Dell details Vostro V13 ultra-thin for the US
updated 10:40 am EST, Tue December 8, 2009
Dell Vostro V13 uses CULV, Linux option
Dell has followed up on its tease from last evening by formally launching the Vostro V13. As hinted, the 13-inch aluminum system is as thick as an Adamo (0.65in) but lighter (3.5 pounds) and should cost much less through its use of Intel's CULV platform: it runs on a 10W Celeron, Core 2 Solo or Core 2 Duo that should give it long battery life, although Dell hasn't given an estimate for its useful uptime.
Expansion is relatively large for the class as the V13 can still fit ExpressCard/34 and 5-in-1 memory card readers on the side as well as one each of Ethernet, eSATA, USB and VGA on the back.
The $449 starting price quoted earlier gives users a 1.3GHz Celeron, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, Intel GMA 4500 video and, notably, Ubuntu Linux. A $599 model switches to Windows 7 Home Premium in addition to picking up a 1.3GHz Core 2 Solo, a larger 320GB hard drive and a 1.3-megapixel webcam, while a $649 model upgrades to a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo and faster 802.11n Wi-Fi versus 11g on the first two models.
Orders start today, though new systems aren't likely to arrive until mid-January.
