Dell intros XPS 15z early, makes doubtful 'thinnest' claim

Dell skipped formal announcements and gave Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan sales of the XPS 15z. The design is supposedly the thinnest 15-inch notebook in the world at 0.97 inches and is also light, at 5.5 pounds. Its design is less conspicuously based on the MacBook Pro with a black palmrest but still has numerous similarities, down to the five-dot battery life indicator, grilles, and backlit keyboard.

The 15z makes tradeoffs in performance for extras. Processor choices are limited to dual Core i5 and i7 processors instead of the quad i7s of the inspiration. Every model makes up for it with a 1080p, 300-nit screen as well as a 750GB, 7,200RPM hard drive and 2GB GeForce GT 525M video.

Because of the slower processors, prices in Australia start at $1,399 AUD ($1,470 US) for a 2.3GHz Core i5 and 6GB of RAM. A second $1,699 AUD ($1,786 US) mode upgrades to a 2.7GHz Core i7 and 8GB of RAM. European and North American releases are expected as each country crosses over into the morning for their respective time zones.

The claim to having the thinnest 15-inch notebook, while not a major factor, is unusual in that it has already been discredited by Apple, the XPS 15z's main goal. All unibody MacBook Pros from October 2008 onward measure about 0.95 inches thick and, if using the same measurement, would have beaten the new XPS design two and a half years ago.

Update: As expected, American pricing starts at $999 for the same hardware.

Electronista

Sony Ericsson makes next-gen Xperia mini, mini pro official

Sony Ericsson used a special event on Thursday to at last confirm the second generation of its smallest Android smartphones. The touch-only Xperia mini and QWERTY slider Xperia mini pro are both much closer to full-size smartphones and both pack 1GHz Snapdragon processors, larger three-inch 320x480 screens, and five-megapixel cameras with 720p movie making. Android 2.3 carries over from the high-end phones and has been tweaked to make better use of the screen space than on the X10 minis, allowing as many as 16 apps launchable from hot corners on the home screen.

Also new is tighter Facebook integration that makes relevant parts of the social network available from music, photos, contacts, and calendars.

Either phone should get about 30 percent longer battery life than before, moving up to 4.5 hours of 3G talk on the Xperia mini and 5.5 hours on the mini pro. They come with a 2GB microSD card but can take up to 32GB.

Shipments won't start until the summer, although Sony Ericsson promises that either Xperia mini will come in a choice of four colors.

Electronista