Dell Studio XPS16 Review: Laptop with cutting-edge features

Dell Studio XPS 16 has been designed for users in search of laptop with power, style and cutting-edge features. If you are someone looking forward to make a statement with your laptop, the leather and metal looks of the XPS 16 can help you in achieving that.

Build & Design

The first look at Dell Studio XPS 16 can make it clear that this model is something completely new for the reputed maker. They have incorporated the brushed aluminum accent, sleek like design from XPS models, and combined it with multimedia features & few chassis elements from its Studio lines. In the process, they have created a solid replacement for a desktop.

With its large size, Studio XPS 16 lacks mobility. However, it covers this drawback with solid construction and attractive designing. As mentioned earlier, this new offering from Dell has taken several elements from XPS models, which include drop hinge, wedge-shaped profile, touch-sensitive media buttons and slot-loading optical drive. All these features are hallmarks of XPS M1330 & M1530. Another inclusion, which has impressed everyone, is the presence of leather on the hinge area. Since most of us carry our laptop in our hand, its leather hinges will provide a soft and textured surface for you to hold on. When it comes to the entire chassis, Dell Studio XPS 16 is considerably solid and suffers no creaks or flex when squeezed or twisted in between your hands.

Screen

The 16.0-inch 1080-pixel HD RGBLED display of Dell Studio XPS 16 is gorgeous. Dissimilar to the standard LCD technology, which is common in most notebooks, RGBLED LCD provides richer and deeper colors along with excellent contrast. This makes it ideal to watch HD movies from an inbuilt Blu-ray player. Again, it is also beneficial for editing high-resolution images, which you have transferred from digital camera.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Keyboard on Dell Studio XPS 16 is amongst the nicer ones in the market today. Keyboard has a firm grip and is available only with a minor flex at the ‘Enter’ key. Again, all keys provide excellent cushion and travel. Dissimilar to Studio 17, which had a number pad, the full-size version on the XPS 16 appears smaller than what it is, mainly due to the location of massive speaker grills on either side of your keyboard. It also features a white backlight (LED), which helps you in typing in the dark. The only drawback may be that most keys are flatter than what we find in most Dell notebooks. This might give a little curve to touch typist, while using its keyboard.

Although it seems small when compared to the notebook size, Synatics touchpad of Dell Studio XPS 16 works adequately. Mouse buttons have wonderful cushion and travel when pressed. Overall, the touchpad is responsive with dedicated areas for scrolling.

Performance & Benchmarks

Dell Studio XPS 16 comes equipped with Core2Duo P8600 processor from Intel (2.4GHz) that offers wonderful performance in terms of video encoding and number crunching. Its 4-GB DDR3 RAM is enough for satisfying Vista. Again, the 320GB HDD from Seagate Momentus offers great reliability. Graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 3670) offers adequate power to do anything from playing games or working 3D-graphics applications. Thus, everyone from hardcore gamers to average users should find something in XPS 16.

Battery Life

Dell Studio XPS 16 has been incorporated with a 9-cell lithium-ion extended-life battery. With power management of Vista running in balanced mode, wireless on and brightness of the screen set to 80 percent, the battery lasts for 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Sleek designs in combination with a 1080-pixel display and a host of powerful component make Dell Studio XPS 16, a must-have for everyone.

Specifications of Dell Studio XPS 16

Processor: Core2Duo, P8600 2.4-GHz Processor from Intel

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)

Memory: 4-GB DDR3

Display: 16-inch HD RGBLED (1080-pixel)

Hard drive: 320GB 7200 rpm

Optical Drive: 4x Blu-ray Disc Combo Drive

Battery: 9-Cell Lithium Ion

Weight: 6.53 lbs

Dimensions: 10.02in x 15.15in x 1.34in

Pros: Brilliant construction, Solid Performance and HD RGBLED has excellent contrast & color

Cons: Battery life can be better and Flatter keys may not work for touch typists

MSRP: $1,199 (Base Price)