Dell Studio 15 First Thoughts Review Discussion

The Dell Studio 15 is a fittingly named 15.4" screen multimedia notebook targeted at those who want a nicely designed system that can dual as a very capable computer for work needs and as an entertainment system during those times you want to unwind and enjoy something like a movie.

Read the full content of this Article: Dell Studio 15 First Thoughts Review

 

I'd really consider one if it had a better video card than the ATI 3450.

 

It's kind of bulky and the video card isn't all that great!

 

Bulky? It's one of the thinner Dell 15" notebooks in comparison to the E1505 and Inspiron 1500. And the XPS 1530 still has a greater back thickness at 0.9-1.38" in comparison to the 1.0-1.3" of the Studio 15.

Too bad these don't come with the new Montevina platform...

 

It's no bulkier than any other 15" out there. I guess if you're comparing it to a smaller laptop you'd have a case though. As admlam says, it's certainly more svelte than what we've seen from Dell in the past in this sized category.

 

That clock on your sidebar, black with white lettering... did that come preinstalled? If not, where can I get it? Looks so much better than the typical clock.

I can almost guarantee the Studio line will replace Inspiron. Both are lower-end models with very cheap graphics cards.

 

these look much more sharper than inspiron line. Dell is pumping out some real nice notebooks lately. i can't wait till they release the new latitude line.

 

I cant wait to hear about the sound quality.

If you can, could you relate it to the XPS M1530's quality? The 1530 should be superior to it..

 

Quite the contrary actually, the 1530's speakers were terrible, the Studio 15speakers, i hope, will be far superior.

 

Not impressed of it.

 

This isn't even a review, its just the first look.
How can a few paragraphs make up your mind?

 

The sound quality is bafflingly bad, I don't remember the XPS M1530 sound quality, but I can't imagine it being worse. The speakers are scratchy and tinny sounding.

 

The Studio 15 speakers are terrible. I found them unlistenable after
just a few minutes. I've heard better cell phone speakers.

Rob

 

It's not a very pretty laptop. It's kind of plain, especially on the sides and behind the keyboard.

 

Andrew, thanks for the first look article,

I'd like to know if Dell plans to release a 14.1" studio notebook.

 

What battery does it come with? Looks like a 6-cell since it's not sticking out. I read a review over on electronista.com and their 6-cell studio 15 ran for 4 hrs which is quite impressive. They don't really give any details on how they achieved it, but even with wifi off, low brightness, etc. that's pretty good for any 15" lappy. Theirs was an LED screen model...just wondering how yours compares after intial use.

 

I JUST received my Studio 15 after a 4 week build-time. I had been anxiously awaiting it and was really excited to get it when it arrived only and my purchase was based on the reviews I had read on CNET and from what I could gather from other sources (youtube being one of them - go figure).

Well - needless to say I was initially impressed with the laptop at first. It turned right on, fired into Vista, connected to my wlan and was working great. That's where my DELL experience begins!!

I noticed that the battery said charging and that it was at 19%. After 2 hours of use, it still said charging and 19%. So I decided to let it charge overnight. Well 8 hours later. It STILL said charging and 19%. So I decided to call DELL tech support. They did a few things after taking control via Citrix and then their recommendation was to get customer service and request an exchange.

So I call customer service and they tell me that only tech-support can initiate an exchange and they transfer me. Then Tech support AGAIN tells me that customer service does exchanges. This time the agent even stayed on the phone with me as they transferred. ONce she was satisfied that I was connected to the right person, she dropped off, and left me with this customer service person. After a few questions, she ends up telling me tech support has to initiate exchanges!!!!!!!!

At this point I hung up, called Dell and initiated a return. This was my first DELL laptop ever and it is now my last! I don't care how good the product is/was/can-be, if they can't solve the simplest of matters, I'd question how well they can handle major ones.

 

Nice review! But I think I will stick with my 1530

 

That sucks man!

This doesn't sound like the horror histories of HP but, still sucks...

Better luck with your next notebook.

 

Wow that is pathetic. The M1530 actually had quite bad speakers, fairly loud but distorted above 60% or so. But sounds like the Studio 15 is even worse than this.. and possibly the worst speakers in a 15 inch?? I dont know why Dell is skimping so much on the speakers, HP is using Altec Lansing and there are Toshibas with Harmon Kardon.. this is really a big selling point for me and this is pathetic!

 

^ Asus has lappers with Altec Lansings too.

I can see how gamers would disappointed in this laptop, but I think there is a big market out there for it. This is perfect for someone with a budget looking for a laptop they can use as a media center. The HDMI is a big deal, IMO. A lot of laptops in this price range do not offer that. NBR has a consumer base different from what is most common, IMO. So maybe this won't be very popular here, I think it will be a good-seller for Dell.

 

I saw the studio 15 at staples and wasn't really impressed with it. The case seemed very strong but there was too much flex in the key board. I think CNET was right that you'd be better off saving up for an XPS.
But I am sure it will find many happy owners.

 

A friend of mine asked me to order one for him. Now I would really like to see additional images of the unit, especially the different colours and that 'Topo' design they're offering. A google image search did not turn up much and the dell site only has this small flash animation with the tiny pictures.

Could anyone point me to images of the Studio 15 and its different colours? That'd be great!

 

[ORIGINAL - A friend of mine asked me to order one for him. Now I would really like to see additional images of the unit, especially the different colours and that 'Topo' design they're offering. A google image search did not turn up much and the dell site only has this small flash animation with the tiny pictures.

Could anyone point me to images of the Studio 15 and its different colours? That'd be great!]


If you go through the build process online, you can see the various colors and configurations. At this time, they only have the one topographical image for the touch pad - it's pretty subtle. Speaker sound is TERRIBLE.

 

try this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=269804&page=2

 

Thank you! You guys are the best!

 

To be honest, I wouldn't let poor built in speakers deter you from buying anything. If you are in any situation where sound quality matters at all, you're going to need to use headphones or desktop speakers anyway. Watch me swallow my words when my actual studio gets here, but I'm not too concerned about tinny sound from built in laptop speakers.

 

I'm currently waiting for my Studio 15.

It really angers me that it takes so long for Dell to ship out their laptops when they are the #1 laptop distributor. It comes to a point where they need to start building in the US or find ways to speed up the process. Taking advantage of people in other countries and paying them crap is wrong.

4-5 weeks to build a laptop and send it is ridiculous. But that just may be my patience at its low point talking. I want my Studio 15 now!


Nice mini-review by the way.

 

AGREED.

i just ordered a studio 15.

when choosing my 1st ever laptop, speakers are of the least concerned thing for me. i'm more concerned that i do not have to pay extra for the branded built-in speakers since i'm going to buy myself a set of great speakers with subwoofers anyways.

even though if the built-in speakers are good, how loud could u get (without affecting the sound quality) from them?

 

Well speaking of the sound quality, I say this coming from my first laptop and also experience with the M1530's speakers.

To me, the quality matters, I'm not going to be using my laptop in a set location most of the time, in fact I'll probably be using my laptop in my living room and around the house a lot, so having stationary speakers is not really an option for me, since I'll still want to be able to watch videos and such when I'm around the house. Also, because the audio output is in the front, it gets in the way of typing if you have a wire connected there.

Right now I'm using a Vaio FS740, and the speakers are OK but not loud enough. Its just annoying because they cannot project enough to hear if there is background noise going on. With the M1530 that I had, the volume would get very tingy and frankly unlistenable at 60% or so max volume, below that it was decent quality.. sometimes being distorted with certain pitches. The volume was actually good, but since it was unlistenable above 60% that just negated it. If the Studio's speakers are worse than that, I can only assume its pretty much unlistenable most of hte time

 

I think the speakers in my M1330 are terrible as well, is this a Dell trademark? Even my Gateway had better speakers.

 

It's not an impossible task to get decent sound in a laptop. Anyone who
doubts this should listen to a Toshiba with Harman Kardon speakers.
They are very listenable over extended periods of time.

Rob

 

Call me crazy but why do people use the laptop speakers? Even adding $15 on the price and grabbing the Creative EP630 in ears would be a better option. Laptop speakers always sound horrible, even in the absolute best of cases. Even at home use I'd rather just plug in headphones or in ears and not bother others around or not have to listen to the horrible sound quality.

As for the graphics options. Look at where this unit is positioned. The HD3450 is much better than Intel integrated and surpasses every other option out there in the price range. You can currently order a Studio 15 for $754 (with free shipping) that has the HD3450, back lit keyboard, 3GB of memory, and 320GB hard drive options included. That's OUTSTANDING and blows every other laptop I've looked at in the last month out of the water. In fact you can currently order a NEW Studio 15 more powerful in all areas than a refurbished XPS 1530.

From a value point of view no unit comes close on the market. If you want better quality then you have to spend the money for it. I'll personally be ordering a Studio 15 tomorrow. After all my searching it is the only unit that fits my needs performance wise and does so under $1,250.

 

Its a shame that reviewers dont have much to say other than colors, lots of colors, look at this finish, what every happened to quality and performance?

The build quality is not top notch, especially when compared to dells previous inspirons.

 

Total noob here so please bear with me. Re: speakers; bluetooth is an option on this lappy, are there bluetooth speakers that would be a reasonable solution?