I'm a big fan of computers and this year, I finally decided to get a new laptop to replace my old laptop. I have three other Dell computers so Dell's on the top of my list. However, last year DELL's Inspiron model had some things about it that I did not like. This year, Dell introduced their Studio series. They are much sleeker looking and have more built in features than last year's Inspiron line. It's got 4 USB ports, 1 mini USB port, and a 7in1 media card reader. Pretty standard.

Note that before buying a 17" laptop, you should really see one in a store first. They're more of a desktop replacement. They're a bit bulky if you need to travel with them.

I'm going to go over items that are not standard and that they do not mention on DELL's website.

Features:
1. WiFi Finder - The DELL Studio comes with a WiFi finder. There's a little button on the side of the laptop that can find hotspots without turning on the computer. So you can walk into a Starbucks and hit the button to see if a wireless connection is available. Another way to use it is to check WiFi range. Let's say it's a nice day and you wanted to sit outside of a Starbucks but don't know if their WiFi range reaches outside, you can use the WiFi finder to check. You hit the button. If the button lights up for 10 seconds, then there's a WiFi connection available. If it blinks and turns off then there's no signal available.

2. Fingerprint Reader - I purchased the Fingerprint reader option. It's a novel feature that allows you to log into the computer with a swip of your finger. You can program in multiple finger prints. The setup was very easy to follow. As you'd expect, you use the finger print reader to log into Windows. What I DID NOT KNOW is that the finger print reader can be used for ANYTHING with a password! So for yahoo email websites, for banking websites, for any web site with a password, you can just access them with a swipe of your finger tip.

3. Touch sensitive buttons for media player - Across the top of the keyboard are buttons for the media player. the buttons are for the standard PLAY, FAST FORWARD, REWIND, STOP, VOLUME, etc. But what is special is that they are touch sensitive buttons. They do not click nor stick out. Instead they are sleek flat back lit buttons. They respond with a light touch of the finger.

4. Light up keyboard - Would not recommend - DELL offers the light up keyboard option for an extra $50. The Studio 17 comes with software that allows you to turn on and off a light behind the keyboard. You also have the option to make it brighter or dimmer. You also have the option to control how many minutes to automatically turn off. The light is a white LED light. You cannot change the color of it. What DELL does not tell you more clearly about, is that the light is BEHIND the keyboard. The light does not come through the keys. So in the dark, you would still have to know which keys are what letters. The light up key board lights up like light leaking out from under a door. It's pretty much useless. I was hoping it was like some other light keyboards where the letters on the keys actually light up so that you can type in the dark.

4a. Keyboard - I am very picky about keyboards. In fact, I had passed up the DELL's 17 inch Inspirion laptop solely because the keyboard was way too stiff and sluggish. The Studio 17's keyboard is fantastic. It's springy, responsive and light. Like most current 17" laptops, it's a full sized keyboard with a number pad. There are two white LED lights that light up when the cap lock or num lock is toggled.

5. Built in webcam - DELL's Studio series comes with a 2.0 megapixel webcam built into the top of the screen. Prior models have this as an $25 option. It is fantastic. The 2 megapixel camera is better than most standard webcams which are 1.3-1.5 megapixels. Having it built into the laptop also means that there's nothing to plug in, nor a webcam to carry around. When the webcam is on, there's a little pinhole next to it that lights up letting you know that it's on. This way, you won't accidentally have the webcam on without knowing it. DELL includes two software for the webcam that they don't mention. Live! Cam Avatar Creator and DELL Video Chat. The Live! Cam Avatar Creator is a neat little program that allows you to create a character to display instead of yourself. So for instance, you can create a cartoon character that shows up to the person you're talking to through the webcam. The cartoon character would display different expressions and animation that you can control. It's a fun application, but since I don't chat with strangers, I haven't really used it yet. DELL's Video Chat seems like an easy to use application for chatting with others, emailing videos, etc. However, you'd need to chat with others who have a DELL. I don't find the application very useful. Instead I use the Yahoo Messenger and AIM which have webcam features.

6. HDMI output - Also standard to the Studio laptop is an HDMI output. For those of you who are not familiar with High Definition television sets, what that means is that there is an output to connect the laptop to television sets (and monitors) with a HDMI input. What this means is that if you get a HDMI cord, you can easily plug this laptop into a high def screen and use it as a monitor! Why would you do this? Well, I just had a family gathering and took many pictures. Everyone huddled around me to see the pictures. Instead, I just plugged my Studio laptop into our 50 inch plasma screen and everyone could see the pictures on the 50 inch screen from the couch.

6a. Tip on getting a HDMI cord - If you decide to purchase a HDMI cord to connect from your laptop to your flatscreen set, keep in mind that it's a digital signal. This means that the signal will either make it or not. So a $9 dollar HDMI cord works as well as a $60 cord. It's different than an analog cord where it matters whether or not the signal gets weaker if it's a poor quality cord.

7. Two headphone outputs - One nice thing is that there are two headphone outputs on this laptop. So when you're watching a movie on the plane, you can share your monstrous screen with the person sitting next to you.

8. No built in microphone - A bad thing is that there's no built in microphone on this laptop. There is a plug for an external microphone. In the manual it saids that you can get an optional built in microphone, but I didn't see that option when I was building the laptop. Overall, it's not terrible. Sometimes a built in microphone creates an echo since it's close to the speakers. In addition, there's plenty of options for a microphone. If you have a bluetooth headset for a cell phone, you can use that. Or you can get a USB headset.

UPDATE: There is a built in microphone! My mistake! I went back to look for it. The location is different from where the instruction book saids it is. However, I think you're still better off using a headset.

9. DVD Slot - The Studio laptop has no DVD tray! Instead, it features a DVD SLOT. It's similar to a CD/DVD slot in a car where you just slide the disc into a slot. It's very very slick. This means that you don't have to worry about your kids breaking off the tray or constantly hitting the eject button. You also don't need to clip the center hole on the disk into a tray. It's not quite a smooth as a car CD slot though. A car CD slot's motor grabs the disc and pulls it in when the disc is less than half inserted. The DVD slot on the Studio pulls the disk in after the disk is about 3/4 of the way in. It's not a big deal, it's still very slick. but it's not as robust as the DVD slot in your car or on a PS3. The downside is that you probably cannot play a mini-DVD.

10. Harddrive - DELL stopped offering the 7200 RPM drives which really really irked me. The RPM on a drive represents how fast the disk in the harddrive can spin. The standard on a laptop is 5400 RPM. The standard on a desktop is 7200 RPM. For me, having a higher RPM is much more important than high Gigabit (high drive space). This is because drive space is very very cheap and you can always purchase external harddrives or thumbdrives to add space. But the high RPM means that you have a faster computer. That helps when you boot up, run applications, or anything. DELL used to offer 7200 RPMs but no longer.

10a. Dual Harddrive - This is one of the few options that I did not buy. However, the Studio computer is able to have two harddrives! Wow! So you have the option of having two 320 GB drives for a total of 640 GB's. That's insane. 320 is plenty for me so I did not purchase this.

11. Backup - One thing that most people don't know is that DELL's come with a "image backup". This means that there's a copy of your computer's initial install saved somewhere on your computer. so if your computer gets a nasty virus that you cannot get rid of, you can call DELL and they'll tell you to boot up, hit some combination of keys, and you can have your computer restored to the initial state in about 10 minutes. You don't need disks, you don't need any computer knowledge. You can just wipe out everything on your computer and start over. This is helpful if you run into an unfixable computer issue (like a virus) or if you're selling your computer.

12. Service - DELL's customer service is fantastic. I had ordered an extra AC cord that DELL forgot to include with the delivery. At first my heart sank anticipating hours on the phone to get them to send me an AC cord. But to the contrary, it was a 15 minute phone call and immediately, the service representative told me that they will send me another AC cord.

13. Bluetooth - For $20 you can elect to purchase the built in Bluetooth feature. For those of you that do not know what Bluetooth is, it's a wireless connection method. But unlike WiFi, it's for short distance connection. What would you use Bluetooth for? You can use Bluetooth to connect to your cell phone, bluetooth mouse, printers, heatsets, etc. What I find most useful is that you can connect a cell phone Bluetooth headset to your computer. This way, you can use the headset for chats and phone calls through your computer.

Overall, the laptop is fantastic. Highly recommended if you are in the market to buy a 17" laptop. It will impress your friends and knock your socks off!

Amount Paid (US$): 1,478
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: 701-800
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50