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Dell unleashes 15.4-inch XPS laptop

Dell has announced a new laptop in the XPS range -- the M1530 -- which in the company's words is "like the M1330, but bigger".

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury

Dell has announced a new laptop in the XPS range, which in the company's words is "like the M1330, but bigger". As a 15 inch laptop, it's not a stretch to imagine that the new laptop is named the M1530.

The M1530 can be configured with a GeForce 8600M GT and Blu-ray.

Standard features include the high-definition widescreen 15.4-inch display, a slot-load optical drive, DirectX 10 capable graphics, sophisticated touch sensitive media buttons, an integrated Web-cam and HDMI support.

One interesting thing is that Blu-ray will be an option on the M1530, whereas local Dell representatives have told us it won't be available on the M1330. Dell tells us this is because the onboard graphics of the M1330 lack the grunt to reproduce HD movies.

The laptop is available in either Tuxedo Black or Alpine White -- it appears the red option on the M1330 wasn't very popular -- and it can be specced up with a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7800, either a NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS or GeForce 8600M GT (needed for Blu-ray) graphics adaptor, and up to a 320GB hard disk or 64 GB solid state drive.

As a result of the size increase, the M1530 is a little more portly than its little brother, weighing 2.6 kilograms with a 23.7 mm thickness.

Available to order from November 29, prices start at AU$1499. With the Christmas rush coming up, don't expect to get one in your stocking, though.