Dell Studio 15 review

Dell's laptop range seems to cover every base: there's Inspiron for budget buyers, XPS if you want something a little more plush, and the super-high-end Alienware models for the big spenders.

Not content with all that, Dell has added a new range, called Studio. In terms of value and quality, it sits between Inspiron and XPS, but what's really new is that more effort has been put into the aesthetics. It would be fair to say Dell has never really taken on its arch-rival Apple in the design stakes.

The new line has seven coloured lids to choose from, plus five Special Art Edition options by street-influenced New York artist Mike Ming. With its wedge shape and end-mounted hinges, the Studio is reminiscent of the current XPS models, but with cleaner and more dynamic lines. Like other PC laptop makers, Dell has rejected Apple's minimalist principles and etched some subtle decoration into the case, with faint cartographic-looking lines around the trackpad. We were more taken with the row of touch-sensitive media buttons above the keyboard, classily lit with white LEDs.

These smart design touches are backed up by convincing build quality. The keyboard, as usual with Dells, was comfortable and easy to use; the trackpad was responsive, and the buttons were soft and easy to click. The screen's native resolution of 1440x900 pixels leaves it well short of the dots needed to display full 1080p HD from the included Blu-ray drive, but the quality was still fantastic when HD movies were scaled down to fit. Windows work was handled just as well; the punchy colour reproduction and fine detail make this is a superb screen that will keep you happy no matter what you're doing.

While the exterior is common to all the Studio models, there's Dell's usual vast choice of components to fill the case. Our test unit came with above average parts. The processor, an Intel Core 2 Duo T8300, ran at a healthy 2.4GHz, and with a sensible 2GB of RAM there was plenty of power available: a 2D (general) benchmark score of 191% indicates that any Windows program will run smoothly, and intensive tasks like photo and video editing are within this machine's capabilities.

Three dimensional art

There was also some gaming potential. An ATI Radon HD 3450 mobile graphics chip isn't the most powerful part around, but better than most laptops offer, managing a respectable score of 31% in our tough Call of Duty 2 benchmark. So while the very latest 3D titles may be off limits, older and less demanding games will be playable.

The rest of the specification was impressive, too. Besides the Blu-ray drive (which can only play Blu-ray discs, not burn them, though it can write all the usual CD and DVD formats), we got a 160GB hard disk - big enough for storing plenty of music and movie files as well as programs and documents - and a useful built-in webcam. Standard Studio features also include 802.11n WiFi and plenty of connections: HDMI, USB and Ethernet ports sit alongside a card reader on the left, with two more USB ports and FireWire on the right.

The battery lasted a creditable three and a half hours in our light use test, though this dropped sharply to an hour and a half during DVD playback, so you'd be pushed to get through a whole movie between mains sockets.

The Studio range starts at £399, which sounds great value, but our review configuration cost over £900. You could buy an XPS with a similar specification for significantly less. It's not unusual for new PCs to cost a little over the odds when they're first released, and if you're willing to shell out for the much improved design, the Studio is an excellent, well rounded machine.