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Dell announced the new XPS 15z Laptop coming in at a “thin” .97 inches. It looks nice, but that is not thin. Certainly not Apple thin. The Macbook Air is properly thin and that comes in at .68 inches. But the most embarrassing thing for Dell is the fact that 2.5 year old Macbook Pros are thinner than Dell’s “thin” laptop, by .02 inches. Ouch.

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It's amazing how they could copy something so closely and yet still make it look so much uglier.

How does that the old saying go? So close, and yet …
 
Good for them, that looks like a solid laptop. I don't understand why people whine about copying so much, why would you change something that works? Apple is the king of visual design, of course everyone copies them. I rather take nice looking (well, in this case it's more of a "not bad looking") laptop that has copied design than an ugly one.
 
Somebody started another thread stating that this was Dell's 15" version of the MacBook Air, I just realized how ridiculous that is now being that it's slightly thicker than a MBP.
 
If they copied and improved on the design, that would be one thing, but that's not what they did. It is especially evident in that final picture, where it just looks like a cheap knockoff. I suppose it highlights some of the truly innovative engineering that went into the MBP. I hadn't really noticed that the hinges are totally missing from the MBP. Truly amazing design.
 
So sad how Dell has to replicate instead of innovate.

That's not the only thing, while the xps series is cheap, their professional notebooks are expensive.

I do software testing, so Windows is only needed to install an .exe of the program that will be tested, open an access mdb or browse to my testingtools since most have a webUI. While Visual Studio developers need "{" and "}" to program.

So I asked for a Macbook Pro. The company for which I work uses primairly Dell Inspiron models and for some reason there's still a believe that Apple hardware is more expensive than Dell hardware.

So I had to prove it:
A Macbook Pro 17", i7, 500Gb HD and 8GB Ram came to €2699 (including 21% VAT)
A Dell Inspiron 17" with the same configuration came to €2649 (excluding the 21% VAT), so it clocked off at €3205,29.

Windows 7 Professional and Office 2010 Professional is installed at the office, because we have a volume license, so the Dell's were also bought with a basic home version of Windows.

Guess which model I'm getting in a few months as company notebook, here's a hint: :apple:
 
From what I understand the higher end MBPs are still faster.

It's also about $1000 more.

It's $999 $1099 if you want 1080p
Faster GPU than the base 15in MBP
Slower CPU (2 core i5 2.3GHz)
6GB DDR3 standard
Rated 8h 22m battery, and the current test out shows that it DOES last longer than the 15in MBP.


I'd say it's rather good competition.
 
haha, that thing is about 3ft thick.

People can criticize Apple prices all they want but when cheaper companies produce crap like this how can you compare??
 
haha, that thing is about 3ft thick.

People can criticize Apple prices all they want but when cheaper companies produce crap like this how can you compare??

3ft? its .02in thicker than a MBP.

I'm thinking of selling my new MBP for one. It would put more money back in my pocket, and I would get longer battery life and have a FHD display.
 
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wow, some people really have a complex about width here! Yeah those 0.2 inches really make a difference! thats what she said...
 
If they copied and improved on the design, that would be one thing, but that's not what they did. It is especially evident in that final picture, where it just looks like a cheap knockoff. I suppose it highlights some of the truly innovative engineering that went into the MBP. I hadn't really noticed that the hinges are totally missing from the MBP. Truly amazing design.
Well they did improve on it there is less of a sharp edge and that is really the only flaw of the MBP design. You cannot really improve on it. Should you cut some random parts away just so it does look the same. All the notebooks out today have chiclet keyboards and sunken ones usually too. Now you can make a bigger keyboard and put the speakers somewhere else but otherwise every freakin notebook will at least look very similar to a MBP unless they deliberately mess the design up like on the new Latitudes with this orange keyboard frame or whatever.

I think it isn't too bad and a really good alternative. Apple really forces People who want something like a bigger screen or more res to pay a lot more. With this Dell it is not necessary if you don't need a Quad you don't have to pay for it.
It is not onpar with the MBP but for the price it is really good. More Performance in games and average stuff than the basic MBP, far cheaper, decent screen (contrast, res, birghtness). The only thing missing here is a matte screen option.
And there should be a 14" option. This 15,6" is just a bit too big but I guess they couldn't make it work for the price point any smaller. The tinier the logic board the more expensive it gets.
 
And there should be a 14" option. This 15,6" is just a bit too big but I guess they couldn't make it work for the price point any smaller. The tinier the logic board the more expensive it gets.

There is a rumor of a 14in and 17in the works.
 
Good for them, that looks like a solid laptop.

ROFLMAO --- DId you even read the REVIEW?

Let me quote it here .....

You're looking at an aluminum and magnesium alloy sandwich here, not a unibody frame, and much of that metal is thin enough to flex under a little bit of pressure. While typing, we noticed that if we put a little weight on the keyboard, we'd oh-so-slightly squish the whole frame, not enough to make a lasting impression, but enough to audibly restrict airflow to the system fan


Maybe I missed something? How do you define " solid " ???
 
Rated 8h 22m battery, and the current test out shows that it DOES last longer than the 15in MBP.


I'd say it's rather good competition.

I only read one review of it, and a similarly equipped one was basically the same price as what I paid for my 2011 15". Not to mention it's battery life was only tested at like 4.5 hours with the discrete GPU turned off, so no, it wasn't giving better battery life than a similar MBP. Unless you can supply me 2 or 3 sources to contradict the engadget article posted beforehand.
 
I only read one review of it, and a similarly equipped one was basically the same price as what I paid for my 2011 15". Not to mention it's battery life was only tested at like 4.5 hours with the discrete GPU turned off, so no, it wasn't giving better battery life than a similar MBP. Unless you can supply me 2 or 3 sources to contradict the engadget article posted beforehand.

Laptop Mag got 6:08.
PCMag got 6:22 vs the MBP 4:40 in the same test. So yes..... it is.

How do you expect a quadecore that requires 10w more to run is going to get better battery than one that requires less power? Also according to Laptop Mag the 15z does much better on heat.
 
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Well, it clearly takes design queues from MBPs which is probably why I like the look of it. It's easily much cheaper than any comparable MBP, but then again I wouldn't expect anything different from Dell. If I was looking for a nice Windows laptop, this would probably be it. My desire to use OS X over Windows along with the superior build quality and support Apple provides, I'm ok spending much more.
 
So sad how Dell has to replicate instead of innovate.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/23/dell-xps-15z-review/

It looks such a nasty knock-off, I really don't understand why Dell even went through all the bother. :)

It's amazing how they could copy something so closely and yet still make it look so much uglier.

How does that the old saying go? So close, and yet …

Somebody started another thread stating that this was Dell's 15" version of the MacBook Air, I just realized how ridiculous that is now being that it's slightly thicker than a MBP.


If they copied and improved on the design, that would be one thing, but that's not what they did. It is especially evident in that final picture, where it just looks like a cheap knockoff. I suppose it highlights some of the truly innovative engineering that went into the MBP. I hadn't really noticed that the hinges are totally missing from the MBP. Truly amazing design.

Uh did you even look at the XPS 15. It looks a lot more similar to the XPS 15 than the Macbook pro. Really the major changes are the arrow keys and deletion of the extra keys on the left hand side. This is seriously the most biased review I have seen (no interactive buttons on the top). Port placement and the placement of the optical drive also changed.

That said how can they be getting only 4:26 out of the battery. Its 64 watt-hours. I have the XPS 15 and I get 5 hours out of the battery on the internet and up to 6 with wifi off and speakers off. And I have a quad core cpu. Oh wait, other sources got longer battery life. ) 0.02 inches is so much of a difference that I don't think anyone could tell the difference. The computer is actually thinner if you remove the rubber feet on the bottom.
 
It's also about $1000 more.

It's $999 $1099 if you want 1080p
Faster GPU than the base 15in MBP
Slower CPU (2 core i5 2.3GHz)
6GB DDR3 standard
Rated 8h 22m battery, and the current test out shows that it DOES last longer than the 15in MBP.


I'd say it's rather good competition.

Regarding battery life I have read reviews and it is closer to 3 hours than 8 which is quite pathetic.
 
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