Dell Studio 14z: Best Thin-and-Light Notebook ~ MY BLOG

This slim 14-inch notebook offers strong performance and long battery life, but you'll sacrifice an optical drive.

Are DVD drives obsolete? That's the case Dell seems to be making with its Studio 14z, a 14-inch notebook that lacks an optical drive. Catering to students and other consumers who are more likely to download software and entertainment than use a disc, this thin and light system ($749 at Best Buy, starting at $649 on Dell.com) is ideal for streaming content and playing digital files. Add in above average graphics performance, courtesy of Nvidia, powerful speakers, and over five hours of battery life, and you have a compelling value. Best Buy even sweetens the deal by throwing in 15 months of free antivirus protection and a copy of Office 2007 Home and Student Edition.

Design

Although you can purchase the Studio 14z on Dell's site, the 1440-022B configuration we reviewed is a Best Buy exclusive—one of four notebooks to make the big box retailer's Next Class line, all of which boast long battery life, light weight, and sub-$800 price tags.

Like other laptops in this price range, the 14z has the plastic build of a budget notebook but subtle design flourishes that lend it a higher-end feel. The lid feels soft to the touch, and is largely fingerprint-resistant. As with other consumer Dell notebooks, black comes standard, but colors cost $40 extra (our unit was Ruby Red; other colors include Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Plum Purple, and Promise Pink).

Inside, the chassis mixes a matte silver palm rest with a glossy black strip above the keyboard, which is also black. You won't find any dedicated multimedia controls on this machine, although the playback and volume controls on the function keys can be used without having to press the Fn button. The power button, which glows white and is built into the hinge—a la Sony VAIO—is a nice touch.

The most distinctive element of the 14z's design, however, is that, despite its fairly large screen size, it has no optical drive. For some shoppers, this will be an instant turnoff. But other users, such as students, who are accustomed to downloading software, consuming digital media, and streaming clips on sites such as Hulu and YouTube, won't miss having an optical drive.

In absolute terms, a 14-inch notebook that weighs 4.4 pounds is fairly light. Certainly, the 14z is easy to carry. And yet, the 13.2 x 9.0 x 0.8-inch 14z felt surprisingly heavy when we first picked it up. The Lenovo IdeaPad Y450, a 14-inch notebook with an optical drive, weighs just a bit more at 4.6 pounds.