Inspiron Phase-out?

Does anyone know if the Inspiron line is going to be phased out? I have a friend who says its so. Has anyone else heard this? I was thinking of getting an Inspiron or Vostro for a small online business. Now, I'm not sure. I always feel funny when I hear that something is being phased out.....Any comments welcommed. Also, any comments on the general merits of either regarding as to being better for small business? Something that needs to be multimedia rich......I need Vista Premium, unfortunately I don't think the Vostro comes with that. Thanks, Julius

 

I highly doubt the Inspiron line will be phased out. And no, I've never heard that.
If you need Vista Premium, and you really want a Vostro, call Dell and order your laptop through the phone. You can probably request Vista Premium. And it's not like they're gonna say, "no, you can't do that".

 

The inspiron line has been around for years and years, so I don't think Dell's just gonna throw away a name that is so well known. Also, the Vostro line was just introduced. Why in god's name would they just throw it out, unless it was doing absolutely horrible, which is not.

May I ask how your friend knows this? Is he a high up executive at Dell? Or did he just hear this over the intraweb and he automatically believed it?

 

Dell even brought out an Inspiron line of Desktops. I can't see it going anywhere for awhile.

 

Thanks to all the responders. My funny feeling about phase-out is lifting. As to who my friend is, well, he's an expert on everything. At least that's what he thinks. It's just when he's right, he's "very" right. Looks like this time he's wrong. Thanks, Julius

 

maybe he means the old inspiron line the

 

they just redesigned the inspirion i highly doubt they would ditch it now.

 

Agreed...

There are a number of reasons Dell won't be dropping the Inspiron line. Some of which are:

1. They need the brand recognition that comes from the name to help them try and regain market share lost to HP.
2. They don't have ANYTHING (as a product line) that can replace it. The Inspiron line targets the average to mid-high end consumer buyer. All other lines, XPS; Vostro; etc., target other markets.

You're friend seems like he's just pulling stuff out of thin air or is believing some rumor he read online...

Unless he meant the current MODELS are going to be replaced, i.e. 1520 -> 1620. If that is what he meant then it probably isn't too far off as Dell's refresh cycle for Inspirons (though it is more under the hood than looks usually) is every 6 months. If you're waiting for that refresh than you might as well wait for eternity

 

I have a feeling that Dell won't be releasing a 16" laptop for the current Santa Rosa platform...

What they will probably release is a 15" model when the Penryn refresh comes, which is going to be the 1530, not the 1620