In Florida, Dell laptop designed specifically for Spanish-speaking users

It’s one thing for a US manufacturer to package, label and offer instructions for its products in Spanish as well as English. It’s quite another, however, to offer fully Spanish versions of those products, particularly when they’re relatively big-ticket items such as computers. Sure enough though, that’s just what Dell is doing in Florida, with a laptop in its Inspiron line that’s customized for Spanish-speaking users. Offered through South Florida retailer BrandsMart USA, Dell’s Inspiron M5030 is now available with a Spanish-configurable edition of Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium as well as a Spanish language keyboard. Designed exclusively for the US market, the device also offers a 15.6-inch widescreen LCD, AMD Athlon II dual-core processor, 320GB hard drive and built-in webcam and microphone. Pricing is USD 498.88 — the same as it charges for its English-speaking version. “BrandsMart caters to about 45 percent of the Hispanic market, [so] it’s a pretty easy partner to test the grounds with,” Dell account executive Gerald Zapata told the Miami Herald. “We’re seeing good results so far. It’s starting to sell as well as the English product.” Assuming that trend continues, Dell will likely extend the offering to other stores as well, the Herald reported. Hispanic Americans now account for about 16 percent of the US population, according to the US Census Bureau. How long before manufacturers large and small begin to offer language-specific versions of their products there — and around the world? (Related: Translation cards for travellers with allergies.) Spotted by: Judy McRae