Dell Studio One 19 unboxing, hands-on, and impressions
By Jacob Schulman 
posted May 21st 2009 4:00PM
posted May 21st 2009 4:00PM
Design and Feel
The first thing we noticed about the Studio One 19 was its weight: clocking in at over 22-pounds, this isn't something you'll wanna be moving often. The handle on the box actually broke as we were moving it to conduct this review, if that's any indication. However, once you get it out of the box and onto your workspace, this AIO doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. We have to give Dell some credit for for continuing to refining the aesthetics of its product lines, because for all intents and purposes the Studio One 19 is a really nice looking PC.
Software and Functionality
At its heart, the Studio One is a Vista PC. You know what you're in for when purchasing, and all of Vista's quirks are still there on the 19. Dell has put a lot of energy into making the most of its multitouch screen -- which doesn't come standard on the base models, we might add. There's a hefty amount of custom software that capitalizes on this headline feature, and it seems that Dell has done a fairly good job at it.
Everything starts with Dell's "Touch Zone" launcher, which uses a carousel-esque launcher to place its custom touch-enabled apps (literally) at your fingertips. There's a drum simulator -- which is bound to keep you occupied for a whole three minutes, a slew of basic games like Mahjong and Spider Solitaire, and touch-optimized music and photo apps that add to the entertainment factor of this particular all-in-one. They certainly got the job done in terms of media functionality, but we didn't dig that deep into extended functionality.
Dell has tried to make the Vista experience more finger-friendly, but unfortunately it's held back by the limitations of the OS. Familiar tablet PC features like handwriting recognition are implemented, but past that, Dell has basically added some multitouch gesture support to an OS that isn't meant for touch -- two finger scrolling and pinch-zooming are the headliners in this department. The preinstalled drivers were able to get the job done, but we needed to do a little tweaking of our own to make it worthwhile to ditch the mouse. Out of the box, there isn't really enough inertia, and you have to press fairly hard to start a flicking motion. The pinching worked a bit better, but its behavior still varies from app to app. We're pretty sure that the screen is running at less-than-maximum resolution to make UI elements a bit easier to select, but we're not sure that's a viable solution in the long run. Hopefully, with the arrival of Windows 7 and its basic multitouch features, the necessity of these "tweaks" will be negated.
Performance
For the purpose of this set of impressions, we didn't run a comprehensive set of benchmarks, but we can safely say that this machine is perfectly adequate for moderate home use. Our particular test model was rocking an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU running at 3GHz with four gigs of RAM. The NVIDIA GeForce 9200 graphics chip handled HD video fairly well, and it was an enjoyable experience to watch a streaming finale of LOST. It scored a 4.3 on Vista's obscure rating scale, and bootup times seem to be plenty fast. Of course, over time as the number of apps installed and startup processes grows, it's bound to slow down or at least take somewhat of a drop in performance.
Wrap-up
Overall, we're pretty impressed with the Studio One 19. Its touchscreen and multitouch capabilities open up many possibilities, which still need a bit of time to incubate and permeate other mainstream apps. We hope this will change in time, however, as more and more PCs start to incorporate touch features. Dell's included apps and tweaks make the all-in-one enjoyable and fun to use, and we have no doubt that it will be very appealing to kids and adults alike -- especially for the price.
looks pretty good to me
Too expensive! Not upgradable! Glossy screens suck! Only 4 USB ports??? I could build my own computer for far less!
Wait, we're talking about a Dell here, not an Apple?
Well then, I LOVE IT!!!
Sincerely,
The Apple-Hating Engadget Commenter Horde
I count 6 USB ports: 4 rear, 2 on the side.
@Quix: While I agree with you, until Dell starts basing its entire ad campaign on looking smugly down their noses at anyone who would deign to buy another brand of computer, this machine won't really inspire much hate. If anything it's just not very exceptional but then again I wouldn't buy one either.
Too expensive? It starts at $699 ($849 for multitouch). Not upgradeable - but you can order one with a Core 2 Quad for $1099. Let's see an iMac do that.
looks like big @ss iphone too me lol
Holy Bezel Batman!
seriously. is it like 6"?
Even though the bezel looks large, it's really not much larger than the one on the iMac. iMacs have larger screens and edge-to-edge glass that make the bezel look smaller. Unfortunately, iMacs still have the giant chin, which is a lot worse than a bezel, in my book.
Also, the side-mounted speakers also make the bezel look huge, but if they sound good, then it's an acceptable compromise.
I call B.S. there is no way that bezel is the same as imac, it is clearly larger.
Not the largeness that strikes me but the 1970's-cheap look, what the fuck are they thinking?
I guess the presence of several 'I like it' and 'nice' post answers what they were thinking: they were thinking 'we did this study twice and people really want this style back, geez this is painful but we need the damn money'
I'm sitting in front of an iMac as I write this and the real screen area relative to the total face size is way larger on the iMac. The dead area around the top and sides of the iMac are about 1". On the "chin" it's about 4". On that Dell, it looks like less than half the font is real screen. Fugly.
It seems a very good product
I would like to try it :-)
I think it looks nice.. hopefully it will just get better over time.
Not bad.
Another wannabe iMac from Dell...
if there is a #1, there must be a #2.
Why, does this one have a screen worthy of a lawsuit?
But unlike so many Apple products this DELL will hopefully not catch fire and burn down your house.
Argot:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/dell-laptop-explodes-in-flames-182257.php
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09035.html
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20060818/NEWS/608180446?Title=Man-blames-Dell-laptop-for-house-fire
Good luck with that.
Jesus Christ, Zak, he was just being humorous!
Take the iStick out of your ass, and stop playing pretend Apple PR for a minute.
You must be a ball at parties.
I know, and I was being equally as humorous. I mean I know it's hysterical to say Apple products will burn down your house when they obviously don't, so it's equally as hilarious to say the same thing about Dells. Right?
@Zak:
This doesn't use batteries because its not a Notebook.
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1051166/macbook-explodes-london-office
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=421233
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1694197&tstart=90
You speak as if exploding batteries is specific to Dell. Very few laptop manufacturers manufacturer their own batteries (much less their own cells), so if a cell is susceptible to explosion, everyone who uses those cells is also susceptible. Even your precious. So take your cute little insinuation that Dell's are unsafe and shove it.
Honestly, you used to be the rational minded mac fanboy. You are sinking to Paul Chappeles level of douch-baggery.
Woops. I got a little trigger happy there Zak. Didn't realize it was a response to a dumb comment.
Ruben - Yeah, no big deal. Although Look_Around_You still doesn't get it.
Look_Around_You: Shut the fuck up. I'm sick of everything you say being a jab at either Apple, or Apple fanboys.
Zak: Also Shut the fuck up, I'm sick of you being what I just said, with the Poles reversed.
Pricing?
The design on the 24 inch all in one looks better imo, but for a touch screen device this seems to be very nicely put together. Also I would expect the weight, it is going to be poked at. lol. Wouldn't want it to fall over.
I'm waiting for one thats built into a desk at a nice slant with a nice 30" screen, but I feel we may have to wait a bit longer.
built into a desk? crazy talk.
Can't think of any other way a touch screen would be useful. In that future video that MS did a while back, that drafting table looked amazing.
But, yea eventually every screen with be captive and people wont even second guess if it is or not. Like in the Star Trek movie.
sounds like a great way to kill your neck. Better off building it into a wall instead.
Did they do any ergonomics testing on this? Looks like gorilla arms in about 5 minutes...
It should have been designed (at least the touchscreen models) with a removable stand, and cable connections parallel to the screen, not perpendicular, to allow it lay down flat.
Touchscreen screen on an OS that wasn't wholly built around it (yes, even 7) still seems too gimmicky.
Looks nice.
Liked a lot, but the graphics performance is a letdown.
Looks like a giant iPod touch.
There is a reason that pineapple is frowning...
There's just one thing this baby needs.... *drum roll* THE KING OF ALL OPERATING SYSTEMS, THE ULTIMATE, THE ONE AND ONLY !!! WINDOWS 7 !!!
Very nice stolen imac design. Right to the aluminum stand and power cable connector. I do love the crappy clone of the mac dock too!
Because only Apple are allowed to make monitors with fat bezels.
so it has a glossy touch screen? you will never be able to see anything through the finger prints and dust that will pile up on some people's screens.
Pricing is from $699-$1099.
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-one-19?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
Definitely gives the iMac a run for the money.
Except the iMac has a bigger, higher resolution, higher quality screen. Not to mention things like Wireless-N being built in (it isn't on the lower priced Studio One models), Bluetooth, Gigabit ethernet (Dell only has 100 megabit), Firewire, optical digital audio ports, Mini-DisplayPort that supports a 30" external monitor, optional 1TB HD (only 750GB for the Dell), supports 8GB of memory (Dell only supports 4).
So I'm not really sure I would call the Studio One a run for the iMac's money, not when you compare all the specs directly. But it's pretty close as long as you're willing to put up with the sub-par monitor and various ports.
Yeeeeeah. It's also less expensive. And is more than enough for 99% of the population.
I know that must piss you off.
Ruben: Speaking of being rational-minded, you're defending a guy who thinks Macs will burn your house down. Can you see the problem there? But please, go ahead and try to claim a Dell desktop has never caught on fire or that the Studio One will never catch on fire. That's really the only way your position would be defensible.
Oh yeah, I love this comment system. Anyway, Look_Around_You:
"More than enough for 99% of the population" is not only not quantifiable, it's a completely spurious argument. The iMac uses better components (panel, ethernet, bluetooth, video out, everything I listed in the above post), so it's irrelevant if the Dell is more than enough for "most users". We're talking difference in price, so until the Dell can match every single thing the iMac does better, it's not a direct comparison.
It's called "you get what you pay for". This may come as a shock to you, but that is not the same thing as "overpriced". You pay more for the iMac, and you get more. End of story.
How much do you get paid to be a spoke person for Apple, I mean I assume you're getting paid since you're always talking up their stuff.
I think Zak is just trying to get a bit of objectivity going here - you know, the whole rational kick?
All very well, Zak, but didn't Dell's all-in-one beat the iMac in customer satisfaction in the recent survey that put the Macbook's top for laptops?
So obviously the consumers think it's better.
I love Dell. I hate this product. Huge bezel, weird specs, no Windows 7 (why even bother with touch yet without it?), not so great price, and cheap looks.
Dell, just add touch to the XPS One when 7 hits and then throw out an Atom 330 Ion touch - for extremely cheap - for the masses.
And lose that AWFUL bezel.