---> OFFICIAL: Dell STUDIO 14z Owner's Lounge <---

MOVED FROM XPS AND XPS STUDIO FORUM

Officially released with nice specs:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-studio-14z?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

NEW DELL STUDIO 14z LAPTOP PERFECT POWERHOUSE FOR ONLINE GENERATION

· Thin, cool design for those who download media from online

· Powerful, mobile entertainment system combines HD resolution screen with great audio and 500GB1 hard drive option

ROUND ROCK, Texas, May 28, 2009 – For the generation that has grown up with the Internet and can find just about anything online, the new Dell Studio 14z laptop makes it easy to carry their digital world with them. Designed for students and others on the go who demand the perfect balance of mobility and performance, the Studio 14z is a homework-busting system by day and an entertainment powerhouse by night.

It features a svelte design and a huge 500GB1 hard drive option that can store up to 125,000 songs, 142,000 photos or 133 DVD quality movies2. The Studio 14z allows people to watch their favorite movies and TV shows, listen to streaming music with friends, store a vast MP3 collection and socially network from just about anywhere3.

The Studio 14z is the industry's first consumer laptop available with FailSafe™ theft prevention. This option helps protect personal data should the laptop go missing or be stolen. With Failsafe engaged, owners can track network information and the ISP location of the laptop when it connects to the Internet, and get help to remotely erase selected files and render the laptop unusable until the rightful owner unlocks it.

"Young people have grown up with the Internet and can find almost everything they need online." said Michael Tatelman, vice president of Dell's global consumer sales and marketing. "They want a slim, easy-to-carry laptop and like the choice of a larger hard drive over an optical drive. The Studio 14z has the storage and speed that most people need, and it comes with color options that let them truly express who they are."

The Studio 14z comes in six colors: Black Chain Link, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Plum Purple, Ruby Red and Promise Pink (U.S. only). Dell will donate $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® from the purchase of each Promise Pink laptop.

The new laptop also comes with Dell Remote Access4; the optional premium version allows people to access content via their home network of personal computing devices including desktops, laptops, ultra-mobile devices, smart phones and web cameras.

Priced from $649 U.S., the Studio 14z is available now online and over the phone in the U.S. and Canada.

The News:

· New Dell Studio 14z laptop sports a stylish, thin (0.79–1.2-inches) design for students and digital downloaders who want a combination of power and exceptional mobility

· Energy-efficient, mercury-free, 14-inch 16:9 LED display with HD resolution (720p/ 900p)

· Intel® Pentium® Dual Core, and Intel Core™ 2 Duo standard voltage processors up to T9550 (2.66GHz, 1066Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)

· Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 9400M graphics5

· Digital Video/Audio via HDMI and DisplayPort

· Standard 1.3MP webcam with dual digital array mics

· Starting weight of 4.3 pounds6

· Standard FastAccess™ Facial Recognition Software to help prevent unauthorized access to your computer

· Optional Phoenix Failsafe™ Theft Protection to help protect laptop and data in event of theft

· Advanced touchpad control to help improve productivity

· 4W, SRS®, 2.0 Audio w/ discrete tweeters and dual headphone jacks

· Up to 500GB1 HDD capacity

· Optional 8:1 Media Card Reader via 34mm Express Card slot

· Six-cell battery standard, optional slim design 8-cell battery for up to 6:46 hours of battery life with WLED display option7

· Standard Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth® and mobile broadband to connect anywhere3

· eSATA connectivity for high speed data transfer rate (up to 6X USB 2.0)

· PowerShare - Charge your USB-connected cell phone and other mobile devices via the USB 2.0/eSATA combo port even when you're unplugged from a power outlet

· Optional external optical drive options (DVD+/-RW, Blu-ray Disc™ read-only and read-write drives)

 

Lol. Yeah i'm interested in this too.

Most 14-inch notebooks have an optical drive though (Acer Timeline 4810t). Even a standard drive would fit here as it isn't really thin per say. You would definitely be able to get a slot-loading one in this chassis. It's thicker then the Macbook it's targeting. But I don't mind the omission at this price. I guess it's the main thing differentiating it from the SXPS 13. I wish the port arrangements were better though.

The tapered front/rounded edges make it look like a larger netbook at this thickness (including the screen bezel). Consequently the new Lenovo U350 is thinner with better port arrangements.
Albeit the performance seems solid enough. Hope this makes it to the UK though without that much of an increase in price.

 

Dell really messed up on this one. It's a 14" Studio series laptop, which is designed for multimedia, and yet it doesn't have an optical drive, which is odd to begin with among 14" notebooks.

The hardware options are generally pretty weak and overpriced, as well. The standard processor is a Pentium Dual Core, and there are only two Core 2 Duo options to upgrade to. Standard memory is 3GB DDR3, the only other option being a $400 upgrade to 5GB.

I think this overall configuration would have been better off as an Inspiron than a Studio.

 

Lol. Wikipedia called it: "The Studio 14 model is considered as a poor performer. Apart from poor build quality there are a lot of engineering defects in its frame."

I'm shocked that this 14" laptop doesn't have a DVD Drive? Is this the first 14" laptop that doesn't have an optical drive? In my opinion having to haul around an external drive is not really "portability."

I agree, the Inspiron 14 needs an overhaul and this would have fit the bill, minus the missing optical drive.

 

i think wikipedia is referring to the older studio 14" laptop that was discontinued, the 1435 or something iirc

 

They updated the hardware to include the P8600 and the T9550 since this morning. Not a good start when they don't include the highest processors offered until a few hours after its advertised on gizmodo and engadget.

 

I thought so...I wasn't entirely sure.

 

hope this comes out in the UK soon, I was going to get the 1537 but the 14z suits my needs.

 

That's good, at least.

But still, no optical drive in a 14" laptop, and a media laptop at that? Absurd. Optical drives usually stop showing up in 12" netbooks, not 14" compact notebooks. >_<

 

who wrote this commentary for studio 14, thats very insightful.
must bump thread.

 

Lol. I'm also not impressed with the graphics option given.

 

As far as chipset-integrated graphics go, the 9400M G is way better than any Intel solutions, even the highly regarded 4500MHD. It's a real graphics card, but fully integrated. And assuming nVidia learned their lesson from the 8400M GS/8600M GT fiasco with the XPS M1330 and M1530, it should be an excellent integrated card. Performance better than the old 8400M GS, without melting itself after six months.

I actually wish the original Studio models (15 and 17) had nVidia graphics options rather than ATi. nVidia mobile driver support is miles ahead of AMD/ATi's.

Also, why is it the Studio 14z? What the 'z' supposed to mean?

 

Ok, that's better. I didn't know much about it. If it can outperform the 4500MHD then it really deserves to be recognized as a great Integrated graphics solution. The HD3200 is junk and probably doesn't even compare to the 9400M G. I am really crossing my fingers that I don't run into any problems with this 8400M. It would ultimately be nice if they could implement high end graphics with the power saving features of integrated setups. Technology FTW.

I'm not sure about the "z." All I know is that there was a previous Studio 14. Maybe they added the "z" to signify a revamped version?

 

we might see a studio 14 soon...
like 10 and 10v

 

I know the old 8400M GS was pretty much on par with the ATi 3450 that the older Studio 15's have, but due to an inherent design flaw (one that nVidia only noticed too late), they have an extremely high failure rate. Dell even extended the GPU warranty coverage on affected models by one year for free. So, if you had the 1 year bog standard warranty, your GPU would be covered for 2 years, since it was most likely going to fail at some point. Likewise, if you got the full blown 4 year warranty, your GPU would be covered for a whopping 5 years.

So, the 8400M GS was basically the nVidia equivalent of our ATi 3450...it performed very much the same...while it worked. I assume this new 9400M G is a step up from that, and from what I've read, doesn't have all the heat issues of its predecessor.

The Dell support page does have drivers for a Studio 1435 (this new 14z is model number 1440). I believe it's only sold in India at the moment. If you check the Dell India page, it should be there.

 

LOL OWNER's Lounge? It just was announced today.

Anyway I would love one. I was JUST looking, for the future, something like the macbook. Thin and light. I'd prefer something uniform in thickness though.

I want something powerful that's really portable. Something that will last for a long time for basic things.

Can anyone guesstimate what this will be like in 6 months? Disc drive? Thinner? Color choices/design studio?

 

I think you pretty much nailed it.

 

I've done a little research and here's what I found-

Studio 14 (original 14.1" not sold in U.S.)- 1435
Studio 14z- 1440

The 1435 was basically a 14.1" of the 1535 (with many of the same shortcomings). The 1440 looks to be a basically clean-sheet design.

I swore off Dell consumer laptops after my experience with the Studio 1535 (three warranty repairs and returned in even worse shape after each one)! I've got a Latitude E6400 that I'm much happier with now.

But the new 14z is very tempting. I'll give it a few months to work out most of the gremlins inherent of a new model. Then I may end up ordering one...

The 1600x900 (900p) display is the first one I've seen on a 14.0". It's also the first time I've seen a notebook with both an HDMI port AND DisplayPort.

 

You know what I'm really looking for is a computer that's portable, light, like the macbook, and something that could last (at least theoretically based on the tech specs) for at least 5 years after a nuclear devestated world leaves us with no more new computers. So yeah just saw Terminator Salvation heh..

 

ThinkPad T400, perhaps? Or even an X301/X200s? Post-apocalypse, it'll be Cher, cockroaches and ThinkPads left....

 

Here's a better way of describing what I mean..
we are like 30 years past when PC's became popular.. and have amazing tech
it would be AMAZING if teleported back in time 20 years.. but for some reason I always feel like we're in the same spot.. laggy stuff and freezes etc..

Is there a way to make my computer have an environment like from 1993? I'd love to see how fast it is with that kind of software

 

You could run VMWare Server and load up some emulation of Windows 3.1.

Of course general purpose computers are going to have problems, they are run by large, complicated operating systems made to run hundreds of pieces of hardware in thousands of different configurations with many different software. Vista has like over 50 million lines of code.

 

Yeah... it'd be interesting to see what today's hardware would be like with yesteryear's software. As if there was no windows 95 or 98 etc..

 

On Dell Canada website I can't order an external DVD bruner/reader with the studio 14... How am I supposed to install applications/operating system if I don't have a DVD player???

 

you should probably get that somewhere else

on another computer burn the dvd to an image file, mount it on the 14z

 

Will Dell go along with the upgrade plans for Win 7? I mean, they've been complaining a lot about the price recently.
If they do, I'd also need a detailed explanation on how to upgrade the 14z from Vista the most stable way.
Which reminds me, do people with Vista have to do a clean install or is there an upgrade path? I'm talking about the RTM/GA, not the RC.

 

If you have access to another computer, with a DVD drive, then I would install a virtual drive tool, like Daemon Tools, to create a virtual DVD drive. Then, use the computer with the actual drive to rip DVD's and CD's into ISO files, and then just copy them over to the Studio 14z via USB stick or external HDD.

 

Studio 1440's drivers and downloads page is up.

http://support.ap.dell.com/support/...ServiceTag=&SystemID=STUDIO1440&os=WLH&osl=EN

 

can't understand the hostility here. have you read and understood the specs? the options are great, gpu and cpu power is decent, price is right. i'll wait for a review that describes build, heat and noise and to will have to be patient for this to limp into the UK 6 months late (at a nicely inflated markup) but it should still be the only true vaio z alternative, at half the price, exactly what i'm looking for

btw - optical drives are RELIC

 

why it has the "Z" in 14z

 

It's not hostility. We are merely pointing out the things we do not like about what is being offered. People should do the same for everything they buy so they can make the best purchasing decision. If this fits what you want (and if the reviews show it to be solid), it'll be a great laptop.

btw - 16:9 screens are great for movies. Lack of an optical drive does seem to waste its potential. But that's just me.

 

I'm really excited about this laptop and I can't wait for the reviews to come out on build quality and heat management. The second highest CPU option is the sweet spot being the only 25W TDP CPU available.

As for those mentioning the lack of DVD drive, please go elsewhere if this machine does not suit you. Just because you want laptops to have optical drives doesn't mean they are all required to have one. I don't even have an optical drive on my desktop and I'm glad they're starting to go away more and more.

 

Take a look at the photos of the left side ( LINK)

Over half the length of the left side is a vent, so I'm hoping it will be a cool running machine!

 

What do people think about the "spring green" color offered by this new 14z?

 

Honestly? It almost has a urine-yellow tint to it (although the hue may be to very different in person). The current line-up of colors is not very impressive, IMO. The Midnight Blue and Ruby Red are decent, but the Black Chainlink is my favorite. The Plum Purple will be a hit with females, as will the Promise Pink (looks like Pepto-Bismol, but for a VERY GOOD CAUSE!).

The Studio 15 was available in Tangerine Orange until the update recently to the 1555 model. That was a LOUD color!

I think a Gray or Silver tone would look very good on the 14z. Are you listening Dell???

 

14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera/Facial Recognition SW

vs

14.0” High Definition+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera/Facial Recognition SW

What's about the Bright LED ? Is it better ?

and without the DVD drive... how am i supposed to install an fresh OS ?! Boot from USB Stick I guess?

 

just a quick question, does the studio 14z come with the vista OEM install discs, or do I have to ask Dell for those?

I'm really planning to buy one of those and will definately get an external DVD drive for it. I agree its completely useless when moving around with the computer, but every apps/games I buy come in DVDs

 

It most likely won't come with the disks by default, even if you get an external DVD drive with the system. If that's the case, then just talk to Dell customer service and explain. They should overnight the disks to you free of charge.

 

Does that work for Sony as well? My girlfriend recently brought a VAIO laptop, is it possible to ask Sony to send the OEM vista installation disc for free?

 

thx for the info

I was hoping they'd send it to me, but no one has received their studio 14 yet to confirm!

to ian, there's no reason sony would charge you for Vista instal discs, you payed for them.

 

I have no experience with Sony, but I don't see why they wouldn't.

 

Looking at the pictures, anybody else notice the tiny speakers? I wonder how they will sound when compared to the Studio 15?

 

Those are separate "discrete tweeters" the actual speakers are in the front.

 

Well Sony doesnt send an OEM vista disk. I have contacted them and they say its not their policy. I told them that thats ok, I also have a Dell E6400 and so have a Vista disk that I can use. I also told the Sony tech guy, that in future I would not recommend a sony vaio Z to any of my friends because of their ever so awesome service..

 

So is there a huge difference in the 700p and 900p screens?

 

That's a damn shame. You can always buy a replacement disk from Microsoft directly for $10 if you verify your product key with them.

 

The 720p display has a resolution of 1366x768 (1366 horizontal pixels & 768 vertical pixels) for a total pixel count of 1,049,088.

The 900p display has a resolution of 1600x900 for a total pixel count of 1,440,000 (or 390,912 more than the 720p).

The 900p has about 37% more pixels than the 720p, so you have more "desktop real estate" (more viewable area). You'll be able to see more in the same 14.0" area with the 900p. Text and icons will be smaller by a corresponding amount, however.

In terms of video quality, it's my understanding that there isn't a great difference in these two. That only comes with 1080p (1920x1080), which is only found on 15.6" and larger models.

 

Wouldn't the text and icons become too small for 1600x900 in 14.0" inch screen?

 

I wouldn't imagine it to be much smaller than current 1440 x 900 14.1in screens.

Hell, Lenovo's Thinkpad x300 and x301 use 1440 x 900 on a 13in and Sony uses 1600 x 900 on their 13in Z series.

1600 x 900 on 14in is perfectly viewable.

 

I asked a Dell guy on the chat service and he told me the vista install discs do not come with the studio 14z, but you can call dell and they'll send it for free.

Also asked him why the external DVD drive were not available as an option on the canadian store, he had no idea why.