At this point, there's very little you don't know about Dell's upcoming Latitude E-series of laptops thanks to our Week O' Dell Scoops. Only the official pricing and launch dates for these DisplayPort, eSATA, and Centrino 2 D-series laptop replacements (and new XT2 Convertible) have eluded us. While we expected the Mainstream and Essential Es to hit this month, we suspect Intel had a little something to do with that delay. However, by making a somewhat official appearance on Dell's website, we're guessing that we'll see an announcement before mid-July or the first week of August at the latest.

[Thanks, Matthew M.]

It's not every day we get to glimpse a brand new experience from Dell, and while Studio might just be near-XPS laptops in everyman clothing, that certainly seems to be a good thing. The laptops appear to combine the power of XPS and the prices of Inspiron, with some new perks like HDMI out and slot-loading drives to keep things fresh. The laptops tend a little thicker than their XPS counterparts, and the fact that these are hitting just before Centrino 2 might be cause to hesitate, but otherwise we're getting the feel from these reviews that the Studio line just might be the consumer lineup to beat if you can dig the design quirks and a little bit of bulk.

Read - NotebookReview, Studio 17 ("Hard pressed to find a better 17-inch notebook in the same price range")
Read - CNET Reviews, Studio 15 (7.3 / 10, "We'd be tempted to save up a few extra dollars for a thinner, lighter XPS.")
Read - PC Mag, Studio 15 (4.5 / 5, Editor's Choice, "Retaining many of the XPS's qualities while selling it for Inspiron prices.")
Read - Laptop Mag, Studio 17 (3.5 / 5, "For $1,599, you'll get plenty of multimedia muscle.")

We got a look at some engineering prototype versions of Dell's new Studio 17 and Studio 15 laptops, so while they might be lacking a minor bit of polish here or there compared to the real versions, Dell certainly had these up and running a good couple months ago. We're not totally blown away by the design, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for Dell, and a few elements (like the hinge) even seem to be taking some cues from Lenovo's ultra-designed IdeaPad line. There's no denying that the Studio 15, with its flush-to-the-edges keyboard strikes a more stunning figure than the slightly bleh Studio 17 version, but neither one is quite as thin as we'd like, and the material doesn't quite shake off the cheap plastic feel of Dell's Inspiron series. But hey, color (and graphic) lid customization is fun, and you're still going to be hard pressed to beat Dell's prices. Pics are below, and we apologize for the blurring: a few unannounced products snuck into the shots, but hopefully we'll be hearing more about those shortly.

Alright, this one is no surprise, but Dell is finally officially official about its leaked and re-leaked "Studio" laptop line. The specs are as previously stated, with a 15-inch Studio 15 model starting at $799, and a 17-inch Studio 17 model that starts at $999. What is perhaps more interesting than rehashing those laptop specs for old times sake is the new software Dell is pushing to these laptops and eventually the rest of its computers. Dell Dock is just like what it sounds, a program launcher along the lines of the OS X dock, but with some app-categorization magic and fairly extensive customization. Dell is also doing up Dell Video Chat, in partnership with SightSpeed, which integrates some rather easy-to-use video chat (powered by those integrated webcams on the Studio Laptops) with VoIP and IM for a pretty compelling alternative to Apple's iChat. In all it seems Dell's continued fascination with Apple is starting to really pay off for the end user, and those pricepoints are just as loveable as ever. Both laptops should be hitting retail in the next few days.

Not like Dell's done an exceptional job keeping this one a secret, but yes, the Studio 15 and Studio 17 laptops do seem to be more than a figment of someone's imagination -- at least, according to a believable release posted up at BetaNews, which has since been pulled. Predictably, the former line features a 15-inch panel while the latter steps up to 17-inches, and both crews will be offered in a smattering of hues including black, grey, blue, green, pink, orange, purple and red. Prices on these units are set to start at $799, while you'll find Intel's Core 2 Duo alongside up to 4GB of RAM, upwards of 320GB of HDD space, an 8-in-1 multicard reader, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, an optional Blu-ray drive and the usual assortment of ports. Folks looking to stay connected around the clock can opt for a Sprint / Verizon WWAN card, and there's also an optional 9-cell battery if the standard 6-cell just isn't longevous enough. Check out two more shots after the break, and the original page (in three parts) in the gallery below.

[Via Electronista]

If you pulled the trigger early on an XPS M1730, you may have gotten "stuck" with "just" a GeForce 8700M GT or similar. If you just can't be behind the times, Dell is finally offering a solution with the GeForce 8800M GTX upgrade kit. Said package includes dual SLI 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express graphics card designed specifically to boost frame rates and install all sorts of Vista-compatible bragging rights. If you're comfortable with doing the swap yourself, the upgrade price sits at a penny under $1,100. For those seeking professional help, you'll be coughing up $1,218.99. For those of you not frozen in place by sticker shock, you can peek the how-to guide for installation after the break.

[Via Laptoping, thanks Danijel]

We first heard of Typhoon Touch Technologies back in December when the company sued Dell and Motion Computing for infringing two of its patents on touchscreen computers, and armed with favorable settlements from Motion Computing and Electrovaya, Typhoon's gone ahead and joined a host of other companies to the Dell suit. Roll call: would Apple, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Lenovo, Panasonic, HTC, Palm, Samsung, Nokia, and LG all report to Eastern District of Texas, please? Lunch will not be provided.

[Via iTWire]

Sure, you'll be able to pay out the nose for a Vista machine with a XP Professional "downgrade" soon enough, but Dell just pushed back its cutoff for straight-up XP machines. They'll be selling select Inspiron and XPS desktop with whatever flavor of XP you choose up until June 26th, at precisely 6:59AM EST. Naturally after June 26 you'll be able to buy a Vista Biz or Ultimate machine and downgrade to XP Pro, but we'll hope it doesn't have to come to that. We heard that one guy even got a printer to work with Vista. Things are looking up, folks!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Remember that tidy little bamboo-encased mini PC Dell showed off in April? Well apparently the company is at work on a variant of the diminutive system, dubbed the Studio Hybrid. In addition to forgoing the eco-friendly wood for what appears to be a sleek, orange Plexiglas shell, the system boasts an Intel chipset, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, WiFi, a DVD+R drive, five USB ports, an HDMI port, S/PDIF, DVI, and a memory card reader. We're not sure exactly when Dell plans to unleash these on consumers or what the final cost will be, though previously the company had stated plans to offer it later this year for between $500 and $700. Check the gallery below for a few more (blurry) shots of the device.

Dell just busted out a new member in its storied line of LCDs, the UltraSharp 2709W. The 27-inch LCD is Dell's followup to the 2707WFP, and features the same 1920 x 1200 resolution, 9-in-2 media card reader and 6ms response time, but bumps the contrast ratio to 3000:1 and goes for some new all-black stylings. Brightness is a mean 450 nits, but the real fun comes with ports: Dell squeezed just about everything known to man in here, including HDMI, DVI-D, VGA, component, composite, and DisplayPort. There's also a nice collection of USB ports, plus HDCP for good measure. With a three year warranty the display sells for $999, quite the steal compared to the 2707WFP's intro price of $1,400 last year.

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Oh no, Dell isn't forgetting to do its duty to Microsoft. Just as promised, it has now bumped up the prices for folks wanting to stick with Windows XP Professional. As of now, the only way to get XP pre-installed is by selecting an option that also throws Vista in the box, and if you're specifically after Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP MCE, you're thoroughly out of luck. On eligible machines, it looks as if getting XP Pro along with Vista Business will cost you $99 more than Vista Home alone, while having Vista Ultimate ride shotgun adds another $50. Or you can look at it like Dell's tossing in XP for free with those upper-level Vista packs -- whatever floats your boat. Let us know if you notice any different pricing arrangements.

[Via ComputerWorld]

When the clock strikes midnight on June 18th, Dell will discontinue its sales of XP systems. The move allows Dell to meet the imposed June 30th deadline which requires the industry to cease shipment of XP machines. That is, unless you're in the market for a netbook or nettop in which case Microsoft is happy for vendors to continue shipping XP in order to stifle Linux's penetration into consumer computing give consumers a consistent user experience. After June 18th, certain Dell products will still be offered with a factory installed, XP Professional "downgrade" at the cost to you or your business of an unused Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate license and presumably, a small fee as we heard earlier. However, according to TGDaily, the downgrade will only be offered on XPS 630 and XPS 720 H2C desktops or the M1730 laptop -- not the 11 laptops and 10 desktops Dell currently ships with an XP option.

Update: Details are now posted at Dell.

While Dell is still readying their new Inspiron Studio line of laptops, we've gotten a little more on what they're up to. Although we caught a glimpse before in the roadmap, we now know that personalization is a big push for them; the first line will feature options for permanent "Pictaflex" prints of art by Mike Ming (shown after the break), as well as multiple colors (orange, red, green, purple, pink, blue, etc.) We also know they'll have higher end features like HDMI, and eSATA in the 1536, as well as WWAN options for Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T, hybrid and dual drive options (in the 1735), ATI 3450 and 3650, and NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics (depending on the model).

As for the Studio line itself, it sounds like what we heard before was about right: Dell's fast-tracking it to be their new higher-end consumer brand (more here and here). Check out their internal description:

"The Studio line is a more feature rich version of the existing Inspiron line. This series of computers features more multimedia functionality, better processor offerings, and more personalization options than the Inspiron series. Dell continues to sell Inspiron systems, but these are now considered our value series computers for customers who prioritize cost above features. ... Being able to choose from a series of color options and a wide range of hardware offerings helps personalize each system to the buyer. The Studio series is expected to be the best selling line of notebooks for the Consumer segment."

We got a nice helping of slides dropped on our virtual doorstep this evening, fleshing out Dell's upcoming netbook -- which they seem to be calling the "Dell E." Um, Eeenteresting name choice, but that doesn't seem set in stone, and there's plenty else going on here to ponder over. Dell's breaking the Dell E into two device types, a 8.9-inch model clearly meant to take on the Eee 900, and the 12.1-inch "E Slim" which actually looks positioned to take on the MacBook Air and X300, at a mere 0.8-inches thick, though perhaps in a lower-end capacity. Even the 8.9-inch model will have some distinctions, with E Classic model for super low-end use, and E Video and E Video+ for more RAM, larger flash storage, webcams and Bluetooth in the + model. Rollout looks to be slated for August for the E, August / September-ish for the E Slim, and a followup for both of those in October of WWAN, with WiMAX after that. Dell even has a second version of both devices slated for Q2 2009, but that's all we know about those so far. Perhaps most interesting is that all of these run Linux and Windows XP, and while it's not clear if there's a full-featured Linux OS onboard, there does seem to be an instant-on, Foleo-esque Linux included on all of them called BlackTop. We're not sure if there's any relation to Splashtop, but the janky-ass interface and email / calendar / contacts apps seem to be telling us no. BlackTop will support WWAN and WiFi, and Dell plans to move the 2.0 version to the Latitude and Vostro lines in a year or two. Peep the slides below for all the gory details. Oh, and the price? Dell E starts at $299.

Get it while you can. A new coupon is available which cuts the original $1,599 price of Dell's XPS One (PRODUCT) RED to just $1,199. That's $100 less than the entry level XPS One. Now, let's race to see who can void the offer faster 'cause this is one hell of a deal. Instructions after the break. Ready... go!

P.S. US only.

[Thanks, Bud W.]