This would rival the Mac Book Pro if I could get Ubuntu on it.  Vista can't hold a candle to what I do in Linux or on a Mac OS X OS.  The hardware is solid, but Vista keeps me from buying this.

I have been waiting for Dell to bring this line out and it looks nice and the design is headed in the right direction but you can get an Inspiron with the same specs so I see no reason for this line to exist. If I was to buy a 15inch I would buy the XPS1530M. What is needed for the 17inch is a supersized XPS 1530M that is not a gaming rig but still offers the looks and style with the aluminum of the 1530 but offers a 7200 RPM hard drive a high end processor and a better graphics card. Now if the 7200 RPM hard drive was added to the Studio 17 I could deal with the beauty of the XPS 1530M. THe Dell Dock is a nice idea if you put shortcuts on your desktop but I prefer a completely empty screen so that for me is not needed. Of course this is all preference so take it with a grain of salt.

I first saw these mentioned on The Register. They look like a nicely designed system, and some of the color choices are very good.

What surprised me is the fact that you can only get a glossy display on these. I've seen how the glossy displays make colors look deeper and richer, but I've also seen how they are nearly useless in a vehicle (dust in the air sticks to the panel and makes it hard to see) or in bright indoor or sun lighting. It's my hope that maybe Dell would add the choice for a matte finish panel to these systems.

I was also surprised to see that Vista Home/Ultimate is the only Dell supplied operating system choice for these. I think it would be a better seller with choices--maybe with Linux or Windows XP preinstalled with Vista available.

Agreed, I love the xps1330 but the vista aspect is quite annoying.  Also the lack of upfront driver support on the Dell website makes me think that Dell is dancing to Microsofts drum beat a little too much..

Was thinking of ordering some for our classes at university. However, Vista is not useful for our work. So, have to switch to another company.

These new colourful models should have quickly interchangeable skins to optimize stock balance. Having too many "wrong colour" units in store is problematic, instead You change colour in fly..

Jaak http://shop.it.ee/

I am really interested in the 1536 (and its eSata capabilities).  Anyone heard a release date?

1536 is already on sale in Japan, having purchased one myself. But to my disappointment, the hybrid crossfire capability of Puma platform isn't one of them. Onboard 3200 graphics is disabled with external 3450. people are asking Dell support to see if the hybrid crossfire capbility will be supported with a BIOS or driver update, but apparently nothing is up at the moment.

I too am interested in the 1536 and its eSATA capabilities - will it be released here in the US?  Dell Customer Care tells me either a) that it is available in-store at Best Buy, or b) that it is not a US-release model.  I'd love to know the real story.

its a pretty cool computer so when i heard about it and read the reviews i bought one i ordered my like last month but have not recieved it yet but cant wait

Have to return a Studio 15 after just a couple of days.  What a fantastic machine in many ways, but I am totally bewildered how a design could put out so much heat beneath the left palmrest.  RAM sits beneath this area, but I could not tell whether the heat was due to RAM or other components.  I was unsuccessfull trying to get an answer from DELL tech support and DELL sales resolution folks about whether eliminating the ATI graphics card and/or down-sizing the HD and/or slower Processor (mine was T9300) would reduce heat.  What a shame.  Others have reviewed this laptop and found the heat no different on the left palmrest than the right (see notebookreviews.com), but my left palmrest was very uncomfortable after only 20 minutes of light work.  A real mystery.

I ordered a Studio 17 on 9/18 and the est ship date says: 10/17, est delivery dates - 10/22-24.  I called Dell to ask if it really takes that long to ship and I'm not satisfied with the answers. 

Please tell me how I can get this shipped earlier than 10/17.  I haven't really picked a much complicated configuration. 

Thanks,

AKDL

I have a studio 15, and I'm suffering the same problem that Tom describes, left palm rest get .... heat. After some test with Dell Support they decided to change my laptop and this new one have the same problem, left palm rest get very warm. That's a shame because the rest of the laptop it is great