DellStudio14z
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Dell Studio 14z hands-on
We got a quick look at Dell's new Studio 14z thin-and-light, budget-friendly laptop, and were mildly impressed. The thing is lighter than it looks, has a great blend of performance, price, inputs and outputs, and doesn't even look too frumpy to boot. The chiclet-ish keyboard is fine, though not great, and while the lack of Studio XPS-style leather frills and capacitive touch controls might be seen as a drawback to some, we actually like the no-nonsense approach. The inclusion of HDMI, eSATA and an ExpressCard 34 slot are pretty clutch for this form factor and price, and while a cheap external drive might be necessary for occasional use at the desk, the removal of it makes total sense for the target audience of students. Perhaps most astonishing, however, is that Dell has finally figured out that people care what the bottom of their computer looks and feels like -- and this one feels great. It's a whole new world, people.
Dell stays vivacious with Studio 14z, gets going at $649
Go 'head with your bad self, Dell! The colorful Studio line is expanding this fine morning, with the newest member rocking a slightly unorthodox 14-inch (LED) display size. Designed for hipster students and those at the top of the computing bell curve, this perfectly average portable offers up Core 2 Duo CPU options, 720 / 900p screen resolutions, integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, HDMI / DisplayPort outputs, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, dual headphone jacks, up to 500GB of HDD space, a 34mm ExpressCard slot, six-cell battery (an optional eight-cell will last over six hours), WiFi, optional Bluetooth and even an external Blu-ray drive if you're feeling frisky. Supposedly the machine will be available to order later today in the US and Canada, with prices starting at $649.
