Dell's Budget Blu-ray Laptop March 29, 2008

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Dell thinks people are the real winners now that the high-defintion (HD) war is over and to celebrate it's launched a cheap Blu-ray laptop.

As the company says: "The high-definition format wars are over - and you won" - excluding the unfortunate HD DVD adopters, that is.

The new Inspiron 1525 with optional Blu-ray disc playback is now shipping in the US to start for $879, or £441. The notebook boasts a decent 15.4in HD widescreen display with 720p resolution and a HDMI port for hooking up to TVs. Dell's press release seems to imply that the Blu-ray drive you're geting is a burner too but it's not - you'll need to add an extra £100 for that one, taking the price to over £500.

That Blu-ray drive will also burn to blank 50GB Blu-ray discs as well as the usual line up of blank DVDs and CDs. Rather than the usual drab grey, Dell is offering the laptop in a number of exotically named colours including Chill, Blossom, Commotion, Sunshine Yellow, Midnight Blue and Ruby Red to fit in with your funky lifestyle.

It is coming to Europe but it may take a few weeks. I think the forthcoming Blu-ray equipped Acer Gemstones might give the Inspiron 1525 a run for their money.-Martin Lynch

[Dell]

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