New Vostro Systems for Emerging Economies: Ubuntu in More Countries
Submitted by srlinuxx on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 07:27.
Dell(TM) Designs New Vostro(TM) for Fast-Growing Economies and Businesses
Dell turns to Linux, Atom for budget biz boxes
Today we're rolling out two new laptops and desktops that are designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, government and educational facilities operating on a limited budget in the worlds top emerging markets. Take a look at either Steve Felice's post or Kara Krautter's post on the Small Business blog for a bit more context on that front.
One thing of interest to a lot of our readers is that we will offer Ubuntu Linux as an option on all four of these machines worldwide. Regular readers of Direct2Dell know that we already support Ubuntu on select systems several countries.
These new Vostro systems will be introduced in more than 20 countries over the coming months—including Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. They will be available primarily through authorized channel partners worldwide and also directly from Dell. Pricing for the products will vary by configuration, region and country. Additional Vostro products designed for emerging markets and high-growth economies will be introduced in the coming months.
Today, we're offering two pre-configured laptops--the Vostro A840 and A860, and two pre-configured desktops—the Vostro A100 and A180. Both the affordable notebooks feature a sturdy compact design. The A840 weighs in at right at 5 lbs while the A80 weighs just about 5.7 lbs.
Also:
The next step
I would hope that this means that Dell will offer Ubuntu as an option right alongside Windows. This would be a big leg up. At this point in the US, Dell has a completely different website for all the Ubuntu offerings, meaning that if most people browse on the main site, they will not see any Linux as an option as they configure their machines. It's like Dell doesn't really want to sell Ubuntu to people unless they're totally dedicated and search it out explicitly. This really limits the eyeballs and most people will not even realize it's possible to get Ubuntu on a Dell unless someone or something externally clues them in somehow.