Dell's XPS 15z goes on sale in the US, shiny aluminum is yours from $999

The Dell XPS 15z may not be the gamechanger we'd hoped for, but it's one heck of a Windows PC, and today the aluminum and magnesium alloy machine is on sale in the United States starting at $999. You'll find a total of five different configs available online, with the base model providing a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive and a slot-loading DVD burner, plus loads of connectivity inside and out -- including dual-band 802.11a/g/n and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. (Whew.) $1,500 ups the ante to a 2.7GHz Core i7 rig with 8GB of RAM, 2GB of VRAM and 750GB of rotating storage, not to mention a nice bright 1080p display. Strangely, there's no solid state option on tap, but you can nab that 300-nit, 1920 x 1080 LCD screen for an additional Benjamin no matter which config you choose. Find all your options at our source link, and while you're at it, why not read our full review?

Update: Aaron wrote in to let us know it's available in the UK too -- starting at £899.

Dell

Dell XPS 15z available in Australia and Asia, fits Sandy Bridge in under an inch of thickness

The XPS 15z, true to Michael Dell's word, is now with us. Provided "now" is May the 24th in whatever part of the world you happen to live in. Laptop shoppers in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan -- a group of nations already enjoying the glories of Tuesday -- can now buy the 0.97 inches-thick 15z for prices starting at just under A$1,400. That buys you a Core i5-2410M from Intel (2.3GHz default speed, 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost), a generous 6GB of DDR3 RAM, backlit keyboard, GeForce GT 525M graphics with 2GB of dedicated memory, a 750GB hard drive, and a 64WHr battery. The screen spans 15.6 inches diagonally and offers 1920 x 1080 resolution. Stepping up to A$1,700 gets you a Core i7-2620M (2.7GHz default, 3.4GHz TB) and 8GB of RAM. Juicy specs, we must admit. Now when's midnight coming?

Dell (Australia), (Malaysia), (Hong Kong), (Taiwan), (Japan)

Dell XPS 15z coming tomorrow for $999?

The thinnest 15-inch laptop "on the planet" is coming tomorrow, costing a measly $999, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a profile of Dell's recent history and forthcoming plans in the consumer electronics market, the financial paper twice makes reference to an ultrathin, $999 laptop that is set to launch on Tuesday of this week. Pairing that intel with the abundance of leaks surrounding the slinky 15.6-inch XPS 15z -- including a Michael Dell tweet promising it's "coming soon" -- leads us to the conclusion that we've finally gotten ahold of the price and date for Dell's next big thing. Interestingly enough, the WSJ article goes on to say that Dell had canned a similar set of slim laptops earlier in the year, which might give us greater hope for the quality of the 15z -- it survived where others didn't.

Other disclosures in the piece include a quote from Michael Dell, saying that he "didn't completely see" the tablet boom coming, which might explain why sales of his company's Streak tablets have been low enough to be described as "immaterial." There's also a discussion of the abortive Zing music service and related MP3 players that never were, but you'll have to hit the source link to learn more about them.

Wall Street Journal

NVIDIA driver page outs 3D Vision support for Dell XPS 15z, surprises no one

Michael Dell may aim to tease, but NVIDIA is just giving it away: a recent driver update lists Dell's upcoming XPS 15z laptop as one of several snagging 3D Vision 3DTV Play, scoring prospective buyers 3D gaming via NVIDIA-supported 3DTVs. Little surprise here, considering the 15z's predecessor rocked a GeForce GT 540M (also 3DTV Play supported), which we'll note, falls under this driver update. Although we're still short on official hardware specs, we won't be shocked if the 15z has the graphical chops to handle Duke Nukem Forever, Portal 2, or any of the other 3D Vision games whose profiles were added in the update. Now, the real question: would the Dell dude approve?

NVIDIA