agustin's blog: Dell XPS 14z review

Monday, October 24, 2011

Dell XPS 14z review

As far as product launches go, Dell didn't exactly rip the Band-Aid off the XPS 14z. After teasing it back in September, the company let all the specs out of the bag, but stopped short of naming a price and ship date for the United States. Well, now we know: this 14-incher will be available in the US and Canada November 1, and will start at $1,000 -- a price that puts it in direct competition with the likes of the HP Envy 14 and Sony VAIO SA series.

Like these other laptops, the 14z commands a premium over cheaper models, with beefier specs and a (supposedly) more luxurious design. With Core i5 and i7 processor options, discrete graphics, USB 3.0 and an optional solid-state drive, it offers a lot of the same specs as its peers, though it manages to stand out in a couple key ways. One, it sports an LG Shuriken display, which crams a 14-inch screen into a chassis normally reserved for 13-inch systems (translation: its bezels are super narrow). And with a starting weight of 4.36 pounds, it's lighter than a lot of the other laptops you're probably considering. But are these bullet points enough to make it a smart buy? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Dell XPS 14z