Does anyone know of any stores in Brisbane that sell Dell hardware (particularly laptops)? I want to check out their current range (particularly the M1210 that everyone here raves about).

Nobody sells Dell but Dell, their business model is online/phone sales so they don't have the expenses of running shops. You could try the local shopping centres as they sometimes have stalls setup.

O right, I thought that might be the case. Doh. I remember seeing a Dell stall somewhere but I think it was in Sydney. Anyone know if there's any in any major shopping centres in Bris (I know there's not at Indro or Toowong).

Yeah I wouldn't have thought Indro shopping centre would have anything .. just look at it:

http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~boldajis/images/indro.jpg

Anyway let us know how it goes ... I'm on the lookout for a 1210 too.

There is a Dell kiosk in Westfield Carindale shopping centre, at least there used to be. Don't bother going there on a Thursday night though the parking is f***ed.

Was also one at Chermside

There was an article in the news paper recently that quoted some dell exec saying they are in negotiations with several retailers to stock selected Dell products.

So soon you will be able to walk into a store and buy Dell.

Yeah, the one at carindale is still there.

bleh, might be a bit far to go. Do they have a decent range of laptops there?

They are little stalls .. you still buy from online, except you don't get the bonuses, and they don't really let you play with it too much.


... so buy online.

just sign up for the dell email

I just want to see one IRL so I can compare it to other laptops :|

It's a good laptop but also check out the Inspiron 6400 - could get similiar specs to the M1210 but bigger screen.

I'm really after something ultra-portable more than anything else so the M1210 is leading the race at the moment. It does have a small screen though :|

I've used an M1210. Good if you are into sporadic laptop usage on the run. Good graphics upgrade options (Geforce Go). I just wouldn't use it as a desktop/workstation replacement unless ultra-portability is the only priority. Screen is a tad too small for long-term usage (coding, etc). Also the warranty is WAY too short (30 days complete cover + 1 year regular service).

There's the 14.1" Dell 640m that is still portable and only weighs 20% more than the M1210, but one downside: no graphics upgrade option. Stuck with s***ty Intel onboard graphics. Not a problem if it's strictly for office-work and not for occasional movies/games. Also the warranty length is decent if you pick the right offer.

So personally I'm waiting for Dell's new models. I don't think they can continue offering s***ty onboard graphics with Vista for much longer.

last edited by parabol at 22:32:17 06/Jun/07

Yeh portability is the big thing for me on this one. I don't really want it for gaming at all so am pretty happy with the stock stuff.

Anyone near Carindale - if you drop in to the shopping centre can you let me know if they have an M1210 lappy there so I can check it out ?

I went to HN to look at their range - they have some 12.1" screen laptops (Compaq) that are f***ing tiny!! which is exactly what I'm after, so that's really cool.

make a trip of it dave, you've gotta give 4th and 5th gear a go sometime :D

I dont even know if my car has those

yer, if you wanna use your laptop for desktop replacment, just adding a decent sized keyboard and monitor is the go

i just dock up at work and its as comfortable as my old desktop with dual screeny goodness (web browsing is kept on the out of site lappy display, dreamy)

spook do you have an m1210?

nah, my dell is a D610, fair bit bigger

i lug it around with me everywhere though, and just dock at work and at home
coz i dont like the little keyboard (i got big hands/fat fingers)

Fair enough

Do all Dell keyboards have the same layout? I really don't want to get one of those faget ones that have some stupid function key where i expect the CTRL key to be (ie, the bottom-left most key).

The photos of the M1210 on the dell site conveniently leave out pictures of the keyboard in that area

Keyboard

oh yeh, that'd work

I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 which I use for work (ie: all the time) and I prefer the keyboard on that to a desktop job anyday.

Although when I first got it I thought I'd hate it (the keyboard) and that I'd have to use a normal keyboard plugged into it, taking up precious desk space. But I was wrong (first time too).

The only drawback to the keyboard is no numerical keypad, but I am getting used to using the keys on the top row, just a little slower when I need to punch in crazy numbers.

omg the ctrl key is bottom left google saves the day

I've gotta head via carindale when I get back to brisbane tomorrow, so I'll check it out for you.

Theres only 1 thing to flaw about the 6400 keyboard and i assume its the same for the other dell laptops is how you cant adjust brightness without 2hands unless i put a lot of effort in stretching said hand, in which case i might as well use 2 hands!

i for one hate their stupid blue "fn" key!

My hand is big enough to reach across (you know what they say about people with big hands) from the fn key to the brightness keys.

But why would you need to be adjusting often anyway? My only real complaint is that the screen isn't quite bright enough so I have it on full all the time.

It's not like it's a bad screen just a noticable difference between it and my desktop LCD.

I think the newer 'shiny' screens may have addressed this to some extent.