Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on April 09, 2008 by CyberNet.

It looks as though the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) market is going to start expanding rather rapidly. Earlier today jkOnTheRun noticed that HP started selling the HP Mini-Note UMPC at an actually affordable price ranging from $499 to $849. What really differentiates this from the Asus Eee PC is that you can get a normal SATA hard drive up to 160GB in size as opposed to just Solid State Drives. The HP Mini-Note has an 8.9-inch screen, and ships with either SUSE Linux or Windows Vista depending on which model you get.

And then news also broke today [via Engadget] that Dell will be jumping into the UMPC market come this June. Their UMPC will have an 8.9-inch screen, and will roll in at a starting price of $499. Mercury News pretty much confirmed this information with Michael Dell, the CEO, who said:

We do see opportunities for very interesting products that are smaller and lighter and address the more mobile users in a very cost-effective way… Stay tuned. We will have some interesting products coming in that space over the next two quarters.

I would guess that the specs for Dell’s UMPC will be nearly the same as HP’s. What I’m interested in is whether Dell will offer Linux as an option, and if so what distribution they’ll choose.

Let the UMPC revolution begin!

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Apple’s MacBooks have always been nicely designed and despite what detractors say about OS X, laptop OEMs have no trouble attempting to copy the look and design of the MacBook but tossing Windows onboard instead. Well it seems that in a little advertising snafu, Dell has accidentally advertised its Dell XPS 15 laptop that shows the computer running both Windows 8 and OS X! Given that the laptop was not designed to run OS X, this is obviously a mistake and an example of when marketing/advertising gets a little too creative to the point where it becomes a little unbelievable.

The video which was hosted on Dell’s YouTube page has since been taken down (the reuploaded video can be found on The Verge’s website). The video was actually hosted on its page for a little over a month so we’re actually surprised it was not taken down sooner. The video depicts the XPS 15 being used for creative purposes and in an attempt to show the laptop’s features, it showed off how the laptop would be able to swap between Windows 8’s Start Screen and an app that looks like it’s running in OS X. This is evident in the menu bar as well as the buttons in the app itself which are distinctly that of the OS X flavor. No word on Dell about the marketing hiccup but perhaps the removal of the ad from its YouTube page is enough.

Dell XPS 15 Advertised Running OS X By Mistake original content from Ubergizmo.

Dell has announced their Wyse Cloud Connect, which is the first secure, managed, ultra-mobile cloud access device that should be able to elevate your productivity to the next level. Why do we say so? Well, this particular device category would see Dell expand their end-to-end desktop virtualization solutions portfolio, delivering extreme mobility with enterprise-level security, manageability and reliability. The Dell Wyse Cloud Connect is an ultra-compact and highly mobile cloud-access device which will be able to instantly deliver desktop virtualization and personal cloud services to any HDMI- or MHL-enabled display. Not only that, it is extremely portable in size, which means that regardless of the organization’s size, one is now able to enjoy the benefits of streaming cloud services and IT solutions in a cost-effective, mobile offering – never mind that one is at work, at home or on the go.

The Dell Wyse Cloud Connect is an extremely compact, secure, cloud-managed device that boasts of a low total cost of ownership (TCO), where it will be able to support multiple use cases including the likes of mobile workers, students, digital signage, kiosks and other space-constrained environments.

Among the specific customer benefits are quick and secure access for both mobile and remote workers to virtual desktops, easy remote connections to personal computers that are powered by Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS to access data, content or applications, plug-and-play interactive presentations which will run in Full HD straight from the cloud or device, on any compatible display, among others.

This is a pocket-size, battery-free alternative just in case case you happen to run into the unexpected situation of loss, theft, or failure of primary devices. The Dell Wyse Cloud Connect is set to arrive with a $129 price tag, where it will be able to play nice with Dell accessories such as MHL-capable displays and Bluetooth keyboards and mice.

Press Release
[ Dell Wyse Cloud Connect is first secure ultra-mobile cloud-access device copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Dell continues making bets on Android in its computing lineup with a new $129 device that brings Google’s mobile OS to any TV or display with HDMI input. The new stick runs Android Jelly Bean, also supports MHL connections (mobile high-def) and offers Bluetooth and mini USB for mouse, keyboard and other device connectivity.

In addition to onboard connectivity for Bluetooth, the new Dell Wyse Cloud Connect also offers 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi and the standard Google Play store for Android software. It’s an enterprise and business focused device, however, and also has Dell’s Wyse PocketCloud software preloaded to help it act as a virtual terminal for remote computers.

This is, in effect, supposed to be the long-vaunted and sought-after thin client PC you can carry with you in your pocket that still manages to provide access to all your files, software and communications back home. Of course, that doesn’t mean it can’t also provide entertainment options to business travellers, since it’s capable of full HD output and should be able to easily run Netflix’s Android app.

That “multi-core” Cortext-A9 ARM SoC might not be the most muscular mobile processor in the world, but Dell does specifically tout its HD and 3D graphics abilities in its specs sheet. It has 8GB of onboard storage, and 1GB of RAM, plus a micro SD slot that supports up to 72GB of additional space.

Based solely on surface impressions, you could do far worse in a pocket computer for those gruelling weeks on the road if you’re a frequent business traveler. It’s interesting to see Dell move in this direction, effectively taking a page out of the playbook of devices like the Ouya and the Gamestick but cutting out all the nonsense and painting it with a business brush.

Weirdly, more than anything else over the past half decade at least, this makes me want a Dell computer. Go figure.

It may seem like small potatoes, but Polish 3D printer manufacturer Zortrax has chalked a 5,000 unit order from Dell. This is the first I’ve heard of a mass order of home 3D-printing equipment and it means a real boon for the budding Olsztyn-based company.

“Dell kept in touch with us when we were still in the middle of our Kickstarter campaign. We weren’t in a position to make them a reasonable business offer at that time, since our production volume was very limited,” said Rafał Tomasiak, Zortrax CEO. “At that point in time the production was very tedious, every single printer was quality checked and tested by us. Business negotiations with Dell were stalled at some point and we focused on shipping the printers to our Kickstarter backers. Now the situation is much different, we are prepared for large quantity orders.”

Zortrax launched last May and is now shipping to happy Kickstarter backers. I’ve used the printer multiple times and was very impressed by the print quality and build. The company is poised to be a major player in the European market and, with this investment by Dell, potentially globally. The company said the the printers are headed toward Dell’s central and east Asia offices.

“Frankly speaking, we were surprised that any company, even a company like Dell, wants to place such an order! But after a while we realized how many printers we use in our own office… For a designer who prints a large number of prototypes it is much more useful to use 10 smaller printers on one desk, which operate simultaneously, rather than one with a larger build volume,” said Tomasiak.