14z questions and comments

I am very interested in the 14z and decided to swing by Best Buy this evening to check it out. While I did like the laptop overall, it wasn't a total win for me. I thought the keyboard was a bit mushy (flex), the palm rest had some flex, and the screen had some issues. The screen is the part that worries me the most (the 14z that I was looking at had the lower res screen). While the screen wasn't grainy (a problem that has plagued most other Dell laptops that I have used), text was difficult to read (low contrast?) and colors looked a bit muted. I am sure the overhead lights and glossy screen didn't help much, but I am hoping that the higher res screen ("900p") is a step up in quality, not just resolution. Does anyone have any experience with both screens? Does anyone have the official specs for either screen?

Thanks!

 

Meaningful specs on Dell displays are nearly impossible to find. Some others, Lenovo especially, publish their maximum brightness (nits) and other specs that are useful in comparing them.

The only thing I was able to find about the 14z displays was their pixel pitch (aka- dot pitch). That is the distance between each pixel- smaller numbers equal crisper image quality. The standard 1366x768 display is 0.2265mm and the 1600x900 display is 0.1935mm. So that would indicate that the higher resolution display will have superior image quality.

 

Please don't create hundreds of threads on the same subject. There's an official Studio 14z thread, post all your questions there. Thanks!

 

do the colors for example plum purple come glossy on the outside or is it matte?

 

The Black Chainlink is a glossy finish with an embossed pattern. The other colors (Red, Blue, Green, Purple & Pink) are a matte finish.

 

Even with the flex issues, it's still an awesome laptop for the price. The flex on both the keyboard and the palm rest is minor. If you get passed the flex, you'll find that the keyboard is pretty good!

The laptop on display probably had an LG screen. Those are known to have lower quality than the Samsung/AUO screens. I have an LG screen (going to try and exchange it for an AOU screen tomorrow) and it is a bit grainy with washed out colors. I hear the AUO screen is very nice, though. I don't have any specs, but people say that the 900p screen is a modest step up in quality.