Dell Vostro 2510 now live online

In a surprise move just after a flyer confirmed the introduction, Dell today quickly but quietly rolled out the Vostro 2510. The 15.4-inch system marks a few key changes from the outgoing 1510 and comes in a two-tone black and red body instead of the more conservative exterior of the old system. It also switches to a slot-load drive like that of the Studio 15 and uses a new cooling system that vents heat away from the bottom of the notebook to make it more comfortable on its owner's lap.

In spite of the outside changes, the system is similar in most respects to the 1510 and uses current-generation Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.6GHz rather than Centrino 2-era components; new among the expansion options is a slot-load Blu-ray burner for both making large backups as well as playing HD movies.

Dell doesn't yet allow purchasing the system but says a minimum configuration will have a 1440x900 resolution display with a built-in webcam, a GeForce 8400M GS for video and a 160GB hard disk. Custom orders can boost the system to a 1920x1200 display and 320GB of disk space. A sample $899 model revealed as part of the last-minute leak also suggests a minimum 2GB of memory when the system ships sometime in August.

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