Just an observation really.

I had a conversation with a client who was experiencing problems with their Nvidia based Dell laptop.

It’s quite difficult to explain to clients that it’s  really Nvida that created the problem but clients just see a Dell Logo and blame Dell.

I understand why customers think like this but I guess I am just saying to Dell, this is hurting your brand.

My client is a Director and his company has 80 Dell computers on site. So when he tells me he doesn’t want another Dell Laptop it’s kind of serious.

I did my best to redistribute blame and there are other choices for example a Dell with a ATI or Intel based video subsystem.

The irony is the market leader HP sufferers exactly the same issues with their affected  Nvidia based laptops.

Nvida has a lot explaining to do.

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

Ships with either Linux or XP.

Having now looked at the 12″ Dell Latitude E4200 I am more likely to go in that direction than this.

The 12.2″ Wonder from Dell.

Not currently available.

Link: Official Product Page

It was a really smart move not launching their Dell Mini’s yesterday. As it turns out this launch was for their business Laptops only.

These are laptops in the Latitude and Precision family.

The launch event got more coverage than normal because people were interested in the mini.

The good news the overall perception of the revamped Latitudes was very positive and Dell get to put on another show when the mini’s do eventually launch.

I watched the events unfold live and it was fascinating watching all the links appear on the web within moments. The whole event was well organised and the tip of the hat to new media (twitter) was a nice touch.

I feel sorry for Microsoft.

Above is Dell showing off their latest August 2008 hardware designs running a 2001 Microsoft operating system.

Why I care about Latitudes?

The Latitude E Series replaces the Latitude D Series. I supply and support the D-Series and have done so for many years. So the E Series and I are bound to get acquainted. I like everything I see so far.