Dell launches a rainbow of $799 customizable notebooks
As part of its ongoing effort to seize back the initiative in PC sales, Dell today rolled out its Studio 15 and Studio 17 line-ups, a series of personalizable notebook PCs available in a variety of colors.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - The range of personalization choices for Dell's latest Studio series laptops starts with the laptop case but extends across drive and wireless options, Dell officials said, during a briefing for BetaNews at press preview in New York in May. Information about the laptops was held under press embargo until Thursday morning.
With prices starting at $799, these Intel Core 2 Duo CPU-based, Windows Vista-equipped PCs include Blu-ray drives, HDMI ports for sharing Blu-ray content on external TVs, integrated webcams, and a wide variety of wireless capabilities across Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile broadband.
Dell is offering both Studio notebooks in colors that include "Jet Black, Graphite Grey, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Flamingo Pink, Tangerine Orange, Plum Purple, and Ruby Red," BetaNews was told. The grey notebooks are available with either black, blue, pink, or red trim.
The Dell Studio 15 notebooks come standard with 15.4-inch XGA (1280x800) glossy (TrueLife) displays. But options include XGA+ (1400x900) and UXGA (1920x1200) displays. Built into the PCs are four USB 2.0 ports, plus ports for HDMI, IEEE 1394a, gigabit Ethernet, ExpressCard, one microphone, and two headphones. The notebooks also come with consumer IR, a SIM socket two mini card slots, one half mini card slot.
The Studio 17 PCs come standard with 17-inch WXGA+ (1440x900) displays, with higher resolution WUXGA and WXGA+ LED options also available. The larger notebooks also add a fifth USB 2.0 slot.
Other options and built-in features for the Studio 15 and Studio 17 are about the same in both notebook series. These PCs ship with up to 4 GB Dual Channel SDRAM memory; 5400 RPM hard drives, with up to 320 GB capacity; an 8-in-1 Flash memory reader; integrated 802.11 b/g and gigabit Ethernet wireless; and a 6-cell Li-ion battery, with a 9-cell battery optionally available.
Users can choose from between Vista Home Premium SP1 or Vista Ultimate SP1. Other options include a Blu-ray disc Drive combo; a Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth mini-card; and, in the US only, Dell wireless EV-DO cards for Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
As previously reported, also at the press event in May, Dell publicly unveiled a series of Special Art Edition Inspiron notebooks, as a likely launchpad for additional customized, build-to-order laptop covers some time down the road.