New Studio Laptop Line from Dell - Core 2 Duo 15” from $799, Core 2 Duo 17” from $999

[购物指南]

Dell.ca has just launched a new line of notebooks dubbed the Studio Line. It looks like these laptops sit between the Inspiron and XPS lines, but take on some of the frills and design aspects of the higher end XPS design such as tapered edges, slot loading optical drives, rounded hinges, and more. There's also a new set of colours to choose from and many configuration options. The launch prices look very reasonable. An early review at NotebookReview.com gives the Studio 17 an Editor's choice award. Sounds good to us! Let's have a look at the specs:

First up is the Studio 15 (15.4" model) with a base price of $799:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)/li>
• Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1/li>
• Anti-glare, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)/li>
• Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam/li>
• 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz/li>
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)/li>
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100/li>
• 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)/li>
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card/li>
• 56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)/li>
• High Definition Audio 2.0/li>
• Back-lit Keyboard/li>
• Biometric Fingerprint Reader/li>
• Microsoft Works

Some interesting highlights are the inclusion of Vista Premium, an integrated 2MP camera and back-lit keyboard. If you're looking for upgrades options a T8100 processor will set you back an extra $100, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 video card can be had for $100, a higher resolution, brighter, thinner LED backlit display (1440x900) can be had for $150, and a 1920x1200 resolution upgrade (no LED option) is just $50.

Moving on, we come to the Studio 17 (17" Notebook) which starts at $999.

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
• Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1
• Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch WLED display (1440x900)
• Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
• 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
• 56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
• High Definition Audio
• Microsoft Works
• Back-lit Keyboard

Upgrades of note for the Studio 17 include a 1920x1200 display upgrade for $50, a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 video card for $100 and a 6X Slot Load Bluray Combo Drive (BD Read Only) for $200. Be sure to check out some of the case colour options such as plum purple ($0) or graphite grey with various trim colours for $30.

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