14 DAY TRIAL // Most of the ultrabooks loaded with Windows 8, that we've seen so far, carry unflattering prices, but Dell's Inspiron 15z at least succeeds in reaching the one that market watchers predicted.
Ultrabooks started off at well over $1,000 / 1000 Euro in price, from which they ever so slowly did their best to walk away.
Unfortunately, though it seemed as if notebook makers were making progress in creating affordable ultrabooks, they have reverted.
The incredibly disappointing sales weren't enough of a motivator, it seems. The ultrathin laptops, at least those not based on AMD chips, even now hover around the price mark mentioned above.
Dell's Inspiron 15z is one of the very few models that ship, or will ship, for $750 / 577 Euro, the sum that was described as the closest thing to a “sweet spot” that 2012 would allow for.
While everyone is still looking forward to $699 / 699 Euro, this much will have to do.
That said, Dell Inspiron 15z pairs a Core i3 CPU with up to 6 GB of DDR3 RAM (random access memory) and an SSD (solid-state drive) of 32 GB.
A DVD burner is integrated in the design. This is actually an unusual feature, as optical drives are hard to fit inside thin frames.
As if this weren't enough, the configuration can get a 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M GPU (graphics processing unit) if buyers are willing to pay a little more.
On that note, there are a pair of other things that extra cash will bring (the total price would got to $900 / 900 Euro, give or take). A touchscreen is one, while a stronger CPU (Core i5 or Core i7) is the other.
As for the design, it isn't embellished in any way, although the clean lines do look like they could fit the tastes of everyone.