Dell today filled out its mainstream notebooks with the Inspiron 17. The desktop notebook switches to the same 16:9 aspect ratio display and thinner, more efficent LED backlighting as newer Inspirons but, matching its 17.3-inch size, has a much higher 1600x900 resolution as standard. Processors are also generally faster in standard trim and scale up to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.

The base price is kept to a low $499 by consciously stripping features down to a 2GHz Pentium dual-core, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Intel integrated video and Vista Home Basic. Its battery is also a minimal 4-cell pack. Buyers can opt in for Home Premium as well as up to 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray, a 6-cell battery and a dedicated 256MB Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics core. Orders placed today ship in early August; an option for a 9-cell battery is due that month, while September will bring choices for a 512MB version of the graphics chip as well as a 1080p display.