MANILA, Philippines — While every other PC manufacturer in the world is unveiling their fresh takes on Intel’s ultrabook, technology company Dell decided to update its arsenal of laptops with the chipmaker’s latest Ivy Bridge processors.
Yet, despite the fresh processor bump for most of its notebooks in the Latitude and Vostro lines, Dell didn’t bring in an updated version of its ultrabook, the XPS 13, which was launched locally in April.
Dell Philippines Country Manager Christopher Papa told reporters at the sidelines of the launch that updating the XPS 13 is in their roadmap, although more focus is being given on their commercial business for now.
Nonetheless, Papa said they were not expecting the strong demand for their consumer-grade XPS 13 ultrabook, a 13-inch device squeezed into an 11-inch chassis that retails from P59,000 to P79,000 depending on the internal specifications.
Without mentioning figures, the Dell head honcho said they had to ramp up production of the sought-after notebook after initial shipments to various markets around the world failed to meet consumer demand.
But gaining market share in the consumer PC segment is far from Dell’s objectives moving forward, as declared by Papa in an earlier interview saying the company is focusing on high-margin segments of the business, particularly the enterprise market.
It is for this reason that majority of the products launched by Dell on Thursday are geared toward SMBs and large enterprises, two segments that are high-growth areas for the Round Rock, Texas-based company.
“Today’s launch is a testament to our commitment to end-user computing, and we have differentiated ourselves by adding more value to our products,” said Richard Teo, president at Dell Philippines.
“We have added a lot of technologies that surround manageability, security and system management to allow users to have full control of their units,” he added.
Durable, business-class notebooks
Bannering the new notebook offerings are the redesigned and re-engineered laptops in the Latitude line, targeted at enterprise-class customers, which feature the same look and feel as their predecessors but come fitted with Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors.
Johny Dermawan, senior brand manager at Dell South Asia, said the new Latitude laptops are “designed to be durable” considering the mobile needs of most workers today.
By tearing down one Latitude unit in front of the press, Dermawan demonstrated how the internal portions of the notebook was designed, starting with the magnesium alloy bottom cover that acts as the doorway to all of the unit’s components.
The new Latitude laptop’s internal parts and LCD screen are protected by a tri-metal chassis that keeps them in place and absorbs unintentional external pressure, which Dermawan said is a common occurrence with users fitting their laptops along with other things inside their bags.The specific models unveiled by Dell on Thursday include: The redesigned 14-inch Latitude E640; the E6230, E630, E6430 and E6530 notebooks measuring 12.5 to 15.6 inches; the E5430 and E5530 which are budget-friendly options for professionals; and the ruggedized E640 ATG notebook that can withstand extreme conditions.
Meanwhile, Dell’s Vostro line of PCs, which is targeted at small and medium businesses, received the following updates: the Vostro 3360 (13 inch), Vostro 3460 (14 inch) and Vostro 3560 (15 inch), which are designed to be thin and portable.
Dell’s new Latitude laptops are now available and will start retailing from P55,100, while the Vostro notebooks can be bought beginning next week although no price points have been detailed thus far.
article source: interaksyon.com
