Studio 1537 Week One

So i've had my 1537 which replaced my 1535 which came damaged. here's a quickie on my thoughts and junk....

1: while there seems to be little to no difference in the 1535 v 1537, there are some little extras i like in the 1537. the AC power light is on the AC plug side and not on the chassis itself. this makes looking for the charger a lot easier then lighting up the actual laptop itself. kinda makes sense since you already know where the plug should go into... the trick is to find the plug!

2: build quality... eh... leaves a little to be desired. the main fan below the left side of the screen had a little "stress" issue. not sure if it's how i picked it up or what but it something started to scrap against the fan. it became really predominate when my cat rubbed his cheek on the top of the screen and the noise would come back. it was also REALLY apparent there was something wong when the fan would go into "i'm on crack" mode. i had to open the rear up and just flex a little something upward away from the fan. not sure if it'll come back but it's something a week old brand new laptop should not have to deal with. it's like getting a new car and the cup holder snaps off. ??

3: the media button also needs a serious overhaul. while they are trying to copy what HP has (gf has a HP laptop), the execution was definitely though up by someone with an IQ equal of a snail. it's a thin flex plastic making some sort of connection under it. while i was remedying the scraping fan noise, i must have flexed where the buttons reside causing the volume UP button to be pressed..... CONSTANTLY. i had to take the rear covers off again, look around and not sure what i did but it's fixed.............. for now.

4: ok, enough bad crap, the goods. I don't know why anyone would ever go back to anything that doesn't have WLED display. even at the lowest setting is enough brightness for common office and internet use. this is important since one of the main determining factor in battery life is screen brightness, the ability to use it at full dim comfortably (at least for me) means taking one step toward extending the on-battery life.

5: fingerprint... i don't know how to log into another website or bank account any other way now. it makes snooping eyes a thing of the past though it does draw attention when you swipe and you're in. one of my classmate wondered why i would need biometrics on a laptop and when i showed him, it all made sense.

6: i like how the mobo does offer a selection of connections from BT to Wifi-N to even cellular (going to add one). the really nice part is the SIM insert is behind the battery. add card, slip sim in and you've got the internet on the go. wouldn't mind getting another line from AT&T just for unlimited 3G data and cut my cable modem off. really, no use since i get really good 3G transfer rate here; my HTC Touch Cruise blows though the internet and picture loading and youtube really smoothly. granted it doesn't really replace the broadband connection cable offers but being an ex-gamer, i can let it go.... for now. for the same cost of cable modem, i can have mobile connectivity albeit slower. quid pro quo.

7:haven't tried the HDMI but i think i'll do it later with netflix online. will report back on this feature next week if i do one for next week.

8: i don't have eSATA drive but i'mma now gonna look into it! god, more wasting money! lol... and i just bought a NAS enclosure for SATA drives and it comes with an extra USB port to add an additional drive and it also can act as a print server. i guess later on when i encounter an eSATA drive, i'd be prepared. And this is the other thing. for the price i paid (not going to mention it because i might as well be highway robbery), you can't beat the amount of hardware that's packed into a 15.4.

9: it's big boned but not fat and it's all in your bag. i have carried the 1537 in my Samsonite side bag and in my Jack Spade Greene St and it doesn't feel bad or heavy. it has weight but not obnoxious or physically hindering. so unless you're the ultimate ColdPlay fan, dude, it's fine. chicks: think of it as an double feature of a laptop and something that helps you lose weight; see, we're thinking of you all the time.

10: i wish the wifi and bt connection could be separated. i really don't need bt on when the wifi is on too. really pointless and it's an additional parasitic drain on the battery.

11: audio is ok. it's a laptop for crying out loud.

12: i would like to see more function buttons on the F keys. i miss the "instant display off" on my Acer. a quick lock of the laptop and a quick display off and i'm set. saves battery life instantly and offers a little privacy in case someone walks up.


that's it for now. maybe as i find more of what Dell has crammed in here i'll make a mentioning of it if it's worthy enough. BIOS has been updated and i have seen no difference. would like to do a dual, if not triple, boot of XP and OSX or Ubuntu. that'll come down the line. i think SSD should have been available though the price they command for the amount of space, Dell would never have been able to put their little extra something-something on a 64 gig SSD. maybe in 2 or 3 years time i'll look into one as the price should be more reasonable. if you have no idea what the advantages are, youtube SSD and be amazed.

 

Thank's for the info, nice to have a usability review from yer' 'average joe' lappy user - very useful for me!