I had been talking about getting a laptop for quite some time. Having a laptop when you’re a fulltime blogger certainly has its perks. You aren’t confined to one area like you would be with a desktop, and if the system is right you could end up with something as good in a laptop. Currently, the majority of my blogging is done on my main system, which is a Dell XPS. So, when Dell began sporting the new Studio line of laptops, which are comparable in many of the specs to the XPS, with a cheaper price tag, I took notice.

I had a gift card left over that Dell gave me as a promotion when I purchased my XPS (you can read more about that at my personal blog), so when the Studios went on sale I decided to purchase the 1735. The main difference between the 17s and 15s are the screen size. The price was not that different, which convinced me to go for the bigger screen. Unfortunately, things with the Studio did not work out so well. In fact, as it sits here preparing to be sent back to Dell, the nicest thing I can say is that the color was pretty. Of course, even the pretty color comes with a few flaws, including an easily scuffable cover and the ability to attract fingerprints and dust like nobody’s business.

Look/Appearance:
Dell offers you the option of choosing a number of colors or artist designs for the Studio laptops. You can choose from such colors as Black, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Orange, Purple, Pink and a number of other colors. Depending on the package that you get, the cost for colors for a Studio laptop will either be free or $25. I opted to get the Midnight Blue. The color is more noticeable in the light and though it is blue, I wouldn’t say that it’s midnight blue. The color wasn’t exactly like the one on the website, but it was acceptable.

The keyboard was probably the nicest part of the system. Thanks to the bigger screen the keys on the keyboard offer a roomier feel to them and the inclusion of a number pad makes the keyboard feel more like a standard keyboard, which I prefer to the smaller, laptop style. Above the keyboard are a set of media buttons. These buttons work with a slight touch and control your volume (on, off, high, low, and mute), eject your optical drive, and play or pause movies that you might be watching. I found these buttons to be a little sensitive. All it took was a slight brush of the finger when I was getting acquainted with the system and my volume was going up, down, muting, and coming back on in no time. As these buttons are black, only lighting up when they are touched, they can be hard to see unless you know what you are looking for, too.

The color scheme of the touchpad is integrated into the design so it appears to be an extension of the area where it is located. This also looks nice. The mouse has the touch bar that will scroll like a mouse wheel would. Like the keyboard, the mouse worked just fine and as it was designed with the overall scheme of the laptop in mind it added to the good-looking appeal of the system.

Affordability:
Affordability is always a hard one to gauge because what is affordable to one person will be highly outrageously priced to another. So, is the Dell Studio 1735 affordable? I will say that it is not insanely priced. I purchased mine with tax and everything for $952 and change. However, when you look at the fact that you can find a number of Sony VAIOs for under $800 these days, I am not sure that I would say the Dell Studio is fairly priced. Yes you can probably afford one, but considering the quality may not be there, you would be better off paying a cheaper price and getting a better system elsewhere.

Specs/Features:
There are a number of upgrade options for the Studio 1735 available, but I opted to go with the standard version for most features. The specs noted that the system should have been good on its own, so I decided that I would upgrade later, if I felt it was necessary. That being said, the main specs have been listed here:

Studio 1735, Intel Core 2 Duo T5750, 2.0GHz, 667Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
3GB, DDR2, 2 Dimm
Standard Keyboard
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440×900)
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
250G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1 Year Limited Warranty

Assuming that all of these functions and components work according to plan, this would have been a system that would have been perfect for my needs. Unfortunately, the optical drive was faulty and would have needed to be replaced. It took in a Microsoft Office installation CD and would not read or eject it. I ended up losing the CD in the battle to get the laptop to spit it out. The battery life is pretty abysmal in its current state and the speakers are some of the worst I have heard, and that is putting it nicely.

Functionality:
Regardless of overall specs, price, and aesthetics this section is always going to be the most important area of your purchase. Unfortunately, I have had a few problems that have really turned me off when it comes to Dell Studio laptops. Every individual computer user is going to have a few things on their system that are more important than other things. For me, these would be sound (I love listening to music while I work) and speed (I am incredibly impatient). Other things are important, too, but these are my biggest wants/needs in a system.

The overall speed was much slower than my desktop. For reference, my XPS desktop is approaching a year old. It took a minute or two to boot up each time and get warmed up. This isn’t too bad, but I am used to it being faster. Once it went through its little warm up period, the speed was decent. I didn’t find myself waiting to do much and that’s what I am looking for in a system. I hate twiddling my thumbs while a computer crawls towards the goal. The speed could have been better, but it was passable for a basic component.

The optical drive arrived broken. You would think that they would have checked to make sure the parts worked (shipping was delayed, after all), but apparently they didn’t. I inserted a Microsoft Office installation CD only to never get it out. When I informed Dell, the return clerk informed me that those discs aren’t expensive anyway (I’m not sure where he’s buying his Microsoft Office) and if I have a code I can download Office and won’t need the CD. Needless to say, their customer service isn’t scoring any points, especially when the computer arrived with readymade faults.

The speakers were dreadful and that’s the only way to describe them. Placing the volume higher than halfway, causes the speakers to emit a static whine that is completely annoying and wholly unattractive. There is no reason that the sound could not have been decent, but these speakers are just awful. Additionally, beyond the sound quality, the volume never gets that high either. So you are stuck with hearable sound that is disgusting or less disgusting, but too quiet. Either way, these options don’t give you much to work with.

The monitor was nice, with a shiny, sharp screen. Of course, it’s important to note that while the graphics are good this would not in any way be recommended for gamers. Actually, I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone, but if I were going to, I wouldn’t recommend it to gamers because the good graphics are not good enough to do gaming justice.

Overall, this is not (or should not) be the functionality profile for a brand new laptop. This was actually sad enough for me to say that I would probably not buy a Dell ever again. Ending up with this for the price I paid would not be worth considering picking up another. I can easily go to another company and get something made with care that actually works up to its level in comparison with other systems.

Ease of Use:
If you know how to work a computer in general, the Dell Studio laptops shouldn’t cause you any problem. Everything works the same way that a standard laptop would, so everything should appear to be fine in this department. The design of the computer and the overall layout makes it easy to navigate and get to where you want to go. This is the best part of the system, though with the majority of problems encountered elsewhere, it’s safe to say that while it was easy to use, the inconvenience and impatience level remained high throughout the user process.

Overall Quality:
In case you haven’t figured it out, I cannot in good conscious recommend the Dell Studio 1735 to anyone. While I was really looking forward to getting this system, I am completely disappointed in what I received and am now considering going to Sony, HP, or another company that is more willing to work with their customers and provide a better system overall. Do yourself a favor and buy a VAIO or something else instead. Chances are, you will be able to pay less, get more, and the laptop will actually work the way that it should.

Ratings:
Look/Appearance:
Affordability:
Specs/Features:
Functionality:
Ease of Use:
Overall Quality: Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Dell, Laptop, Studio 1735, Laptop Review, Electronics, Computer, Computer Review, Dell Studio 1735, Specs, Broken, Optical Drive, Poorly Made, Piece of Junk, Don’t Buy

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