Dell launches $879 Blu-ray notebook

Dell Inc. on Friday launched an Inspiron 1525 laptop with Blu-ray disc playback for less than $1000. The new offering with a Blu-ray Disc drive will compliment Dell’s award-winning Inspiron line of laptops.

The 15.4" Inspiron 1525 with Blu-ray drive is a lightweight model that comes with an HDMI port for easily connecting to high-definition displays and HDTVs. The laptop comes standard with a 15.4-inch high definition widescreen display with 720p resolution and a CD/DVD writer which can also read (but not write) BD discs.

The Inspiron 1525 appears to be the first to offer Blu-ray playback for just $879. The unit comes embedded with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, an 80GB hard drive and 1GB of DDR2 memory, and is available in different vibrant colors including Sunshine Yellow, Midnight Blue and Ruby Red.

According to Dell, the Blu-ray player disc drive will not only play but also burn traditional DVDs and CDs. In addition, the Inspiron player can burn files, such as digital photos and videos, to a Blu-ray disc, that can hold as much as 50 GB of data compared to 8.5 GB on a standard DVD.

Dell has incorporated the Broadcom Media PC technology in its laptops with Blu-ray drives that allows high definition playback to HDTVs and high definition monitors through the use of a dedicated decoder located in the laptops’ mini-card slot.

And for those consumers who want to watch Blu-ray movies on-the-go, Dell has available a slim travel power adapter and IR remote control for quick access to Blu-ray menus.

Available in a variety of funky designs- Chill, Blossom and Commotion- these laptops can be purchased directly from company’s website. The device is available immediately in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Inspiron 1525 ships with optional accessories that include a slim travel power adapter, noise-isolation earphones and a Dell travel remote control that goes into the ExpressCard slot.

The Toshiba manufactured HD DVD and Sony-backed Blu-Ray have long been indulged in battle for the $24-billion-a-year home video market share since their launch in Year 2006.

But, the format war between the HD DVD format and the rival Blu-ray reached at its end last month when Toshiba Corp., the Japanese electronics maker, announced its decision to abandon the HD DVD format, handing a victory to Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s competing Blu-ray, in the high-definition DVD format war.

The competitor Sony has taken a considerable lead in the format rivalry in recent months, gaining the exclusive endorsements of The Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Toshiba in February said it would cease research and production of HD DVD equipment and will end the business around March 31. However, Toshiba will continue to provide full product support and after-sales service for 1 million owners of its HD DVD equipment including players and recorders.