New Dell Vostro Line Misses Mark in Aim For Tiny Businesses
(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)
Dell has been having a tough time lately. Once the widely admired leader among PC makers, it has lost its sales crown to Hewlett-Packard and has seen its once-legendary customer satisfaction plunge.
In an attempt to jazz up its image, the stodgy behemoth recently introduced a line of thin, sleek, colorful consumer notebooks, the XPS M1330 series, but has been unable to build the machines on schedule.
Now, Dell is making another interesting move to better address the market. It has introduced a new sub-brand of computers intended for perhaps the most poorly served segment of computer buyers: really small businesses with 25 employees or less that have no full-time IT departments.
The new Dell line for these very small businesses is called Vostro. It fits into a new Dell brand lineup. All Dell’s consumer models, both laptop and desktop, are called Inspirons, a name formerly reserved only for laptops. Big business models are still called Latitude, Optiplex or Precison. High-performance consumer models are called XPS.
I’ve been testing a midrange Vostro model, a laptop with a 15.4-inch screen called the Vostro 1500. It’s a bulky, plain machine with nothing built in that Dell doesn’t already offer on consumer models, and some omissions that could make for extra setup work for small businesses. But it is fairly affordable and, to Dell’s credit, it comes without the useless trial software Dell and others cram onto consumer PCs.
Judged by its hardware and software, the Vostro 1500 is mostly a branding-and-marketing ploy at the moment. Dell concedes the new line is “just a first step” in what it swears will be a major initiative to serve very small businesses.
The only real small-business innovation lies outside the product itself: a dedicated phone support staff that Dell says has been trained specifically to serve these small companies. But unless you pay extra, you’ll still be dealing with support people based outside the U.S. — in Canada and in the Philippines, far from Dell’s Texas headquarters. Only time will tell if these folks can really provide better-than-usual service.
The Vostro 1500 starts at just $549, but that base model has very little memory and a small hard disk. The configuration Dell lent me for testing, with a decent two gigabytes of memory and a 160-gigabyte hard disk, plus an extra-large battery and a built-in Sprint cellular modem, costs $1,701. Dell says it’s available today at a promotional price of $1,327. The optional Sprint service requires a monthly fee, usually $60.
There are three other Vostro laptop models, including a very basic design called the Vostro 1000 that starts at just $449. Dell also offers Vostro desktops.
The Vostro 1500 I tested came with Windows XP instead of Windows Vista. Most Vostro models can be ordered with XP, which may be a welcome choice for small businesses that don’t want to wrestle with the continuing lack of compatible software and hardware for Vista.
Dell touts several features that it builds into the Vostro machines. One is a network setup program called Network Assistant. Another is PC Tuneup, which is maintenance software. A third is an online backup service that stores up to 10 gigabytes of data.
These are all useful, but none is new or tailored to small businesses. All were already available for Dell’s consumer models, albeit for small fees. Even the choice of Windows XP and the option to order a computer without any trial software have been available on some Dell consumer models.
Still, there were some surprising omissions on the Vostro that I tested. There was no security software, not even the usual 90-day subscription. Dell notes that you can opt to get the 90-day subscription free of charge and buy a 15-month security package for $79. It figures that many small businesses might already have access to security software. But because this is a necessity, installing it after the fact could be a hassle.
The Vostros with XP, like my test unit, also lack a modern, secure Web browser. They come with the old, insecure Internet Explorer 6.0 instead of Mozilla’s Firefox or Microsoft’s much safer Internet Explorer 7.0. A small business buying a Vostro with XP would have to immediately replace the browser.
And the Vostro doesn’t come bundled with any small-business software.
In my tests, the Vostro 1500 performed just fine, running quickly and easily connecting to my Wi-Fi network. But it’s a heavy, thick box that would be a burden for travelers. My configuration tipped the scales at seven pounds.
Yet, the battery life was only fair for such a bulky laptop, even with the extra-large battery. In my harsh battery test, where I turn off all power-saving software and play a loop of music, the Vostro 1500 lasted three hours and 36 minutes, meaning you’d likely get five hours, at most, in normal use. The standard battery would get you about a third less power.
Overall, the Vostro 1500 is just an OK laptop, which isn’t different enough from consumer models to really earn the small-business designation it claims.
Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.
Corrections & Amplifications:
Dell Inc. has introduced a computer line named Vostro for users at very small businesses. An earlier version of a headline on this column incorrectly said the line was named Vostra.
Comments
Several things get to me: Your credibility for a non-biased piece is decreasing in my eyes. Sorry, but I just cant help thinking that if you were discussing an Apple product you would be far more generous with the ultimate in “marketing and branding.. over substance” (Quote from video critising Dell, gone out of your transcript). You make some fair comments about IE6, but I have yet to come accross a PC with all the latest security updates. IE7 will presumably be integrated into SP3 for XP, so may be in time it will be there out of the box. As for firefox - No thanks! It’s great, sure, but if it came included I would consider that crapwear. As for support being provided “away from the HQ” - this is such a backward attitude. This is simply inaccurate. Being in Canada doesnt mean you can’t deal with someone over the phone! I have no reason to believe a Canadian technician would perform a task less well than someone sitting in Texas. As for your battery test - doesnt sound very appropriate to me.. Harsh certainly; but why do it like that? I just dont get your point. You dont typically turn off all the powersaving settings, or listen to music in a small business environment, so I take that with a pinch of salt. I wouldnt put it past you to having used the relatively memory hogging iTunes too, but who knows because you don’t say - how can i get a good idea of this when you dont say what youre doing to get the results. Ive read your stuff for ages; I have an iMac and iPod; and a PC, but your stuff just seems distored somewhat. I hope you can agree on at least some of my points
Posted by William Dowell at August 23rd, 2007 at 7:35 amI’m a little surprised at your take on this machine. You list the lack of security software as negative, but that can be a real benefit for small businesses. Many companies with more than a handful of computers tend to use AV software that is different (and much better) from the consumer versions you pick up at the store. Having to remove the consumer version trial and install the software you already own can be a pain. The same holds for productivity software. If you already own licenses for Office or the like, then there is no point having Works or Office trials bundled with the machine.
It’s worth noting that when configuring the machines on the Dell website, the default is to have security and productivity software preinstalled. The benefit is the option to not have it installed. One-man IT departments like myself have been wanting affordable machines for small business where we didn’t have to spend a day uninstalling software and trials. I wasted a lot of time on a recent rollout of new machines removing MS Works, Office trial and a trial version of McAfee (which was a real pain). Having a clean install of Windows not only makes the machine run faster, but also makes it easier for IT staff to image the system and get it to clients.
Is the Vostro line perfect? Nope, I have some minor complaints about my Vostro 1400 (heavy for a 14 inch notebook, etc), but I think it is a good first step at filling the gap between the cheap (yet junkware filled) consumer lines and the business line that can be out of a small business budget.
Posted by Ben Bailey at August 23rd, 2007 at 8:38 amThere! You see?! I’m not the only one who criticizes your battery test. Turn ON all the power savings devices!! I want to know how well the manufacturer does power savings. I don’t care about the battery itself, only how long the computer will operate under normal conditions … and normal means all power savings devices ON!
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As for support, I’d gladly talk to support in Canada, but support in Phillipines (or worse - India) is simply excruciating. I try to be nice, but I can only take so many times of asking them to repeat themselves before I get frustrated.
Posted by Dennis Carachiola at August 23rd, 2007 at 8:52 amSeems a fair review to me - if dell themselves are stating that the product category is “just a first step” then I think they’re aware that the new systems are far from the finished article in terms of what a small business would need / expect
One is - and somethings that’s growing issue of annoyance to me
I don’t see the point of the video - when all it presents is Walt voicing pretty much the exact words in the text of the article - I thought the video might have some footage of the products at least
a growing issue on web news sites is the thought that because video is now easily do-able, it should be done - even if it adds nothing to the text available
I think that Video should be used if and when it adds something not possible in text alone - otherwise dont bother and save some bandwidth
Posted by Niall O'Mara at August 24th, 2007 at 7:02 amI see the Dellheads have already chimed in. How DARE you not bow to the glory that is Dell!!
What your story reiterates is that the Round Rock brain trust is bankrupt in the new ideas department. Repackaging something and then spending millions of dollars on marketing it as new and improved is a poor substitute for innovation.
I mean, come on. Dell can’t even figure out how to deliver laptops with different colors of colors in a timely manner.
Posted by Ted Benavides at August 24th, 2007 at 7:58 amSomething that is interesting about this machine which was probably overlooked, since it’s a business class machine and you would most likely need to be a gamer to notice this. But, the Vostro 1500 makes a superb bargain gaming laptop. I stumbled across these while looking for a new laptop and picked one up for just under a grand. Dell has the option of adding a high-end graphics card to it, in fact, one of NVIDIAs best mobile cards. I’ve yet to come across a game that I couldn’t play on this at highest settings. The only tweak I would consider for it, is upgrading the hard drive to a 7200rpm.
Posted by John Gann at October 13th, 2007 at 1:22 pmI just finished setting up a Vostro 1500 for a small business owner. EASIEST SETUP EVER. 1. Open the box and plug in. 2. Install Office. 3. Install Security/AV software. 4. Run Microsoft Update. Nothing to decrapify. The Vostro isn’t pretty and it is on the heavy side, but what a great bargain. And if you add in the cost of all the hours saved by not having to deconfiguring all the trialware for initial setup and later troubleshooting, the Vostro is a steal.
Posted by Emily Wilson at October 20th, 2007 at 5:49 pmUmmm,
Of course the Vostro line has room to improve, but saying it offers nothing that the Inspiron line offers is juts plain misinformed. Vostros, aside from the 1000, all offer magnesium cases that are much sturdier than the plastic Inspirons, they offer fully sealed keyboards to prevent spill damage that the Inspirons don’t.
And the no crapware, no security suite, no office tools is a compelling value (and something I don’t know of another computer company offering freely on their website) for small businesses that don’t want to spend the time removing stuff they don’t need or already have small business licenses for.
There is good reason to stick with IE6 since many small (and even large) companies have intranet tools not compatible with IE7. Better IE7 is offered optionally in Windows Update.
Unfortunately the only thing I can agree with you on is the Vostros being a little bulky, which is about how the Inspirons are too.
Posted by colin gebhart at May 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm