Dell Inspiron 1300 £299 Inc VAT & Delivery (merged)

Mr_Squiddy

Doublespresso wrote:

:rotfl:

Is this a case of "Doing a Ratner"? [after the Gerald Ratner's gaffe, when he said jewellery they sell was c**p! Soon after he had to resign and the comapny had to change name!]
I wonder if Dell would suffer the same fate?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doing_a_Ratner

Ok they are call centre operators, but these are not isolated cases and surely management are aware of what is going on - we already know that they monitor this forum closely!

Didn't I read that correspondents on this list had reported Dell to (a) Trading Standards, and (b) Watchdog?

The fact of the matter is that Dell are using the £299 as a loss leader price purely in order to get people to phone the sales line where they are then being offered either better (i.e. more expensive machines) or unnecessary upgrades.

I can't say why some telesales staff are refusing to sell these. Either they are getting no commission on this or they have been told to resist selling them at all costs. I suspect the former is the case.

I feel a letter to the ASA coming on...

Good luck and stick with it - it's worth it.

P.

Rossy_3

Can anyone tell me what is the spec of the Dell on offer and is it only for today?

BTW whats WiFi, (not an whizz kid,lol) I'm looking for a laptop for wireless connection, would I need this?

buggu

Rossy wrote:

Can anyone tell me what is the spec of the Dell on offer and is it only for today?

BTW whats WiFi, (not an whizz kid,lol) I'm looking for a laptop for wireless connection, would I need this?

They way dell are stop & starting this offer its anyones clue how long this offer will last. Check the website for the spec, its a celeron 1.5 ghz which is ok for normal use (nothing too demanding).

Wifi is a form of wireless communication. You only need a wireless router and either a wireless card ( comes with the laptop) or a usb adapter/dongle inorder to access internet almost from any room in your house.

Rossy_3

buggu wrote:

They way dell are stop & starting this offer its anyones clue how long this offer will last. Check the website for the spec, its a celeron 1.5 ghz which is ok for normal use (nothing too demanding).

Wifi is a form of wireless communication. You only need a wireless router and either a wireless card ( comes with the laptop) or a usb adapter/dongle inorder to access internet almost from any room in your house.

Cheers buggu, so I'd need a wireless router then if I wanted to connect to the net wireless,thanks

Rossy

talkshop

Mr_Squiddy wrote:

In any case there is a PCMCIA slot which can take a wireless card and, as you rightly say, you could install a USB wireless dongle.

P.

There is not a PCMCIA slot on the Inspiron 1300

Bluey8

Need some help here. Didn't know whether to get this last time so didn't, very tempted now though. Do I need to upgrade screen and battery? How long does battery that it comes with last? If battery needed do I have to order this through dell?

Last of all anyone got the telephone number?

Bubba_Shaboo

Page 16 The Daily Telegraph Saturday March 4, 2006

Unforgettable Weekend Specials

Desktop or Notebook - only £299!

Dell Inspiron 1300
Intel Celeron M Processor 370
(1.50GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
256MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM
40GB Hard Drive
Integrated Direct AGP Graphics
Integrated 8xDVD+/-RW Combo Drive
56K Modem and LAN/Tiscali UNLIMITED Broadband for £14.99/month + First month FREE
Free McAfee SecurityCenter
14.1" Widescreen

£299 inc VAT & Shipping & Handling

Special Offer 35% off Back Pack + 1 YRS on-site support now only £59

Phone 0870 353 3225

HTH

Bubba©

talkshop

Bluey8 wrote:

Need some help here. Didn't know whether to get this last time so didn't, very tempted now though. Do I need to upgrade screen and battery? How long does battery that it comes with last? If battery needed do I have to order this through dell?

Last of all anyone got the telephone number?

Definitely get the bigger 6 cell battery. It lasts about 3.5 hours.

The 14.1 inch screen is more than big enough for a laptop, and there is no advantage in upgrading to the 15.4 inch screen apart from the obvious slightly larger viewing area.

I would say the 14.1 inch screen is probably going to be more durable, as you get more strength from the extra screen border. I have already dropped my latop, and it survived, say no more. With a bigger screen it would probably have smashed, as there is less protection.

The money you save on having the standard screen you can spend on more memory, which will improve the performance.

FF99

Any tips on how easy it is to upgrade the RAM oneself if one is not a techie ? Is this a model which requires keyboard to be reomved or is it easier ?

MikeT_3

If its correct that this is now being offered without the wifi card for £299 then you may as well buy direct from Dells web site for £339 including wifi and McAfee as it seems Dell want £32 for the wifi card making the price £331 by phone and all the hassle of doing it that way.
Go to the Dell Home page scroll down and find the evalue box. Put any in the first and N03135 in the second. Reduce the warranty to 90 days collect/return and then if you so wish upgrade the screen. The option for a bigger main battery has been removed so you can only buy it as a 2nd one now.
Checkout and job done.

Go via a cashback site if you wish to make further savings.