Dell launches a new ultra-thin laptop in China

Dell has just launched a new ultra-thin XPS 14z laptop in China on September 30, 2011. Then there will be other markets at the end of this year holiday.

Dell advertised the XPS 14z as the world's thinnest, full-featured laptop with a disc-sized DVD player. The device is only about 23mm thin, with an aluminum frame similar to Apple's MacBook Pro series.

Its 14-inch HD screen has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Users can choose to buy Dell XPS 14z with Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. Dell said the device's battery lasted 7 hours. In China, this new laptop is priced from 7,699 yuan, equivalent to $ 1,205 (~ 25 million).

Dell first launched this laptop in the Chinese market, just before the country's National Day holiday. In a speech at the product launch, Dell said China is now the world's largest personal computer market. In the second quarter of 2011, the country surpassed the US in sales and number of personal computers sold, according to research firm IDC.

Dell is currently the world's second-largest provider of personal computers (after HP). But the company is still at risk of losing this position to rival Lenovo, which is currently the fastest growing of the world's top five personal computer vendors. Lenovo's president in early September 2011 said he hoped Lenovo would surpass Dell in market share later this year.

While Dell is strong in the US market, it is still focusing more on developing markets, according to Tracy Tsai, an analyst with research firm Gartner. In Asia, laptops with 14-inch screens are most commonly used, Ms Tsai added.

However, Dell XPS 14z laptop has an unattractive price for most Chinese users. In Asia, personal computers priced between 600 USD and 800 USD (~ 12.6 million to 16.8 million) are most suitable for general users, Ms Tsai said.

Dell launched the XPS 14z laptop because computer vendors tend to release ultra-thin laptops. At the end of May 2011, chipmaker Intel announced plans to boost a thin and light line of laptops called ' Ultrabooks ', in an effort to improve mobile PCs. Dell said, XPS 14z is not a Ultrabook.

However, the XPS 14z is part of the trend of the computer industry, in order to create more value for laptops and to help users experience similar to smartphones and tablets, Ms Tsai said. Intel and personal computer vendors want to reduce the boot time for laptops, longer battery life and also make their devices lighter.