The low price is a benefit of the instant savings Dell is offering on the laptop, which fared well in a recent PC Magazine review. Note that according to the Dell Web site, you'll need to purchase a version with an Intel 1.83-GHz Core 2 Duo T5550 processor inside, apparently to provide enough CPU horsepower to provide smooth Blu-ray playback.

The drawback is the anemic Intel X3100 integrated graphics; unfortunately, there is no discrete graphics option with this notebook. On the other hand, the laptop contains a built-in Broadcom Media PC chip mounted on an internal minicard, and designed to provide hardware acceleration for Blu-ray discs.

Optional accessories include a slim travel power adapter ($80), Dell's travel remote control (IR) that slips into the ExpressCard slot ($22), and Creative noise-isolation earphones ($25).