Dell announced its new lineup of Vostro notebooks aimed at small and medium sized businesses. The new models are lighter and better than the previous Vostro Dell laptops. The new 13.3-inch Vostro 1310 starts at $749 and the 15.4-inch Vostro 1510 at $599.

"Customers told us in a recent global laptop study that data protection and pre-installed security software are, by far, the most important security features," said Frank Muehleman, vice president and general manager, Dell Small and Medium Business. "They also said they wanted thinner and lighter machines, all at a good price," Muehleman said. "We paid attention," Muehleman said.

The laptops are available with no bloatware and include free services such as 10GB of Dell DataSafe Online Backup, Network Assistant and PC TuneUp. The machines pack Intel GMAX3100 integrated graphics, at least 1GB of memory. The Vostro 1310 starts with a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T5670 and a 160GB hard drive, while the 1510's minimum configuration offers a 1.86GHz Celeron 540 and a 80GB hard drive.

The new models are available today in Europe, Middle East and Africa, followed by North and South America May 1, and Asia Pacific and Japan May 5, Dell said.