Dell unleashes the new XPS 420 multimedia desktop

Computer giant Dell Inc. has flexed its product muscle following the release of its new XPS 420, which arrives as a versatile multimedia desktop that comes equipped with a considerable amount of pre-installed professional software in order to help users "simplify multimedia creativity" across a wealth of applicable tasks. Dell Inc. unveils its new XPS 420 multimedia desktop, which comes bundled with Adobe Elements Studio software. Credit: Dell.

Dell Inc. unveils its new XPS 420 multimedia desktop, which comes bundled with Adobe Elements Studio software. Credit: Dell.Bundled with Adobe Elements Studio software, which includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and Adobe Soundbooth CS3, Dell says its XPS 420 is perfectly suited to multi-layered creativity, whether that be producing an image slide show, editing a home movie, or applying clean-up touches to audio clips. "We are delighted that Dell has integrated Adobe Elements Studio software into the XPS 420," commented Jim Mohan, director of product management for consumer digital imaging and digital video at Adobe Systems. "Now, customers have the hardware and software they need to unleash their creativity and easily personalize photos, videos and audio at home." The Dell XPS 420 is to retail from around $1,499 USD, which is a price tag that secures multi-core Intel processing and the choice between ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards. Then there’s the (optional) Dell Xcelerator, which the Texas-based computer company described as being capable of muscling through the often time-consuming chore of grabbing video to go or preparing it for uploading to social network Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook.From a performance point of view, Dell offers that its exclusive Xcelerator can grab recorded video ready for portable devices up to 25 percent quicker than alternative options, while it can also reduce the "burden" of video conversion by as much as 86 percent."Our goal is to help people turn their digital lifestyle dreams into reality, whether it’s viewing family moments and memories, telling your story with photos and videos, creating videos for social networking sites like YouTube, recording TV shows or converting vinyl album libraries to digital files," explained Karen Plotkin, director of consumer desktop marketing at Dell. "The combination of the XPS 420 and the Adobe Elements Studio software makes it easy to harness creativity and imagination and share ideas, style and personality." Featuring a glossy black front and top panels, which Dell points out "blend seamlessly with home theatre systems," the XPS 420 also comes equipped with easily accessible input/output ports as well as a specially designed storage area on the top of the tower that includes built-in cable management for the swift docking and charging of portable hardware.As an added plus, the XPS 420 also boasts a small colour display held within its front panel, which provides easy access to "stored media, certain system functions and standard Windows SideShow gadgets without requiring interaction with either keyboard or mouse.