Now official: Dell Inspiron 14z notebook, Dell XPS 14 ultrabook

Dell formally introduced these two 14-inch laptops to the Philippine market yesterday:

• the ultrabook-esque, kind-to-your-arms Dell Inspiron 14z
• the Dell XPS 14, a bona fide, Intel-inspired ultrabook

The latter shares a lot of DNA with the Dell XPS 13 (see Dell Philippines launches Dell XPS 13 ultrabook)—but in a bigger and heavier mold. Already available in local Dell shops and authorized retail stores, the Inspiron 14z can be yours for  P44,990, and the XPS 14 sets you back between P68,990 and P79,990.

 

Before anything else, let’s be clear on this: The Dell Inspiron 14z follows the current trend of thin-and-light machines, but it doesn’t follow Intel’s exact guidelines for Windows-based ultrabooks to the letter. In short, it’s not an ultrabook per se.

There’s no harm in coming up short, though. Because based on our brief encounter with it, the latest Inspiron looks and acts like an ultraportable. It’s very kind to your hands and arms, too, measuring 23 millimeters thick and tipping the scales at 1.9 kilograms.

The 14-inch notebook’s form factor is characterized by a tasteful blend of brushed aluminum in black and silver.

As ever, Dell’s chrome-colored emblem appears on the centermost portion of the lid. The screen serves up appetizing visuals courtesy of its 720p widescreen resolution, 200 nits of brightness, and dedicated AMD Radeon HD 7570M graphics with on-board 1GB DDR5 memory. The smallish keys on the keyboard tray are spaced well apart from one another, but the layout could have been better had Dell used most of the available real estate.

The Dell Inspiron 14z touts an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor running at 1.7GHz (up to 2.6GHz with Turbo Boost), 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD and 32GB SSD combo. It’s also got a pair of integrated Skullcandy speakers for kicking out big noise, apparently, and an optical disc drive for your CDs/DVDs, presumably.

Dell Inspiron 14z specs (Price: 44,990):

• 3rd-generation Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7GHz CPU (up to 2.6GHz)
• 4GB RAM
•  500GB HDD and 32GB SSD
• 14-inch widescreen HD display (1366 x 768, 720p)
• AMD Radeon HD 7570M with 1GB DDR5 GPU
• 2 Skullcandy speakers with Waves MaxxAudio 4
• Optical DVD drive
• Ports: USB 3.0 (2), HDMI, LAN, 3-in-1 card reader, headphone jack
• Windows 7 Home Basic (64-bit)

 

The main attraction of yesterday’s launch, the Dell XPS 14 ultrabook combines the mighty 3rd-gen Intel Core processor (Core i5 or Core i7, depending on the configuration), Nvidia’s GeForce GT 630M graphics card, and a supposedly long-lasting, 8-cell battery under one rock-solid, machined aluminum chassis in MacBook-ish silver.

Oh, and did we mention it’s only 20.7 millimeters thick and weighs a paltry 2.1 kilograms? Not too shabby for an ultraportable packing discrete graphics, a generous lithium polymer power pack, and a 13-incher’s body.

Other notables include a 14-inch, 1600 x 900 display with 400 nits of brightness and Gorilla Glass protection; a well-spaced keyboard with chiclet-type keys and LED backlighting; a silicone base; and a spill-resistant palm rest with soft-touch paint. There’s a healthy serving of ports and display connections on the sides, too.

Its starting retail price of P68,990 is a downer, but that’s to be expected from a thin-and-light that comes with the above-mentioned things.

Dell XPS 14 specs (Price: P68,990):