Dell has released details of their new laptop aimed at small and medium businesses. The new Vostro V13 uses what is known as an Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processor. These processors offer better performance than the processors traditionally found in netbooks and are better suited to laptops. But because they use less power than traditional laptop processors, they generate less heat and the battery lasts longer.
Another benefit of using a ULV processor is that it can be quite light and thin. The Vostro V13 is 0.65 inches (16.5mm) thick and starts at 3.5 pounds (1.59kg). Dell has also taken a few design cues from the original Adamo 13 laptop and the Vostro 13 is in encased in high-quality brushed aluminium with reinforced zinc hinges ready for rough handling.
Now for a few technical details. The actual processors available are the dual core Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 running at 1.3GHz or the single core Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 running at 1.4GHz. There is also the option to use the Intel Celeron 743 running at 1.2GHz. On the graphics front this Dell uses the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD with a 13.3-inch diagonal LED-backlit HD (1366 x 768) display along with anti-glare. The 16:9 aspect ration and the anti glare should make watching HD films a pleasure.
Since this is a business laptop Dell have included the option to include FDE (full-data-encrypted) hard drive which is a good way to keep your data safe.
Other things worth noting are that the Vostro 13 has an integrated webcam and microphone and lots of connectivity as it includes Wi-Fi 802.11g/n, Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth. Also for the power user this laptop supports up to 4GB or memory.
The Vostro V13 is available now in the UK with a starting price of £359 for the Intel Celeron 743 (1.2GHz) version with 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive. A DVD drive is optional.