Dell XPS 14z Review: Just a Little Short of Laptop Perfection 0

Lost in all the hoopla over Intel’s Ultrabook initiative are the more traditional, full-function thin-and-light laptops. The Dell XPS 14z borrows some lines from Apple’s 13-inchMacBook Pro and incorporates a slightly larger display and a better keyboard. On the other hand, the shell appears to be mostly plastic, so it lacks the rigidity of the Apple laptop. The net result represents something close to the state of the art in the all-purpose class of notebook PCs, but it falls a little short of laptop perfection.

Our review unit came with an Intel Core i7-2640M clocked at 2.8GHz (up to 3.5GHz in Turbo Boost mode), and a generous 8GB of RAM. Also included was an Nvidia GeForce GT 520M discrete GPU with 1GB of dedicated frame-buffer memory. Dell supports Nvidia’s Optimus technology, which allows the integrated Intel HD Graphics to handle all the mainstream graphics chores, with the GeForce GT 520M kicking in when better 3D chops are necessary. Our test configuration will cost you $1299 (as of November 9, 2011). The entry-level configuration ($999) includes a Core i5-2430, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and integrated graphics. You’re better off springing for the upgrade to get the dedicated graphics chip.

Unfortunately, those better 3D chops aren’t all that much better. Although the Nvidia GPU surpasses the Intel HD Graphics in performance, you’ll still need to dial down the graphics detail significantly if you want to run games in DirectX 10 or DirectX 11 mode. The Nvidia GPU does make the XPS 14z quite a nice mobile machine for games such as World of Warcraft or Civilization V, though.

The display offers fairly accurate color rendition when showing photographs or video. The horizontal viewing angle is better than average, but the vertical viewing angle is quite shallow. Video playback quality is robust, with fairly light motion smearing. DVD playback upscaled to the full panel resolution appears just a touch soft, but lacks the "mosquito noise" visible in some competing laptop screens. HD content scaled down also looks very nice indeed.

One minor disappointment with the display is the resolution. Even though the XPS 14z has the same native resolution as most Windows laptops in this class do--1366 by 768 pixels--I expected a little better of Dell. After all, Sony now ships a 13.3-inch unit with a 1600-by-900-pixel display, and MacBook Airs offer 1440 by 900 pixels. Dell could have distinguished the XPS 14z's display from the pack by upping the resolution a bit. Nevertheless, it’s an attractive, usable display--and for older users, having slightly larger fonts on the 14-inch display may matter more than having additional pixels.

Audio playback quality is a mixed bag. Overall, I’d give it a cautious thumbs-up, but the Waves Maxx Audio software processing that fills out the sound also makes vocals in music sound a little artificial. Without Waves Maxx, volume levels are quite low--and even with the processing software enabled, volume levels never get particularly loud. Voice in DVD movies is clear and understandable.

The keyboard is excellent. The keys are sculpted, and feel quite good under the fingers. If you’re not a touch typist, you'll appreciate the fact that the letters on the keys are in a large, easy-to-read font, and that the keyboard itself has two backlight levels. The touchpad is large and fully supports multitouch gestures. It is a tad oversensitive, though, and you may occasionally see the mouse cursor jump across the screen as you’re typing.

Performance is a cut above average for this category, with the XPS 14z earning a score of 136 in WorldBench 6. Battery life is also quite good: At 5 hours, 29 minutes, the XPS 14z lasts a good hour longer than the average laptop in its class. That extra battery life means you won't have to lug around a power brick for a good chunk of the working day.

This $1299 version of the XPS 14z ships with a 750GB, 7200-rpm hard drive. If you carry around a lot of digital photos and music, you’ll be happy with that. If you’re willing to pony up another $300, Dell offers a nearly identical XPS 14z with a 256GB solid-state drive; you give up a little capacity, but get much speedier storage performance. The slot-loading DVD drive could be filed under “nice to have,” but in today’s streaming media world, it’s less essential it would have been a couple of years ago. Networking includes Bluetooth 3.0, plus 802.11n Wi-Fi and gigabit ethernet.

One respect in which the XPS 14z falls short is ports: It offers only two rear-mounted USB ports. That’s unfortunate, as USB connections are precious commodities on a laptop. One of the ports does support USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed), though. Also on the rear are a mini-DisplayPort connector, an HDMI port, and an ethernet jack (plus, of course, the power plug). A pair of audio jacks and an SD Card slot grace the left side; the SD Card slot supports the latest SDXC high-capacity cards. On the right side are the DVD drive and the battery-life indicator LEDs--but you won't find any additional USB ports there.

Overall, the Dell XPS 14z is an elegant-looking, lightweight laptop, weighing just 4 pounds, 7 ounces (5 pounds, 6 ounces with the 90W power brick). It’s easy to carry, easy on the eyes, and easy to type on. Most users will be happy with this laptop, but they may find themselves wishing for just one or two more USB ports.

Korea Electronics Show 2011 1

Mark your calendar now because we're just few weeks away from the much awaited Korean Electronics Show of 2011. The event is set to kick off this coming October 12 and will run for 3 consecutive days (Oct 15). If you are into gadgets, that you better grab this opportunity to witness those highly innovated electronics that will be showcased at KES.
The event will feature the latest gadgets and technology related to Multimedia, Telecommunication, Industrial Electronics, medical, fashion, display , construction, IT and a whole lot more.
It is a very interesting event indeed and I'm sure everyone is so excited about this. Let me also grab this opportunity to thank you guys for leaving wonderful and relevant comments in my previous post about KES (You can check it here.) You have raised some questions regarding about the event and so I decided to make some research and find the answers for you. Hope you find it helpful too.

Q1 : Is There Any Competition Involved?

This question was raised by April asking if Korea is competing against other countries most especially in Japan. Actually, there is no competition involved in this expo. According to a reliable source (Check it Here), there are undeniably larger expo than KES , most notably the IFA of Germany, the CES of America and the CEATEC of Japan. KES has proven to be one of the well trusted and most popular Electronic expo in the world too but they never compete against those larger events. Their main goal is to entertain attendees through the various kiosk displays and aesthetic designs which has been their tradition for almost 4 decades.
This is taken from the recently held KES 2010. Check how extravagant their expo was and I'm sure there are so much things stored for us this year. They said that there will be there will be over 200 booths from 24 institutes. The event this year will still be held at KINTEX, the 5th largest exhibition space in Asia.
This year the show is expected to emphasize the convergence between software and hardware. How will software meet hardware to brighten up the IT industry as well as improving the quality of our lives? The answers lie within KES 2011. (source: IT Times)


In relation to it, the event will also organize various Smart Korea Conferences that will tackle future government policies regarding IT and various government ministries.

Q2 : Robots To be Featured in the Event?

Another interesting question from our fellow blogger. I mentioned HUBO, the world's second Humanoid robot and EveR, the world's second female android in my previous post which are both amazing product of South Korea. If there are robots to be feature in the event, well, that is something that all of us should look forward to. I'm sure the event this year will give us more interesting inventions.
Looking back at last year's event, check out this amazing 3D software that gives shoppers an ability to choose their 3D digital Avatar where in they can put different clothes to it before purchasing the items.
Since they are focusing more on software this year, expect to see more of this highly innovated technology. As a matter of fact, they are set to release a specialized mobile application for this event. Yup! A special Smartphone app will be released soon for KES 2011 and that is something to watch out for.
You can follow them at their Official Facebook fanpage or their Twitter page for more updates and to know how to avail their special smartphone application for Korean attendees.

An interface of their upcoming Smartphone App

Q3 : What to expect from KES this year?

Last but not the least is the question from Rami Jinr. I don't have the exact details about the gadgets to be featured this year but that's definitely something to look forward to right? But I'll be more than willing to give you a short recap of the last year's event. From these, you will know that KES 2011 will be a bigger blast. Technology evolves rapidly and drastically my friend so I can assure that there are so many things to expect this year.
KES 2010 was a big blast indeed (Check the report here).They had a total of 1,823 representative buyers of IT industries from 23 nations such as Russia, China, and India participated in the show, as well as about 750 companies.




Modern Electronic appliances that will absolutely transform every household, making their work much easier and faster.
Amazing Samsung Internet TV, 3D Camera and LG Remote Control System (Innotek)
Stunning Windows Phone
Check how busy those attendees with those gadgets featured in the last year's Event.
As for the Medical Industry, this 3D microscope will change our feature indeed.
Things are getting smaller nowadays don't you think? Check out this Micro Camcorder and Micro Speakers.
























The 2 of the biggest Electronics manufacturer LG and Samsung will be present this year too and I'm sure they have something up their sleeves for this upcoming Korea Electronic Show 2011


If I am given a chance, I will definitely grab it and visit Korea's biggest electronics show.
So if you're interested guys, Visit the Korea Electronics Show 2011 and don't forget to show us your experience huh!