Dell sued in China over false ads claims

Dell, the world's largest computer maker, is being sued in China over allegations of false advertising.

The group has been sued over charges its laptops contained a different, cheaper chip than those advertised (happens all the time).

According to state media reports at least 20 lawsuits have been filed against the Texas-based firm.

In a statement on its Direct2Dell website, Dell admitted it had made an "unfortunate and unintended marketing mistake" and apologised for the error.

Dell said it had contacted customers and explained the difference between the two chips and offered full refunds to any customers who were still unsatisfied.

Spokeswoman Sharon Zhang said the error took place after the firm began to switch the chips used in certain laptop models, but sales brochures and order forms were not updated in time.

The problems are on Dell's Inspiron 640M laptop, according to marketing materials the model was fitted with Intel's T2300 chip which allows a computer to run multiple software applications at the same time.

However, in China, and some other countries Dell instead fitted the laptops with the T2300E chip which did not support this function. The chip also costs $32 less than the T2300.

A report in the China Daily newspaper said the first case accusing Dell of false advertising had been filed in Shanghai on 26 July, and a further 19 were filed on 8 August in Xiamen.

The court action will hinder Dell's attempts to lure customers away from rival Lenovo, the market leader in China.

Statement from direct2dell.com:
The fundamental issue revolves around two different processors: Intel’s Core Duo T2300 and the T2300E. In China, and in other countries around the world, we shifted from the T2300 to the T2300E processor in some notebook models. What’s the difference between those processors? The T2300E does not support Intel’s Virtualization Technology, a feature primarily aimed at server and workstation customers interested in running multiple operating systems on the same machine. In all markets of the world where we offer it, the T2300E allows us to provide a better value for customers who are not interested in virtualization.