Today we’re introducing the Vostro V131 laptop in several countries around the world. It is the latest ultraportable notebook designed for performance and to meet specific needs for small business customers. It brings together new features and greater performance in a slim design starting at just over 3.6 pounds. The Vostro V131 is available today in the United States, Canada and many countries in Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific and Japan. The starting price of $499 for customers in the United States.
The Vostro V131 builds on the many strengths of the Vostro V130 by adding a couple of important differences. Reviews of the V130 on Dell.com were consistent with third party reviews from sites like PC Magazine and Laptop Magazine… it’s a sturdy machine that’s sleek and well-designed, but battery life was a concern. With the Vostro V131, we’re addressing that and more.
Two ways we’re improving things on the battery front for the V131: 1) both battery options are user-replaceable. 2) Overall battery life is much improved compared to the V130. thanks in no small part to Intel’s second-generation Core technology, which you may know as Sandy Bridge.
I asked our lab folks what kind of performance they saw and they told me, the 4-cell battery achieved up to 6.5 hours of battery life with the ULV Celeron processor (which is also based on the second-generation architecture). The 6-cell battery achieved almost 10 hours with the Core i5 processor and an SSD drive. There are two options on the battery front (both are user-replaceable): a 44Whr 4-cell battery or an extended 65WHr 6-cell battery. The 6-cell battery extends from the bottom of the laptop, which provides a pretty comfortable typing angle when you’re cranking away. See image below:
The Vostro V131 is based on Intel’s HM67 chipset and brings support for second-generation Intel i3 and i5 Core processors. We support three different processor options in the Vostro V131: 1) the ultra-low voltage Celeron 847 processor 2) the Core i3-2310M processor and 3) on the high end, we support the Core i5-2410M (which is the same processor option we offer on the XPS 15z laptop). Put simply, if you do any kind of processor-intensive things like video editing or editing high resolution photos, the extra horsepower that both the standard voltage Core i3 and i5 provide will be noticeable.
Business users can use the HD webcam and dual array microphones from the road to connect with colleagues or clients via video chats using tools like Skype or a Google+ Hangout. Like the Vostro V3550 and many of our Latitude family of business laptops, the V131 supports SRS Premium Voice Pro audio software for clear audio during video and conference calls. The SRS technology also helps reduce ambient background noise as well. Bottom line, the HD camera and audio hardware + software are optimized to provide stellar performance for videoconferencing or audio-only voice over IP calls.
What else makes the v131 a business laptop? For extra security, the V131 features a fingerprint reader. All hard drives feature a free fall sensor to help protect your data. Further protect your business and personal data with Dell DataSafe Online storage and our Backup and Recovery Manager software. Dell’s optional ProSupport service opens the door for another level of support for business customers. And for those who don’t want to worry about hardware accidents, we offer CompleteCare accidental damage service.
Here’s a video that provides an overview of the Vostro V130:
Here’s a list of notable hardware features the Vostro V131 provides:
- Support for second-generation Intel Core i3 and i5 processors
- User-replaceable 4-cell and extended 6-cell battery options
- Chiclet keyboard with optional backlighting
- Color options: Aberdeen Silver and Lucerne Red
- HD webcam with dual array microphones
- Bluetooth 3.0 + HS support
- Two USB 3.0 ports
- One USB 2.0 port that supports Powershare (a feature that lets you charge a device like a smartphone or MP3 player via the USB port even if the laptop is powered down)
- HDMI out
- Fingerprint reader with DigitalPersona
- 8-in-1 card reader to make importing photos and videos a snap
- Three Quick Launch buttons make it easy to access Windows Mobility Center, Dell Support Center or another app that you want at your fingertips
- Several 802.11n and mobile broadband connectivity options including 4G LTE and WiMAX
- 7200rpm hard drives up to 750GB
- 128 or 256GB SSD drives for additional speed and battery efficiency
Update from Lionel: My apologies for the misinformation about SSD drive options for V131 customers in the United States. US customers can choose from different 7200rpm mechanical hard drive capacities, but not SSD drives. We do offer SSD drive options in select countries outside the United States.
I welcome your questions and comments below.