XPS M1210 questions (bluetooth, battery & more)

I am seriously eying the M1210, ordering through Costco. Problem being I would really like to have Bluetooth. I looked at the service manual and there are instructions for installing the module, but can the module at this point in time be ordered and would everything else be set up to receive it (wire already there even with no preinstalled Bluetooth, etc.). Also, any idea on how much it is/will be?

Secondly, anyone have an idea when Dell will sell the hicap battery (9-cell I think) separately and about how much it'll be.

Finally, the costco model comes with a T2300E, this is fine with me as long as I can slap in a Merom later, I'm guessing since Dell released an updated BIOS for the 600m to take Dothan that they will probably release a BIOS for the M1210 to support Merom, is this an unreasonable assumption?

Thanks in advance.

 

go on ebay and search for 'truemobile 350' about 30 bucks delivered. you don't need the cable, the bt module screws into a slot beneath the battery [interesting design]

don't know. lots of people have been asking this question. general speculation is that once the world gets over the m1210 and orders slow down they'll have some spare 9 cells to sell as 2nd batteries

swapping procs shouldn't be a problem. just make sure you know what you're doing. and get better thermal grease.

i'm betting on some big sales for july 4...u may want to wait and see what coupons float down...

 

Replacing the processor for the 1210 is very hard if you dont know what your doing. You pretty much have to take the ENTIRE thing apart to get at it. Seriously, the entire thing.

 

I just ordered from Costco. Right now their price can't be beat as long as you are OK with the config they give you. I couldn't justify the extra cost differential (about $300) from their config on the Dell site, plus any other "upgrades"

My thinking - the best performance upgrade to make would be up the memory to 2 GB - which can be done cheaper from newegg or crucial vs. the cost of any processor or HD upgrade (factoring in the price differential). Unless you really need the fastest proc and largest/faster HD.

I didn't know you can order the BT module seperately. I was thinking of just getting a BT USB dongle. Is that module really that simple to install?

 

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1210/en/SM/btooth.htm#wp1014146

Yeah, the BT module is located right under your battery. It looks like a less than 5 minute no brainer job.

 

You could also just get a USB bluetooth dongle for $10. Or perhaps you could call dell up and order via phone, and tell them about the costco deal. They should be able to match the price.

 

Yeah - I tried that and they couldn't do it. The sales rep told me to get it from Costco since they arent authorised to match prices on XPS machines. I was able to get him to give me some discount, but it wasn't enough.