In all probability people in Dell came to a conclusion that there is a gap between Inspiron and XPS notebook series so they decided to fill that gap with new Studio series of notebooks. This new notebook brand was presented to public in June this year and models sold under this name are intended for home users. Studio series is positioned between Inspiron and XPS series not only by its market position and price tag but also it is visually mix of those two series. By its design it leans more to XPS series (logically) because it is more attractive.

Hinges that hold top cover (monitor) are oddly shaped but not that roundish like on XPS series. We tested model with top cover that was colored in red (brick) color. In center can be found metallic Dell logo and surface of cover is mat: manufacturer calls it “micro satin finish”. This kind of surface finish makes it pleasant on touch but also fingerprint resistant. Del Studio 1535 can be found in various color variations so all trendy users will be satisfied with this option for sure. Besides nice looks, top cover is characterized by respectable firmness, so even harder pressure on top cover won’t result in picture deformation.

Keyboard and area above it are colored black, while rest is shiny grey. Palm rest is decorated with pattern that resembles lines on topographic maps or marble. Quality of keyboard is questionable. Enter key is small (we prefer big Enter key) and keyboard under pressure bends in the middle. Although it sounds bad, in practice it performs quite well. Fact is that keyboard bends under pressure but keys have deeper stroke so typing experience is in overall very pleasant experience. Touchpad has clearly marked areas for vertical and horizontal scroll with two buttons beneath. Instead of usual additional (multimedia) keys above keyboard Studio 1535 has touch sensitive key bar that emit white light when active. Beside multimedia keys there is also Eject key that replaces one usually present on optical device bay. This solution may sound odd but since Studio 1535 has slot-in DVD writer without Eject key it is perfectly logical.

Glare monitor that is used on this model has nicely saturated colors and good viewing angles. Above it is located integrated web camera with 2MPix resolution and sharp and clear picture. Web camera software has few interesting options. One of them is “Face tracking”. When this option is enabled camera will try to center your face on screen. Also this software has options for adding numerous effects in real time: adding beard, hair, glasses, animated angel and devil, replacement of background etc. This will guarantee you hours of good fun. Speakers are above average and they lack “deepness” for a complete sound picture. Since dial-up is almost extinct as way of connecting to Net there is no integrated modem in Studio 1535. As all other connectors are concerned there are plenty of them (take a look at specifications). Two headphone outputs located on left side allows listening of music for two persons at same time (or watching movies for instance). By all means most interesting accessory of Dell Studio 1535 is cute remote control small enough to fit in Express slot. Although it has only basic commands it can greatly simplify multimedia management.

Dell Studio 1535 is sold without operating system but in package we got DVD with Vista drivers. Unfortunately, Windows XP drivers cannot be found on official manufacturer’s site so if you want to install Windows XP you will need to search for drivers on the Net.