Dell Australia has added a new laptop to their Vostro business range – the 13.3in 1310.

The 1310 is a nicely understated machine without the flashing lights of its competitors, plus a slightly chunky frame which allows for plenty of room under the bonnet.
 
The Dell Vostro 1310 only weighs in at 2.16kg, which is hardly wafer thin, but isn’t going to have you reaching for the phone to call your chiropractor. Despite the compact size the keyboard is full-sized, which no shrunken keys or bizarre layouts.

The matte display is nice and bright with a screen resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, whilst the battery can last up to 2 hours during extremely heavy use away from the power supply. Dell have added an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 processor which operates at 2.1GHz, which when combined with 2GBs of RAM and 160GB hard drive, you certainly get a nice bit of ‘bang for your buck’.

Plus of course you will receive the comprehensive back up of Dell’s award winning support team, who offer next day business support for a full 12 months.

This superb, lightweight laptop is now available to purchase online with Dell computers in both Australia and New Zealand. 

> > click here to shop online with Dell Australia

> > click here to shop online with Dell New Zealand

People are literally queuing up to get a first glimpse inside the Apple Australia’s new $15 million Sydney store.

The doors won’t be opened properly to the public until 5pm on Thursday 19th June, but a queue of Mac enthusiasts have already started to form a line outside Apple’s first retail outlet in the southern hemisphere. Among the faithful camped outside are visitors from the US, including Gary Allen from San Francisco, who has now attended 30 store openings.

The ‘Apple-heads’ patiently waiting in line are separated from the store by a large window of glass slabs some 15 metres high - the largest plates of laminated glass in the world. The sourcing of the shop fittings is a real global affair, with different parts of the overall design coming from far and wide. The glass slabs have been flown in from Germany, whilst the stone floor slabs have come all the way from Italy. The stainless steel walls have been specifically imported from Japan, whilst the wooden tables are made from maple trees grown in Pennsylvania.

The store itself is situated on the corner of King Street in Sydney’s Central Business District, and is the second largest Apple Store in the world after the central London store. Apple have also hired 125 local employees to staff the store, with the Sydney branch being the 215th store to be opened globally in the last seven years.

Apple is also planning to open two smaller satellite stores in Australia later this year, in Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre, and the other in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood.

But don’t worry if you haven’t got the time to queue up outside the new Sydney store(who has?!). You can now shop online in both Australia and New Zealand for all the latest Apple Mac computers and gadgets from the comfort of your own home. Far more sensible!

> > click here to shop online with Apple Australia

> > click here to shop online with Apple New Zealand

With the pre eminent launch of the Apple iPhone Australia on 11th July, here’s a quick rundown on the changes to the latest 3G update from the previous version.

The 3G’s edge buttons are now silver metal, rather than the black plastic used on the previous model, whilst the buttons also have a sharper edge. The biggest change is the back panel, which is now much curvier and made from plastic instead of metal. The plastic back should also help improve signal strength and the range of the iPhone for Wi-Fi and GPS purposes. Also, battery power is up to nearly twice the usage on the previous incarnation, which is good news for heavy users.

The 3G’s new locating system will use Wi-Fi, GPS and cellular towers to compute your whereabouts, plus all your photos will be geo-tagged. This means each picture you take will contain metadata which will show you exactly where you were on the planet when you took it. Quite a feat!

Apple plan to use data streamed from Google server’s from third party software developers instead of providing detailed map data for the iPhone. TomTom have already created the iPhone GPS software, though there is expected to be a lot more competition for this service. The 3G iPhone will also feature audio feedback and pre-loaded detailed maps, so if your data connection vanishes, you can still find your way without a signal.

The original iPhone was an amazing feat of modern design, but it came with quite a hefty price tag. The latest 3G model has a lot more features at a much lower price, and I for one am looking forward to getting my hands on mine…

roll on July 11th!

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