They say Black Friday was so named because Philadelphia city officials usually braced themselves for “massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks” as people take advantage of the day off to shop until they drop for the holidays. In any case, those problems are non-existent when you shop online, and Dell has a lot of Black Friday deals for shoppers looking for a computer for themselves or loved ones.

Offer
End Date
Coupon Code

Complete desktop package featuring the Studio XPS 8000 desktop and 20″ monitor for only $999 after $329 instant off.
11/23/09 5:55 AM CST
None Required

Studio XPS 13 laptop only $999 after $369 instant …read more

According to research by warranty firm SquareTrade, you really get what you pay for, with premium-priced laptops lasting longer than their cheaper counterparts on average. Good news for those who’ve spent money for specs, bad for buyers trying to eke by on affordable netbooks; from the survey of 30,000 portables, netbooks have a 5.8% chance of failing within the first year.

Another notable trend becomes clear when comparing brands. Here’s the list of nine different brands, ranked from most reliable to least, in terms of malfunction rate:

Asus
Toshiba
Sony
Apple
Dell
Lenovo
Acer
Gateway
HP

Looks like Asus‘ marketing department have a new talking point to advertise, while Apple has …read more

Yesterday saw Dell start shipping the Dell Adamo XPS, which they market as the world’s thinnest laptop. This ultra-thin gadget is 10.3mm thick at its heftiest point, and tapers down to 9.7mm. Average thickness is thus just under a centimeter at 9.99m. Aesthetically it stands out, thanks to its unique configuration, which sees the keyboard portion actually embedding itself into the display when the laptop is shut. The hinge placement unfortunately seems to make it hard to use the Adamo XPS on uneven surfaces, and definitely limits this laptop’s lap potential, though it does allow some natural cooling.

Complete spec list …read more

Here’s yet another promo from Dell’s marketing peeps: 20% off the Inspiron 546 and Studio XPS 8000 desktops, and the Inspiron 15 and Studio XPS 16 laptops. Should be interesting for your holiday-influenced buying mind. You can access the promo here, then enter the coupon 5TK?LC9VJ5F$33 when checking out.

While the Inspiron desktop comes with its own 18.5″ display, the same isn’t true for the XPS 8000. However, the latter is definitely equipped for performance computing, with its Core i5 750 CPU, 750GB hard drive, and dedicated Nvidia GT220 with 1GB of video memory.
Bundled displays are of course standard on any …read more

There’s at least one advantage with the Alienware brand now under Dell’s control. How does paying only $99 for an Inspiron Mini sound? Buy any Alienware laptop or desktop and add an Inspiron Mini netbook for only $99!. Ends 12/23/09 5:55 AM CDT.

It also seems Alienware’s picked up Dell’s tendency to offer free shipping: Light Up The Holidays With Alienware and receive free shipping on all Alienware laptops and desktops. Ends 11/12/09 5:55 AM CDT.
Some more promos to check out:

Studio ONE 19 all in one desktop with touch screen monitor and free color upgrade for only $699! End Date: 11/30/09 …read more

Reps from Dell have positively insisted I share the following discount: $200 in instant savings on the Dell Studio hybrid desktop.
While Dell—and other online retailers—are known to slap “instant” discounts on their product pages to move sales, the $200 price cut is notable because it brings the price of a pre-configured Studio hybrid down to $299. The fact that Dell designed this particular Studio to be the “greenest, most power-efficient consumer desktop” should also appeal to our environmentally-conscious sides.
Note that the $299 price is exclusive of any applicable shipping charges and taxes. If you also want something a bit more …read more

Truth be told, the marketing snippets Dell sent in do a pretty good job of explaining what the promos are all about, which is why they are listed verbatim below:

Save over $150 and watch TV while on the go. Get a Mini 10 netbook with TV tuner for only $479 after discount!
Save over $200 on Dell’s most popular laptop, the Studio 15 fully loaded for only $699.
Save over $100 on the Inspiron 537s desktop with 18.5″ monitor. A great value on a family computer for only $499.

While the first promo ends this October 17, 2009 (5:55 AM CDT)—or …read more

With the Latitude Z, Dell claims to be the first with a laptop capable of charging without wires. Using what’s basically a larger version of the Palm Pre’s inductive charger, the Z draws power wirelessly when planted on a laptop stand that also double as the power transmitter. According to Dell, charging times should remain similar to the traditional wired setup. So let’s assume a 2-3 hour wait?

Another key feature of the Z is the use of secondary hardware to support a touch-sensitive-driven instant-on mode. Great news, especially since previous incarnations of Dell’s instant-on modes were basically misnomers, as their …read more

Two Full HD 1080p displays, one very affordable price point. The Dell ST2310, a 1920 x 1080 23-inch display, supposedly starts at $229, but thanks to “instant savings” of $50, the price can go as low as $179, before shipping and taxes.

Compare that to the Dell ST2210, a monitor that features the same resolution, but a smaller panel size at 21.5″. The “starting price” is already below two-hundred dollars at $199, but $40 is “slashed off” immediately, leaving a total of $159.

Of course, extra charges may apply thanks to the aforementioned delivery- and IRS-related charges, but unless you purchase a …read more

For the Labor Day Weekend, Dell.com’s slashed $190 off the XPS 430. Such a unit configured with the following specs:
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Intel® Core 2 Q8200 Quad-Core (4MB L2 cache,2.33GHz,1333FSB)
3GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz – 3 DIMMs
500GB – 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB
Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader with Bluetooth

Thus retails for $599. The only thing missing? A monitor. Dell has told me this promo will only apply to the first 500 units, so if you’re looking for a decent computer powerful enough to run mid-range …read more