Dell targets casual gamers with new Inspiron laptop

MANILA -- Casual gamers who are used to playing games on their mobile devices are returning to their PCs for higher-end games that demand more powerful graphics and faster performance.

This, according to Chris Papa, country manager at Dell Philippines, which recently announced its new Inspiron 7500 line of gaming laptops.

Rather than ride the wave of behemoth 17-inch gaming laptops like the MSI G-Series and the Acer Predator, Dell adopted the relatively compact 15-inch platform with the emphasis on compact portable gaming.

Despite this, the Inspiron 7500 packs a lot of gaming power in a 22-mm thick laptop. It can speedily do common tasks like word processing, spreadsheets and browsing. The demands of a gaming laptop will also allow users to run more processor-intensive software like AutoCAD and PhotoShop. In breaks between work, these laptops have the horsepower to run current-generation PC games on recommended settings at a decent frame rate.

PC games these days like Overwatch, Dark Souls and modded versions of SkyRim and Grand Theft Auto V demand a powerful processor and a lightning-fast graphics card -- not an easy task cramming these into a small package. The graphics are powered by an NVIDIA GTX960m with a 4GB DDR2 memory to power its 15-inch display.

The Inspiron 7500 comes in two configurations. The base Inspiron 7566 i5 (SRP P49,990) with a 6th gen Intel i5 quad core processor with 4GB RAM, a 1TB hard disk and an HD display. The top-of-the-line Inspiron 7566 i7 (SRP P69,990) sports a 6th gen Intel i7 quad core processor, 8GB RAM, hybrid storage 256 GB SSD + 1TB Hard Disk and an Ultra HD/4K display should allow power users/gamers to enable all the graphical bells and whistles today’s games demand.

This writer thinks that the specs of the lower-end Inspiron 7655 i5 will leave gamers wanting. Paired with the slower i5, the 4GB onboard memory will need an upgrade to play 3D games at minimum settings.

The specs of the Inspiron 7655 i7 are competitive with 15-inch gaming laptops like the HP Omen and the Lenovo Ideapad Y700, although the i7 variant is a little bit more expensive because of the SSD option which should result in a significant speed boost.

All these high-end components generate loads of heat. The Inspiron 7600 cooling system sports dual fans and multiple exhaust ports around the laptop’s chassis to keep the machine cool and prevent internal damage.

The Inspiron 7500 is a laptop that will keep local gamers who want to happily bring around their gaming rigs. That is, until Dell brings its Alienware monster gaming laptops to the Philippine market.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New Dell head honcho to focus on SMB, BPO sectors in PH

MANILA, Philippines — The newly installed country manager for Dell Philippines vowed to build on the stepping stones prepared by his predecessors as he kicks into high gear the local unit’s foray into the small and medium businesses (SMB) and business process outsourcing (BPO) markets.

Christopher Papa, erstwhile Dell country manager for its consumer business, has been promoted to the overall country manager post following the departure of Ricky Lopez, the country manager for Dell’s commercial business.

InterAksyon.com learned on Tuesday that Lopez had assumed his new role as the Channels Group Director at Microsoft Philippines on February 6.

In an interview at the sidelines of the Dell 12th-generation servers launch on Wednesday, Papa said two of his key growth areas for the Philippines are the SMB and BPO sectors.

“Based on IDC’s outlook, we still have a lot of legroom on the [SMB sector],” Papa said. “Our growth targets are going to be a combination of various sectors, but SMB will definitely be part of our expansion.”

The Dell executive, meanwhile, deferred to the growth prospects of the local BPO industry from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), which is seeing a steep 20 percent growth rate this year.

“BPO has always been a major market for Dell, so with that, we are going to see growth in that area,” Papa added.

On the consumer side, Papa said they would continue to focus on delivering on the medium- and high-price band ranges, which in recent months saw the launching of the Dell XPS 14z and XPS 15z, two high-end units that the company is eyeing for profit.

The executive, however, refused to divulge the specific revenue shares of each of its business units, although he pointed out that the enterprise business comprises 30 percent of its global business.

Just recently, Dell announced a global shift away from merely providing desktop and laptop units to businesses and end-users, suggesting a strategic move toward providing IT services to customers.

Before assuming his current post, Papa oversaw the local unit’s consumer business in the country, bringing a host of notebook releases to the Philippines as well as Dell’s initial foray into consumer-grade tablets and smartphones.

Papa was part of Dell Philippines’ segmentation strategy in 2010, which saw three core business units–the commercial, SMB and consumer segments–being handled by three different top executives. He initially handled the SMB segment for that year.

This year, however, saw the consolidation of those three management roles back into a single leadership position, which Papa has recently been appointed to.

Papa was promoted to the overall country manager position at the end of January.

source: interaksyon.com