Dell, Best Buy forge retail deal

Dell's latest march through the retail channel continued Thursday via a pact with Best Buy.

Under the deal--the latest in a long line of Dell partnerships--Dell will sell XPS and Inspiron notebook and desktops through more than 900 Best Buy locations.

With the move, Dell says it can better show off its colorful notebooks and high performance gaming systems.

According to a statement, Best Buy "will stock a variety of notebooks, including the award-winning Dell XPS M1330 in white, the Inspiron 1521 in blue and black, and the Inspiron 1420 in black."

I guess red and more exotic hues will only be available online for now (Dell promises more models shortly). Best Buy will also carry the Dell XPS One and desktops such as the Dell Inspiron 530, 531, and 531s.

Dell has also recently forged deals with Wal-Mart and Staples. The real tell will be the amount of Dell's shelf space at Best Buy, which also carries Apple, Gateway and Toshiba PCs. In its blog, Dell said it will service and support PCs bought at Best Buy.