Dell Refreshes Small-Business Vostro 3000 Line: 12+ Hours of Battery Life, Starts at $499

Dell today announced its refreshed Vostro 3000 line of small business notebooks. The Vostro will be available in 13, 14, 15, and 17-inch sizes, and will feature Intel’s second-gen Core processors, as well as optional discrete graphics from AMD and Nvidia.

The Vostro 3000 series now features a backlit, chiclet-style keyboard that’s similar to the one on the XPS line; also new are three quick-launch keys on the upper right, which replace the touch-sensitive media control keys on the previous generation. The notebook will also have USB 3.0 ports, as well as a high-def webcam and HDMI-out. Additionally, SRS Premium Voice Pro software and a digital array microphone will also help reduce ambient noise during conference calls

When outfitted with the 9-cell battery (which bumps out the bottom, the 13, 14, and 15-inch models are expected to exceed 12 hours of endurance, according to Dell. The notebook will be available in three colors: Aberdeen silver, Lucerne Red, and Brisbane Bronze.

Starting at pricing is as follows:

• 13-inch 3350 – $599
• 14-inch 3450 – $499
• 15-inch 3550 – $499
• 17-inch 3750 – $549

The new Vostro notebooks will be available starting March 22.

Display size/resolution: The 13, 14, and 15-inch models will all have a resolution of 1366 x 768; the 17-inch model will have a resolution of 1600 x 900.

Dimensions

• 13” 12.96 x 9 x  1.07 – 1.17 inches
• 14” 13.5 x 9.68 x 1.2-1.31 inches
• 15” 14.8 x 10.2 x 1.20 – 1.37 inches
• 17” 16.5 x 11.3 x 1.21 – 1.37 inches

Starting Weight

• 13”: 4.6 lb with 4-cell battery and optical drive
• 14”:  5.02 lb with 6-cell battery and optical drive
• 15”:  5.45lb with 6-cell battery and optical drive
• 17”:  6.62lb with 6-cell battery and optical drive

Graphics Options:

• Intel Integrated GMA HD
• AMD Radeon HD6470 with 512MB GDDR5 VRAM
• AMD Radeon HD6630M with 1GB VRAM
• Nvidia Geforce GT 525M with 1GB VRAM

Storage: Up to 750GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, optional 128GB Solid State Drive (available in select regions)

Battery Options and expected endurance:

• 4-cell (41WHr) Lithium Ion battery: 6:23 hours (13-inch system)
• 6-cell (48WHr) Lithium Ion battery: 6:34 (14-inch), 7:30 (15-inch), 5:41 (17-inch)
• 8-cell (82 WHr) Lithium Ion (optional): 12:56 (13-inch)
• 9-cell (90WHr) Lithium Ion (optional): 12:27 (14-inch), 13:46 (15-inch), 10:48 (15-inch)