Dell announced the successor to Inspiron 700m/710m brothers: XPS m1210 31 May 2006, 21:38
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentWell, Dell has launched a successor to its ultra portable 700m/710m series. The new name is XPS m1210. It has built-in webcam, microphone, probably bluetooth and it is based on Intel Core Duo processors.
Meanwhile, www.700musers.com forums expands to cover 710m and the new sibling m1210.
www.700musers.com , www.710musers.com , www.m1210users.com
Database problem 15 May 2006, 12:06
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentHi All,
There has been a database problem for the last 2-3 days with Yahoo web hosting. I am not sure if it is fixed totally because it has been coming and going. For now, it seems to be working fine but the service was down for an abnormally long duration of time.
Orhan
Dell Inspiron 700m internal bluetooth mod completed 6 May 2006, 03:45
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , 19 commentsWell, not exactly as planned, but a successful internal bluetooth addition is completed for the Inspiron 700m laptop. Although the chipset allows three usb ports, since there were no traces on the motherboard, I could not figure out where the unused usb port had its terminals. So I decided to pull a parallel line to the upper usb port. The first few figures show how the laptop is dismantled and how the usb port terminals are accessed on the motherboard.
4 wires are needed to carry the usb to another location. I used a usb receptacle just to keep the standard usb jack on the bluetooth dongle. Also, I think it is good to have a flexible system, maybe I might need it for something else in the future.
I added a power on/off switch to the +5v lead. This way I was planning to make the usb port usable while not using the bluetooth dongle. Well, it didn’t work as expected too. It turns out that I need a 3-pole switch to cut the data lines too. Anyways, having a power switch is still good for saving the battery. I am planning to change to a 3-pole switch in the future.
I figured the best place for the on/off switch is the front panel, near the optical drive bay. I opened a “window” with the help of a friend and made the switch accessible.
The usb dongle sits in the area where 700m has the wifi mini-pci card and the phone modem. Insulating it from the shiny protective sheet under the plastic cover is necessary. I used a simple tape for that.
Everything works OK for the time being. I am down to 1 usb port as of now, but it really makes no difference since I will not need one for the bluetooth!
Let me know if you have any questions..
Extreme 700m mod: Adding a USB port for internal bluetooth project 4 May 2006, 21:15
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , add a commentAfter a long period of silence, I am back with an extreme mod project for the 700m. The Intel chipset used on Dell 700m provides at least 3 USB ports but only two are accessible on the laptop. The third is terminated and hidden on the motherboard. It is actually active and can be used if a usb device can be wired into it properly.
A similar mod has been posted by tnkgrl at: Internal USB Bluetooth module in AV1050
I am planning to finish the project in 2 days max. Detailed instructions and pictures will follow.