Fat chance
Having shown off its sleek lines and aluminium in video earlier in the month, Dell will release its XPS 15z laptop to the world tomorrow, according to the Wall Street Journal. The system is touted as the thinnest ‘on the planet' by Dell and launches at a keen $999 price - significantly less than a similar-size MacBook, which it's presumably designed to compete with.
The design certainly takes a few queues from the MacBook, with an aluminium chassis, a prevalence smooth lines and a slot-loading disc drive at the forefront of the 15z's aesthetic - even the placement of the speaker grills is MacBook-like. If the build quality matches up to the durable unibody of Apple's MacBook the 15z should make a very positive impression.
The full specs aren't yet known, but Dell has revealed that Core i5 and i7 processors will be featured by the XPS 15z. It's to be expected that the system will offer a wide range of configuration options, in usual Dell style, and although the entry level model's price is very competitive, it's likely that a system with a comparable spec to a 15in MacBook is likely to push the cost of a thus configured XPS 15z up notably.
Dell will be hoping for better success with the 15z than its previous MacBook Air-rivalling laptop, the Adamo, and its Streak tablet. The sales of the latter were described by Michael Dell, the company's CEO and founder, as ‘immaterial' and although not explicitly stated, the Adamo's reception was almost certainly similar.
Whether the 15z will suffer the same fate remains to be seen, but Apple isn't likely to take any threat to its MacBooks lying down so Dell will definitely have a fight on its hands.
