Dell XPS 14z unboxed

Dell's luxury-oozing XPS brand re-surfaces once again to deliver the Windows 7 Home Premium-powered 14z – the smaller brother to the XPS 15z, in case you didn't get that. So, what's the skinny?

Particularly style conscious? Despite that clean, aluminium-coated design reminding us of a certain Apple-shaped machine, the 14z looks good enough to lick and continues Dell's focus on cramming good-looking, high-end design into a relatively affordable package. Not only will this bit of computing eye candy look good perched on your lap in Starbucks, but it feels great to touch – and the construction feels like it will be more than capable of taking a few knocks.

With its 23mm thick chassis, the 14z has certainly been designed for a life on the move. Yes, it's not as skinny as the recent smattering of Ultrabooks like Asus' UX21 or its MacBook Pro rival, but it hardly needs to go on a diet, does it? Plus Dell's managed to squeeze a decent spec into a relatively slender profile.