dell Vostro Notebook 1400
Dell Vostro Notebook 1510
Dell Vostro Notebook 1710

Dell Precision M2300

Dell Latitude D630
Dell Latitude D630c

Dell XPS M1330
Dell XPS M1530

Considering Nvida caused this problem Dell are taking a lot of heat for it. So are HP and the other OEMs.

Reading the comments on the current announcement this is still not considered a satisfactory solution by the majority of users. A product recall/replacement is.

Link: Direct2Dell (Comments)

Another Interesting Link on this topic: Link

I posted here about the Nvidia mobile graphics cards that Nvidia themselves reported as “failing in the field at higher than normal rates.”

Dell have now announced the list of possibly affected laptops and has issued Bios Upgrades that change the fan profile.

These include the

Inspiron 1420

Latitude D630 and D630c

Precision M2300

Vostro 1310, 1400, 1510 and 1710

XPS M1330 and M1530

What do end users need to do?

Well you basically download and install the Bios update. The change to the fan profile will probably mean the fan’s kick in earlier to keep the system cooler. Step by Step Instructions are here.

Some people have commented (on the direct to dell blog) that this isn’t really an acceptable solution.

Tip1: If you purchased one of the above laptops with only 1 years warranty I would definitely contact Dell and upgrade your existing warranty to 3 years to give you some additional protection. Upgrading the Bios can only do so much.

Tip2: Normally I would recommend installing this immediately but in the comments of the conversations below there have been some people with bios install problems. I would hold off for a couple of days then check for any known problems.

Link: NVIDIA GPU Update for Dell Laptop Owners

Other online Conversations about this topic.

Dell explains NVIDIA GPU issues, throws out BIOS updates to help

http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/10090995/Replace_All_Faulty_Nvidia_Laptop_GPUs

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx#comments

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=dell+nvidia

I wrote a post about this issue on 6th May 2008. (See here).

However…

Two chaps on this link purchased Vostro Laptops within the last 7-10 days only to receive their Vostro’s with this known problem (as pictured).

Hopefully this is just a faulty batch and is relatively isolated.

So if you are affected by this issue follow the link below or contact Dell.

Link: http://direct2dell.com/smallbusiness/archive/2008/05/08/europe-vostro-keyboard-issue-what-we-re-doing.aspx

Dell say: “A limited number of Dell Vostro 1310 and 1510 laptops in Europe have been sent out with the wrong keyboard layout. We are working diligently to offer a solution to impacted customers and correct the error before any additional units are shipped. We will be contacting impacted customers directly to both apologise and instruct them on next steps. This issue is under investigation and we will come back with more detailed information as soon as possible. We will be acting as quickly as possible to find a satisfactory solution for our customers.”

Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobgordon/2455618195/in/photostream/

Dell are running a trial: They are using Dell Technical Support personnel to offer additional products and services to end users.

I take a dim view of this. As a Dell reseller I am under near constant attack from Dell contacting clients directly and altering their perceptions about technology offerings.

At this juncture Dell and I disagree about what product ranges my clients should be using.

Dell direct market my Clients Dell Vostro. I on the other hand recommend Dell Optiplex/Latitude.

So you can see why this latest approach is unwelcome to say the least.

Related Links

Link: http://consumerist.com/343132/is-dells-tech-support-staff-trying-to-sell-you-things-yet

Dell Respond: Tech Support Selling- What’s Going On-

Take an existing a Brand:  Take the Dell Optiplex range of business computers. These are known to be competitively priced and a great choice for a reliable business PC.

They come with 3 years on-site warranty and have a good reputation.

You can find this range of computers in small offices, banks, and even large corporate clients use them.

I have hundreds of them in my customers fleet. About 6 or 7 are old Optiplex GX150’s running Windows 2000. The customers just don’t want to upgrade them as they just keep working.

Other clients plan to use their more modern Optiplexes for a minimum of 5 years before replacing. Something that sounds reasonable to me.

Path to Destruction

Step1) Get the geniuses in Dell Marketing on the case. Task them with finding out how to sell more Dell computers. The marketing geniuses come back with PEOPLE WANT CHEAP.

Step2) Create a new value brand called Vostro Hey people will think because it’s a Dell Business computer it must be good (after all those other Dell business computers have a good name).

Step3) Market the living crap out of anything that moves introducing this amazing new Value range.

Step4) Customer perceptions start to shift because you tell them maybe a business Desktop PC should be a sub 300 pound commodity.

Step5) Sit back and relax as you look at the Value sales numbers. Gee how smart are we. People just lap this up.

Meanwhile back in the real world….

Dell are essentially stealing their own customers and down selling them a product we both know has no margin and ultimately must be inferior in one form or another. The more Dell argue that the Vostro is fit for purpose, the more they shoot themselves in the foot about the higher priced Optiplex or Latitudes.

I spoke to an insider at Dell about this issue. They were even more depressed about Vostro than I was. Try making targets when the products are minus margin they said.

This story ends for Dell when their Optiplex and Latitude customers become their Vostro customers. 

If I end up with a choice of supplying Value Vostros I would rather reposition my business in the market of say HP’s business range of computers. I will drop Dell in a heartbeat.

The customers will always ask for cheaper products. Sometimes the customer need to be protected from themselves. Only time will tell if a value Vostro will still be working in 2013.

If you are from Dell and wish to comment on this topic please use the comments.

Likewise  if you are a Dell Reseller feeling the pain  - use the comments. 

Vostro is a business product range from Dell for the small business community from 1 to 25 users.

This means we now have yet another range of business computer to choose from. It must be so confusing to customers.

Vostro (Desktop and Laptops) Entry Level

Optiplex (Desktops) Latitude (Laptops) Mainstream

Precision (Desktop and Laptops) Workstation Class.

Some of my clients fall into the category (1 to 25) but I can’t see me recommending the Vostro product range any time soon. I like my clients too much.

The UK Laptops looks like Windows Vista Only. At this point this does more harm that good to the small business.

I have two words for you Black and Plastic. it’s like 1999 all over again (The retro  launch campaign makes more sense now).

I feel sorry for anyone that has to carry a brick like that around in this century.

I could go off on a rant about this but will save my energy for another day. Besides the comments on the Dell Blog link below seem to do a fair assessment.

Note to Dell: Using the word “upsell” in your video post. Mmmm interesting choice.

As someone who buys a lot of small business computers per year I am not convinced and I look forward to reading some peer reviews.

Link: http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/07/10/20547.aspx