Round Rock (TX) – Ok, we got it. Design and style are dominating the notebook world this year. If we believe Dell (and Apple’s success), then notebooks are becoming much more a fashion statement for certain consumer groups, especially in a time when notebooks are perceived not so much a geeky computer anymore, but a simple commodity. Dell believes its Studio notebooks are reflecting this trend.

This year has brought a variety of interesting notebooks that are very different in their design and appearance than what we have typically seen in the years before. There were form factor-focused notebooks such as the Macbook Air and Lenovo’s Thinkpad X300 and pretty much every large manufacturer tries to attract consumers with unique design elements and flashy colors.

Dell was among the first to shape this trend last year with its mainstream Inspiron series. The new Studio 15 and 17 series could be seen as an expected expansion, with design elements that are carried over from the more stylish XPS series as well as eight different colors you can choose from: Purple, green, red, blue, pink orange, black and silver are available (no, there is no white).    

The new Studios have inherited a few design elements from the XPS M1330/M1530, such wedge-shaped profile and their drop hinge design. Dell bets that Studio customers are addicted to customizing their products: There will be optional “color-coordinated” accessories and peripherals like backpacks and slip covers, mice and ear buds “so customers can assemble a mobile high-definition package that’s unique”.       

In a move that somewhat says “if Microsoft can’t fix then we will have to do it” Dell has expanded the GUI of Windows Vista for this notebook line with a new dock that organizes software by tasks and cleans icons off of the desktop as well as Dell Video Chat, a tool to setup and use a video and voice communication program. Sounds a bit like Apple to us.

Dell isn’t promoting technical features of these notebook, which aren’t especially light (6.1 or 7.9 pounds, respectively) or powerful.  The base price of $800 will buy a black notebook, a  2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, a 1280x800 pixel 15” display, 2 GB memory, integrated graphics, a 160 GB hard drive and a CD burner. Select a fancy color ($25), a faster processor, a 1920x1200 pixel display, discrete graphics, 4 GB memory, a fall-protected hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, a more capable battery and mobile broadband and you are closer to $2200 for the 15” version. The 17” model tops out at just under $2500.

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