There is no hiding this trend: laptops are getting thinner and thinner this fall. Dell is hoping on and has cut the pants size on its Inspirons with its 14z and 15z.Joining the Dell Inspiron 11z, the new "Z" models have thinner, lighter bodies than the mainstream Inspirons. Both are an inch thin and feature new Intel ULV processors including Core 2 Solo, Core 2 and Core 2 Duo. Those processors also promise longer battery life; Dell promises up to 8.5 hours of battery life with a 6-cell battery.The 14z has a 16:9 14-inch display and the 15z a 15.6-inch one.
You can configure the models on Dell.com with up to 500 GB 7,200 RPM hard drives, 8GB of RAM and 4 or 6 cell batteries. Unlike the 11z, these new models have optical drives. All run Windows Vista, but should be available with Windows 7 upgrades. I will never get why you would pay an extra $40 to get a Dell in red (or a different color), but the black one starts at $599. [Dell]
