Discussion regarding the 20%/30% coupons for the M1330/M1530

Because I have decided to transfer schools for the spring semester (I'm a college student), I needed something portable a.k.a a laptop.

I've spent 8-10 hours over the last day thus far researching laptops (desktop user for over a decade ) and I was about to go for a M1530.

But after doing some reading, it seems that Dell gives these discount coupons when they need to get rid of a product, perhaps before upgrading the line.

What really disappointed me about the M1530 was the lack of availability of Intel's Montevina platform, which supposedly uses less power a.k.a longer battery life (which is a big plus).

Another thing that was a little disappointing was the lack of a better GPU choice. The best choice was a 256MB 8600M GT and that seemed a little outdated, relatively speaking.

Now, what I'm wondering is the case that Dell might possibly have plans to upgrade the M1330/M1530 line and give it a little boost.

However, that would mean that there would not be a discount coupon for the hypothetically upgraded line for a while, no?

The only reason I even considered buying a M1530 was because of the 30% off $1699 coupon, but it is also hard to swallow if an update would come right after I buy my system (especially if the upgrade consists of the lesser power consuming Montevina platform).

I have only started looking for a laptop yesterday, and I don't know the history of Dell's discount coupons, but after a little reading, some claim that Dell ALWAYS has "useful" discount coupons. Though I don't know whether discount coupons are ever available for a new or just updated line of PC's.

If anyone who has followed laptop trends longer than I have would like to share some insight, I'd really appreciate it!

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EDIT:
Oh, by the way... is there a history of laptops becoming cheaper around Black Friday/Cyber Monday and on towards the holiday season, or even possible after New Years?

If so, I can wait for a better deal, as I don't really need the laptop until late January, when I move into dorms for school.


EDIT#2:
For those in the same (or similar) boat as me, it appears that the coupons happen often and are in no way correlated to any releases.

 

Dell discounts most at the end of it's financial quarters, and around the holidays just does typical marketing (like now, where they'll jack the price, then show a %X discount to make you feel like it's a great deal). Dell will be releasing the Studio XPS 13 and XPS 16 very soon. You can find more here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291340

You are correct that there will be no coupons or discounts on new models for some weeks or months after release.

 

A long thread but answers all of my questions and suspicions...

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Andrew.

 

Are these coupons valid to purchase in Australia? I tried the 30% then 20% on the day after release and it told me out of date or all used up. Should they have worked. and If only valid at dell.com (the US site) is it shippable to Australia, or supplied ex Aus stock?
In Australia they charge extra $AUS971 for the 64G SSD (to swap from 320G HD) which is about $US650. Crazy! They dont offer any of the older CPU and GPU combo's like in US.

I get

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