Dell’s Studio 14z is their lightest and most slim Studio laptop to date, measuring 13.23 x 0.79 x 9.02″ and weighing in at 4.30 lbs. It comes in 6 colors, Promise Pink is one of them, and as always, Dell donates $5 of the sale price of their pink laptops to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The 14z comes with some really nice extra features like face recognition and theft prevention (the full list can be found further down in this post) and has gotten rave reviews.

It comes in 3 slightly different configurations, which can all be customized. The least expensive version is $649 (+$40 to get it in pink) and features:

• Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium Edition operating system
• 2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200 processor
• 14.0″ HD (720p) display (with built-in 1.3MP webcam)
• 250GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive
• 3GB dual channel DDR3 memory at 1066MHz
• Wireless 802.11g Half Mini Card
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9400M G (graphics and chipset)
• 6-cell 56Whr Li-ion battery

The top-of-the-line optional upgrades available for the basic model are:

• 5GB DDR3 at 1066Mhz memory ($275)
• 2.66GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6MB cache Intel Core 2 Duo processor ($350)
• Windows Vista Ultimate Edition operating system ($150)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive ($175)
• 14.0″ HD+ (900p) bright LED display ($50)
• Dell 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card ($25)
• AT&T built-in cellular mobile broadband ($125)
• Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal ($20)
• 8-cell 74Whr Li-ion battery ($40)
• ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi Laptop Sound Card with Wireless Receiver Bundle ($130)
• Back-lit keyboard ($25)

So if you went with all the top choices for this system, you would end up with a price tag of $2,054.

One important thing to note is that these computers do not come with internal DVD or CD drives, so you have to get an external one if you want to use that kind of media.

The most expensive version of the Studio 14z sells for $799 (+$40 for pink), and comes with:

• Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium Edition operating system
• 2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache Intel Pentium Dual Core T6500 processor
• 14.0″ HD (720p) display (with built-in 1.3MP webcam)
• 500GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive
• 3GB dual channel DDR3 memory at 1066MHz
• Wireless 802.11g Half Mini Card
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9400M G (graphics and chipset)
• 6-cell 56Whr Li-ion battery

The top-of-the-line optional upgrades available for this model are:

• 5GB DDR3 at 1066Mhz memory ($275)
• 2.66GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6MB cache Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 processor ($300)
• Windows Vista 64-bit Ultimate Edition operating system ($150)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive ($75)
• 14.0″ HD+ (900p) bright LED display ($50)
• Dell 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card ($25)
• AT&T built-in cellular mobile broadband ($125)
• Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal ($20)
• 8-cell 74Whr Li-ion battery (lasting up to 6.5 hours) ($40)
• ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi Laptop Sound Card with Wireless Receiver Bundle ($130)
• Back-lit keyboard ($25)

If you added all the top choices for this system, you would end up with the same computer and a price tag identical to the one above: $2,054.

The only differences between the two basic configurations are the processor and hard drive, and if you were to upgrade the least expensive basic model to match the most expensive one, you end up with the exact same price ($799).

Extra features on the Studio 14z include:

• 3 USB ports (one of which is an eSATA port)
• 4-watt 2.0 SRS audio (great speakers!)
• Online backup service (Dell’s own)
• Remote access (lets you access what’s on your home computer and other electronics remotely)
• FailSafe theft prevention (which allows you to erase files, lock the computer, and track the ISP location of your laptop when the thief connects it to the internet)
• Facial recognition (to prevent others from logging in)

Also, Dell offers a free Windows 7 upgrade, and as someone who has battled with Vista for a few years now, I’d jump on that offer! For more current deals on Dell (and other) laptops, check out my “Deals, Extras and Offers on Pink Laptops” post.

Click here for my post on Dell’s Mini series. Also check out my recent post on the most recent pink laptop from Dell – the Inspiron R.

As a follow-up to my Dell Inspiron Mini post, I thought we’d take a look at how Acer’s Aspire One compares to Dell’s Mini 9. I’m comparing it to the least expensive, basic configuration of the Mini, since that is the model most similar to the Aspire One.

The Aspire One is available in two display sizes: 8.9″ and 10.1″, but only the 8.9″ comes in pink. It’s what I would call a “happy shade of pink”, Acer calls it Coral Pink: either way, it’s very pretty. It’s not customizable, but you can find a few different configurations online.

Below are the specs for the most widely available system. I have listed the same specs, in the same order as for the Dell Minis for easy comparison:

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
Processor: 1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512KB L2 cache Intel Atom
Screen: 8.9″
Hard drive: 160GB SATA
Memory: 1GB (512MB onboard, 512MB SO-DIMM)
Wireless: 802.11b/g
Graphics: Intel GMA 950
Battery: 3-Cell Lithium-Ion (optional 6-Cell Lithium-Ion)

Size: 9.8 x 1.1 x 6.7″
Weight: 2.19 lbs with the 3-cell battery, 2.78lbs with the 6-cell
Cost: $299.99

So how does this compare to Dell’s Mini 9 apart from the different operating systems (Windows XP vs. Linux)?

Similarities

• The processor, screen size, wireless and graphic cards are the same.
• Neither one comes with an internal CD/DVD drive.
• The price, size and weight are almost exactly the same.

Differences

• The battery options do differ a bit, a 4-cell is the only option on the Mini, whereas on the Aspire One, you have the option of upgrading to a 6-cell.

• The Aspire has more memory (although you are able to upgrade the Mini to 2GB for $75).

• The hard drive is where you see the big difference: Aspire One’s 160GB (SATA) vs. Dell’s 4GB (solid state). You can upgrade the Mini to a 32GB SSD (for $100), but it’s still smaller. Having said that, if your laptop has to endure a lot of shaking and the occasional drop, you’re better off with a solid state drive.

On a separate note: Tomorrow, April 7, Acer is having a huge event in NYC, where they will be launching five new product lines. I don’t know yet if any of them will be pink, but stay tuned! Update: Acer did announce several new notebooks and a nettop PC but nothing in pink.