I purchased the Studio 17 on line from Dell. Prior to purchasing the Studio 17, I called a Dell sales representatives. I asked if I would notice a difference between the monitor on the Studio and the Dell SP2309W 23-inch monitor on my desk. I was told the difference would not be noticeable. Based on this information and my past excellent experiences with Dell machines and Dell support, I ordered the Studio 17.

I was extremely disappointed in the quality of the display on the Studio 17. It was substantially less clear than my Dell SP2309W–really not suitable for the long hours I spend on my machines.

Confident that Dell would readily take this machine back (based on my past excellent experience Dell), I called Dell’s returns department.

I was informed that a 15% restocking fee would apply, that these were the rules, and that there was no one who was authorized to waive this fee. I noted that Dell’s website clearly states that the fee does not apply if the “return is a direct result of a Dell error.” Direct misrepresentation by Dell’s sales representative would seem to fit the common sense definition of an “error.” I was given a great deal of legalistic verbiage by a number of Dell employees, but no help of the sort that I would expect from Dell. I was finally referred to Dell’s legal department although no address or phone was provided. I asked the simple courtesy that the return period of 21 days be extended while I pursued this option, I was told that this period was not extendable.

Dell’s customer service policy appears to be Caveat Emptor.

Still, there’s a lot to love about the Dell M1330. It’s ultra portable/super thin wedge shape design, full-sized keyboard, and built-in memory card slot, integrated web-cam & mic, and 2 headphone jacks, also adds to it’s intrinsic value and charm. Few laptops can match both it’s ‘power per size’ ratio. And although it’s been available now for a couple years, it can still hold it’s own among some of the newer laptops on the market. And when it’s all said and done, I think that it makes this Dell a true “classic”… especially now that Dell has discontinued this model. It can still be acquired “new or used” on sites like Ebay, through Dell’s online Outlet store, and other online sources. It’s also still available at some retail stores.

Pros:

-Beautiful glossy 13.3″ wide screen (also available with LED backlight)

-Great super portable, sleek, light, and sexy design.

-Powerful (up to 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo and 128mb NVIDIA GeForce Video Card option)

-Nice array of colors available including “Blue, Pink, White, Black, and Red”

-Slot Loading Optical drive

-Wide array of hard drive options including SSHD, easy to DIY hard drive upgrade as well.

Cons:

-Only 2 USB drives

-No Blu-ray Option

-Standard 6-cell battery doesn’t last too long (about 2 hrs) Don’t even bother with 3-cell batt.

-9 Cell battery available but it’s very expensive and adds much bulk to laptop.(sticks out too)

Conclusion:

This is a sexy and powerful high-end ultra-portable laptop. I’ve heard that it was rated the most powerful laptop per it’s size (when it was first released) …But this may not be true anymore. The XPS line of Dell laptop has a higher build quality than most regular consumer laptops on the market. And because the prices for this model has drastically dropped (now that it’s been discontinued), it’s even more of a bargain. Mine has been very dependable and I’d highly recommend it to others.

I looked into the Dell Mini 12s, but decided against one because they’re simply not as portable. The Mini 12 has a bigger screen, keyboard and hard drive space, but that also makes the PC bigger and less portable. The Mini 9’s smaller keyboard will require a bit of adjustment, epecially if you use the F keys very much since they’re integrated with the second row of letter keys. I don’t have a problem with the size of the screen, but I can see how some might. Try to look at one of these in person before you buy if you think it might be an issue.

The Mini 9 will handle 2GB of RAM, but it can only be shipped with up to 1GB because of the software license with Windows XP. Thank you Miscrosoft for another slap in the face! I mean, anything’s better than getting a machine with Vista on it, but REALLY. Dell also put the RAM cap on the Mini9s with Ubuntu, which really makes no sense… Anyway, it’s nothing to pop open the cover, put in your extra GB of RAM, close it, and have the zippiest little netbook around. (I think it will handle a 4GB stick, but then you’re looking at power and heat issues.) When you turn it on, it’s ready to go in no time, even without a memory upgrade! Also, decompress the drive. Compression doesn’t save that much space and it runs better. If hard drive space is an issue, add an external drive, thumb drive or SD card.

It doesn’t come with a DVD drive, but how often do you really use one? I only use mine to install software and to rip my CDs to iTunes. I don’t do either of those things when I’m out and about, and remember, it’s all about that portability! Eventually you will need to buy a DVD drive, but you might not need one right away. Also plan on investing in an external mouse if you don’t like touchpads. This one is particularly irritating because it’s so small. I can’t really comment on how this or anything else affects battery life, since I rarely run on the battery. The speakers are really small, so have some headphones on hand if sound is a problem for you.

I got it and immediately covered it with one of those sticker skins later to keep it from getting scratched. It’s a glossy finish that you just know is going to get sandpapered if you carry other stuff in your bag. (And who doesn’t?) I also got the webcam and bluetooth options, even though I have no use for either of them. That was because hubby will eventually inherit this when I buy something else, so I wanted him to be able to expand this however he would need.

My only other gripe is that when you use this in public, you get a lot of people coming up to interrupt you to talk about it. It’s not Dell’s fault, but if you need to get something done, don’t do it in Starbucks where you’ll be interrupted about every 30 seconds. Come on, it’s the 21st century! It’s difficult to accomplish anything in an environment like that. I had the same problem with my PDA and folding keyboard, and when it started to happen again, I wanted to cry… but my Mini won’t let me.

Overall, this is 4 1/2 stars, but the drawbacks are nothing when I can put this in my purse, go to Borders, do my thing, and get out without the achy shoulder. I always wanted a small laptop like this, light enough to carry around, small, with PC power and feel. Now that I have one, the sky is clear, birds are singing and velvet ropes have parted– well, not really, but this is about as close as I can get.

Cons: I don’ t think there’s anything bad with this laptop. If it were up to me, I’d make the whole world buy this laptop.

Summary: I like this product because first of all you are getting a 2.53 GHz intel centrino 2, core 2 duo processor with FSB 1066MHz, and a 3GB RAM (speed of RAM is 800MHz). Then you have a perfect size 15.4″ screen, with max resolution 1440*900. Then you have a 250GB SATA 5400 rpm HDD with gravity shock protection. All power to Sony for that. For networking you have built-on Wireless, built-in bluetooth therefore good bye cables and clutter.For webcam, you have a built-in camera as well. The keyboard is a typing bliss, I wish I had a typing job. Its ergonomic and it feels so good on fingers. The laptop is very light weigh and thin. It is almost as think as it could get. Battery life is good. 5 hrs practical battery life with Wi-Fi on and bluetooth On. Then it has a finger print reader. Wow. On top of it, Win XP Professional and Win Vista, both option. Also, the casing and keyboard is spill resistant, so if you drop tea or coffee on the keyboard you do not have to worry about anything, you just turn the power off and invert the laptop. I think this is by far the best laptop I have used and one could buy. Thanks.

1) 8 months after purchase a file in my user account was corrupted and my user settings were wiped out. My data was still in there, but sorting things out was not easy.

2) Development was a pain in the butt because if I didn’t have a network connection, the system would not connect to my on-board web application server. Surprise!

3) User account control was kludgy with file access permissions. OK this is Vista…but not my problem Dell.

4) Vista. Enough said. Had to buy it for a job. Way to go Bill!

5) Hard drive is constantly checking itself for consistency. Errors in the hard drive bitmap. Probably because its a crappy hard drive.

6) Left part of case is separating from hinge…probably because of crappy workmanship.

Even with Windows 7, XP or Linux I wouldn’t buy another box like this…it’s an all around piece of junk. Not what I’d expect for an XPS system.