Dell lets loose Studio 17 laptop with multitouch display
By Donald Melanson 
posted November 19th 2009 5:11PM
posted November 19th 2009 5:11PM
Dell sure is adding multitouch to quite a few products these days, but it isn't exactly doing it with much fanfare on every occasion. The latest to slip into availability is an updated version of the company's generously-sized Studio 17 laptop, which is now available with a 1,600 x 900 display that boasts full multitouch and arm-tiring abilities. Otherwise, you can expect to get the usual wide range of configuration options, including your choice of Pentium Dual Core or Core 2 Duo processors, a maximum 8GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, integrated Intel or discrete ATI graphics, and an optional Blu-ray drive, among other standard fare. Some of those options will obviously bump the price up considerably, but things start at just $899 -- look for it to start shipping on December 4th.
Sorry, but I have enough weight on my shoulders. :(
@MoNo
Maybe you should hit the gym son.
@Al.O. Well, the thought of carrying 7 pounds of integrated graphics isn't outright compelling.
@MoNo
If you can't handle carrying 7 pounds you NEED to hit the gym.
@Al.O. If you only carry a laptop in your bag, you need more money - or a job.
@MoNo
LOL WAT??
@Al.O. He carries a 42" 1080p tv in his laptop bag, just for shits and giggles. If you can't afford to do the same, then clearly you need more money.
@Mark Well, it's still not far off when carrying a Studio 17 with additional battery, power supply and some cables/books.
@MoNo *Shrug* People manage with the 17" Macbook Pro and that's 6.6lbs. So either this should be manageable or that 0.4lbs is a really, really big deal.
@MoNo
What are you talking about? If it's too much to handle, don't get one. Other people want a laptop with a large screen and are willing to deal with the slight additional weight.
Reasonable pricing. Apple should really take some notes on this.
@Al.O. Well it is reasonable to an extent. When they say starts at $899, they mean it. Spec'd out, my Studio 17 comes in at $1,359, But it has the ATI Radeon 4650HD, HD display with Facial Recognition, Blu-ray and 2.53Ghz processor. Still, it's pretty comparable, especially to my FW.
@Al.O.
I'd say one reason it is cheap is because the display is not Full HD. However Apple should lower their prices a bit... especially on the polycarbonate MacBook.
@imacmatt09 Ya, but then the only macbook to have a 1080p screen is the 17", and that starts at $2400, which you'd be hard pressed to even get this close to.
@Mark
Yeah I know the only one to have it is the 17 incher. This one is also 17 inches that's why I mentioned it.
@Mark Hmm thinking about that a bit more, that could be exactly what you're saying. Still, though, as I noted below, this can be specified to superior specs in almost every way to the 15" macbook pro for the same cost, and with a multitouch screen.
@Mark
Haha well it's Apple what do you expect? Though the build quality is probably a lot better on the MacBook though... but I've never used this machine so who knows...
@imacmatt09 Yeah the build quality on the 17" MBP is spectacular. I was practically scared to touch that thing in Best Buy. It's smooth to the touch and it's well built. I don't know why that justifies such a high price if a Studio 17" is has an equal build quality, Blu-ray, and discrete HD graphics, but hey, what're you gonna do? =\
@N900
You pay for the name. Just like designer clothing. I'm saying this as a Mac user. I don't like the high prices but I do like OS X.
@imacmatt09 Amen to that, you definitely get what you pay for.
@Al.O.
Whoa! Have I stumbled upon an alternate universe?
A civilized discussion about Apple vs PC and a very nice redesign to the comments. This is engadget, right? I really like what I'm seeing.
touch screen? not a tablet?
The Studio line have shiny screens though, so I don't know what the result of this modification will be... Doesn't say it's a matte screen either.
@Chasethebase
English isn't your first language is it?
@imacmatt09 Point being?
@MoNo
Just saying...
@imacmatt09 I actually take offense at that. I have no reason to see why you would assume such a thing.
I'm thinking you're one of those people whom love to comment about /every/ little mistake in people's comments.
The iPod Touch has a shiny screen and no one has ever really complained greatly about it.
@Teerim I think that's because it is easy to wipe the screen on such a small device.
@Andrew Kim The style of gloss on the iPt's screen is different to the Studio's screen. The Studio has the sort of screen that is hard to clean.
Dell actually offering DISCRETE graphics? Wow.
Anyways, I really like the Studio line.
Huh, from configuring it to my specs(2.8GHz Core2Duo, 4GB DDR3 1066, 1GB Radeon Mobility HD 4650, slot loading bluray drive, wireless n, backlit keyboard), it still costs about the same as the 15" basic macbook pro, but with some far better specs and multitouch display. The prices on this thing are pretty damn reasonable.
@Mark How's that screen on this studio working out for ya?
@DoorsnotWindows Hmm? You mean the one with the same resolution as the 15" MBP that I was comparing it to?
ya for the studio and studio xps line.
Bring it to the Studio XP 13 and bring it to Europe. And I´ll be fine :)
I own a Studio 15 and I'm quite content with it. The only issues I have with it is that it breaks apart very easily and I'm often having to send it back. I think it's awesome that the Studio now has a touch screen but I don't know if it would be worth investing in.
I usually use my Studio 15 for school and it's quite heavy enough already including my books and notebooks. The Studio 17 isn't something I would like to carry around. For my purposes as a student, I think that if they had a Studio 15 with a touchscreen I'd be going for that, but I don't see use in having a 17 inch laptop with a touchscreen?
It would be nice if someone could give me some thoughts on why you would want a 17 inch touchscreen laptop, as I'm not quite sure. Perhaps if it were a tablet PC but otherwise, 17 inches is a bit much in my opinion.
That said, the prices are very reasonable for a very decent laptop. You can get a Studio, as MarcusMaximus has kindly shown, for about the same price as a 15" Macbook Pro that would perform far better. Really only one thing keeps the Studio from being ideal, and that is my poor experience with build quality. Hinges fail miserably, and the outer plastic that holds the screen in place literally snap apart, as they aren't screwed down just snapped on.
That's my 2 cents.
@meisterdondon I guess that is the really big question here, have they improved the build quality for this. At any rate, I'm not really in the market for a new laptop so it doesn't really make much of a difference to me, but it is fun looking up how things stack up.
@meisterdondon Well, the only reason I have a 17" laptop is for use as a desktop replacement. The screen's big enough for watching videos and the ATI graphics are bad-ass for games. None of this is as present on my Extensa, and plus it's 14.1 inches, so that's the one I take to work and school with me. The 17 incher I have is a Sony Vaio FW, and while the screen size is around 16.5 (16.4 I think), it's still not the laptop I prefer to carry around. Plus the battery life is around 3.5 hours so unless I'm near a plug, I won't last, especially with High Performance settings and 10 second slide show on Windows 7. Also, this thing is pretty damn hot to boot, so I keep that thing at home. I do see people on campus with 17" MBP's, but I don't know; it just feels like a lot to carry around IMO.
I'm running 1920x1200 on a 15" display and my eyes aren't the greatest. I can't imagine getting a 17" monitor with a lower resolution than that...
@Fanfoot A lower resolution/bigger screen usually makes things bigger and easier to see if you have bad vision.
@Fanfoot
I second that. 1920x1200 or 1080 for 17"+ in my opinion.
Sexy. I love the Studio line.
What your laptop really needs...finger smudges.
A 17 inch makes a nice desktop replacement without losing the portability. My wife owns a Studio 17 and only needs to take it some place occasionally. It's a nice model that didn't cost a whole lot even with decent specs. Don't really need multitouch though.
Nobody cares about or wants to use Touch. Plus the Windows 7 version works poorly. No wonder Dell revenues are down 50%. Here's a tip Dell, instead of gimmicks make quality products and support. It just might work.
@Terry Are you joking? I've used multitouch Windows 7 on numerous computers and I can tell you pulled that little anecdote out of your ass. Have you tried it on a HP Touchsmart TX2 convertible? It's PERFECT for graphic designers/artists in general. Even if you just wanna fuck around with the multitouch, you won't be disappointed.
@Terry "Nobody cares about or wants to use Touch"
Ya, the current state of the smartphone market can tell you that pretty clearly, eh?
@Terry This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion.
Lol
this will greatly improve my hentai flash game experience