Dell Laptop ComputersDell laptop computers were the number two selling laptop computer brand in the world behind HP and also number 2 in the United States still behind HP. Recently, they have dropped both in the US and the world. Acer has passed them world-wide when Gateway and Packard-Bell are included in their sales. Both Apple and Acer have passed them in the US market. These numbers include netbooks and tablets. Dell does have a stronger presence in the enterprise (business) market than Acer, Apple, Asus, Lenovo, Sony, or Toshiba and may well regain the number two spot if these sales increase. Fujitsu, Samsung, and MSI are trying to move more strongly into the United States market and may eat into Dell's market share. Dell laptop computers are in multiple lines. Again we will only be concerned with the home consumer oriented lines. The Dell Inspiron laptop computer is the primary line of Dell notebook computers. This line includes Intel Atom powered net-books up to a 17 inch model powered by a core i5 processor with discrete graphics. For the 14 to 17 inch laptops the prices range from under $400 to over $1100. The 10 and 11 inch models range from $299 to over $700. Studio and Studio XPS were the next line. They had processors ranging from Pentium Dual Core processors to Core i7 quad core processors. Discrete graphics were available. This was the first level of Dell laptop computers that allowed a significant degree of customization. Prices for these ranged from $449 to over $2000. The "Studio" has gone away. The current comparable notebooks are designated "XPS" now. Alienware is owned by Dell and is their line of gaming laptop computers. They come with 11, 15 and 17 inch screens. The 11 inch model ranges from just under $800 to about $1050. The top end should perform similar to a low end 15 inch gaming laptop with the previous generation of processors and graphics cards-- it will play all the games, but not necessarily real well. The 15 inch models range from just under $1200 to over $3600. The 17 inch models range from just under $1800 to over $4500. The top end is a good as anything available for both of these. the lower end is probably a little better than the lower end was last generation. The final line of Dell notebook computers was the Adamo. It was Dell's ultra-thin laptop designed to compete with Apple's Mac Book Air. There were two models, one just under $1000 and the XPS for just under $2000. Neither has an internal optical drive and both feature Intel Core 2 Duo SU 9400 processors. Seems like somebody at Dell realized that you can make a better apple than Apple and still not succeed because it isn't an Apple. Did You Buy A Dell?If you decided a Dell notebook computer was for you, come back and help other people trying to decide. Let everyone know what you use it for and how you like it. Dell makes a full line of laptop computers. Their primary sales model was through their web site. Now more of their computers are available in both standard retail stores and on-line retail outlets. Dell offered extensive customizing of the computers on their web-site. This seems to have been severely reduced recently. The only line that offers the degree of customization that was available in the past is the Alienware gaming line. Almost no customization is available in the Inspiron and Adamo lines and the XPS line is less customizable then in the past.Dell laptop computers are good serviceable computers, but it seems that as they are losing market share they are limiting customer choice. Prices seem higher also. return from Dell laptop computers to buy a laptop |