Dell Launches Studio 14z Comments

This laptop has some really nice options but a few major issues for me as well. I like all the options for the CPU (I'd go with a Core2Duo P8600) and hard drive. The fact that it has an LED backlit screen and you have the option of having a backlit keyboard is really nice. It also has great battery life.

However the lack of an optical drive and the fact that the screen only comes in a glossy finish (I don't know why this is so popular, I HATE glossy screens) is a deal breaker for me at that price ($1039 after adding the upgrades I'd want). I'd rather just save $500-600 and buy another netbook.

It has 1gb soldered to the motherboard and then two ram slots hence the odd number

I can understand a 10-inch netbook not having space for an optical drive, but surely a 14-inch machine can afford the space..?

Just proves how good the engineering has been on some of the smaller beasts out there - Yes Sony T-series, i'm looking at you :)

Optical drive is more or less irrelevant these days. Most people would find wireless N, gigabith ethernet port and USB to be far more useful points for loading data than a noise and relatively slow opticla drive.

Plus this thing has 1600 x 900 screen at 14", which is pretty damn good. All in a 1.95 lb package? Hell I'll be looking at these carefully next time I have to buy a laptop.

I'll admit that the weight and overall size is impressive, as is the screen resolution, but I like having a disc drive for when I travel so I can watch DVD's and install software/copy music to my Zune player without having to lug around an external drive. Personally I'd rather it weigh a little more and have a nice slot loading DVD drive.

I guess for anyone who doesn't need a disc drive very often it would work well, and I do love Dell laptops. And this is completely personal opinion but the glossy screen alone is a deal breaker for me. I know some people like it, but I don't and I wish companies would offer a choice of glossy or anti-glare coating.

The primary use of my optical drive is to rip music. So it is not THAT big of a deal that notebooks are eschewing it.

Although I would still feel a little uncomfortable not having it when I go out.

It's hardly irrelevent Kanu, many pieces of software still only come on CD/DVD and external DVD drives aren't something you're likely to have around (because manufacturers don't bundle them with this sort of machine) and tend to be ridiculously overcharged for.

In theory, you can share the DVD drive of an existing computer but like a lot of networking stuff it can be a nightmare to set up.

Is this ever going to come to the UK?