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Love the XPS 15, But. . .
. . .I am disappointed and surprised that Dell doesn't make a dedicated docking station for this model.
I bought this model laptop for my daughter for Christmas and I am very impressed. The HD screen is remarkable. The sound system, likewise. That got me to thinking it's time for a new PC for dear ol' dad. I'm planning on replacing my five year old Dell desktop which has served its time quite well. But for me to use a laptop in my home office requires I have the accompanying periphels: 24" desktop monitor, full size keyboard, wireless mouse, and possibly even an external sound system. But going with a third party docking station has given me pause. I'm reading many disgruntled customers who are unsatisfied with such a setup.
Rant over. But I can't help but wonder why Dell decided to go this route? :emotion-42:
ejn63
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February 16th, 2011 15:00
For the same reason that other manufacturers don't offer consumer-level notebook docking stations - too few people buy them. It's not worth the cost to produce something with such a limited audience appeal. Similarily, try finding a mainstream minivan with a manual transmission in the US - they're not available, because so few people buy them it's not worth the cost to the automakers to carry the overhead of offering the option.
Business models have docking options - and they generally cost $150-300 a unit, selling in reasonable numbers. Would you buy a docking station that cost five times that because they don't sell in numbers as large? Consumers are so price sensitive they'll go with one brand or another over a $10 price difference.
If you need a docking station, there are 15.6" Latitude models that offer them. Similarly Lenovo and HP/COmpaq offer docks for their business lines as well - but not for the consumer models.
Andy2902
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February 17th, 2011 10:00
Yeah, you're correct. I have done some looking around and unless the laptop is classified as a business model, there is no dedicated docking station.
Problem with those other brands is in comparison to the XPS 15 they are overpriced and don't compare spec-wise. The Dell offers better numbers and is by far the most customizeable of all the brands I have looked at.
I think what I might do is go with the XPS 15, grab a wireless or Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and then just hook up a monitor via HDMI cable. Fast and easy to plug and unplug, allowing me the flexibility of a laptop but also being able to double as a desktop what needed. Heck, I can even pop a USB cord into the unit when I want to listen to something through a more robust sound system. What do you think of this approach?
hrconcepts
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March 10th, 2011 11:00
:emotion-39:Yes, I too am VERY disapointed! I have been around and around with what docking station to get for my XPS, and have had no luck. When I call, no one has told me there is No docking staying, rather they keep selling me docking stations that do not work with the laptop. It has been very upsetting and extremely frustrating. I have been a loving Dell customer for 15 years, and am now considering another option.
ejn63
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March 10th, 2011 12:00
If you want a docking station, you must look for a business model - Dell Latitude, Lenovo Thinkpad or HP business-line model.
None of the manufacturers produce docking stations for consumer-grade models (Dell XPS/Studio/Inspiron/etc. , HP Presario/Pavilion, Lenovo IdeaPad, etc.
jpgobert
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March 17th, 2011 12:00
I'm going to agree and disagree at the same time... Yes demand is a major factor in production of a product... but that's not the real case here. Docking connectors on all of the major manufacturer's product lines is the same. Case in point... if you buy a Latitude or Precision you use the same dock. HP used the same dock for several generations of their machines up until the release of the Elitebook xx40 series. They just released the xx60 series and guess what... it uses the same dock as the xx40's.
The real issue is that there are a good number of aftermarket port replicator products that provide financial kickbacks to the PC manufacturers to give them incentive to stay out of the consumer space.
Take a good look at the hardware that is inside of the different machines... are the chipsets, processors, etc. so different that they would require totally different docking port mechanisms? If that were true then Dell, HP and everyone else wouldn't be able to carry a docking platform through several generations of machines before having to refresh it.
It sucks... that's business...
ejn63
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March 17th, 2011 12:00
It is very true the business models carry the same design for years. It's equally true the average price of one is significantly higher than it is for a consumer model.
The docking stations can cost $300 or more -- which is 2/3 the cost of many consumer notebooks. Very few consumers will buy them.
It may seem like the omission of a docking connector is negligible cost-wise, but bear in mind that with the average profit on a notebook sold to a consumer at well under $100, a $0.50-1.00 connector makes a difference -- when you multiply it by the number of systems sold. Consumer notebooks are manufactured by one of a handful of contractors - basically, the low bidder gets the contract. So it's not necessarily true that docking replicators could be standardized - and while, as you've noted, business models are -- consumer models are not.