Today Dell introduced the XPS 15z laptop one of the thinnest 15-inch PCs on the market and the first in a series of new, thin and powerful products from Dell. With the XPS 15z, everyone from mobile warriors to students and small-business’ now have everything they need in one stunning package.

With uncompromising power and elegant design, the XPS 15z offers 2nd-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, optional 15.6-inch Full HD (1080p) display for superior entertainment and web-browsing experiences. A backlit keyboard with adjustable brightness and up to eight hours of battery life are  all housed in a luxuriously crafted case that is less than an inch thick. 

Despite its incredibly slim exterior, the XPS 15z delivers uncompromising performance, including NVIDIA discrete graphics with Optimus technology that automatically switches to power-saving integrated graphics under reduced workloads – helping the battery last longer on coast-to-coast flights and movie marathons! In addition, it offers ample hard drive storage and a slot-loading DVD +/- RW drive for watching the latest films or burning music to a disc. The optional Full HD (1080p) display brings HDTV-type quality to the laptop screen.

Built-in Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity ensure it’s fast and easy to connect with e-mail, websites, Skype and Facebook from almost anywhere. For at-home entertainment, the optional Intel Wireless Display feature enables videos and photos to be streamed wirelessly from your XPS 15z to an HDMI-equipped TV. And with the exclusive Dell Stage user interface, it’s easy to access personal content such as music, photos and videos.

Priced from £899 including VAT and shipping, the XPS 15z, like all XPS computers, is designed and built from the ground up to provide a premium computing experience with the best materials, technology, performance and reliability Dell offers.

Availability:

The XPS 15z is available today from Dell’s global online stores, including www.dell.co.uk in the United Kingdom, with retail availability to follow shortly.

Spec

 Thin (0.97”/24.68mm) laptop PC with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium; aluminium and mag-alloy enclosure

 2nd-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Dual Core processor choices

 Standard HD or optional Full HD (1920×1080) WLED display

 Fast NVIDIA graphics options

o NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M with 1GB graphics memory

o NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M with 2GB graphics memory

 Includes NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology; NVIDIA 3DTV Play technology

 4GB up to 8GB DDR3[vii] 1333Mhz memory options

 Fast 7200RPM hard disk storage, up to 750GB

 Built-in Slot load DVD +/- RW (reads & writes to CD/DVD)

 Backlit, Chiclet-style keyboard with adjustable brightness

 Optimized touchpad

 Built-in Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 802.11 A/G/N and Bluetooth 3.0 wireless connectivity

 Intel Wireless Display-ready

 Up to 8 hours of battery life with 8-cell battery

 USB 3.0 (2), USB/eSATA with PowerShare, HDMI 1.4, Mini Display-Port, Gigabit Ethernet and audio connectors

 Built-in 9-in-1 media card reader

 Built-in 1.3MP HD Webcam with dual array digital microphones and stereo speakers

 Dell Stage software for fast access to content like music, videos and photos

 Dimensions: Height: 0.97” (24.68mm) / Width: 15.15” (384.85mm) / Depth 10.25” (260.37mm); Weight: starting at 5.54lbs (2.51 kg)

I was invited to Riga, Latvia last week to attend the press event for The Global Party we had a blast, press conferences as well as sightseeing and of course the obligatory drinking and partying with the ‘locals’ *ahem* you know who you are!  The Grand Palace Riga was host to our shenanigans and looked after the 20+ journalists in attendance admirably.

What is The Global Party?

The Global Party is a truly unique event that will unequivocally redefine the notion of a party. It is a charity event and will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September 2011 where 80+ parties will launch in a 24-hour period making The Global Party ‘the party of the decade’.

The Global Party has secured some of the best venues around the world including 5* hotels, night clubs and private residencies. The venues across 71 cities will host their unique individual party, inviting their city’s elite, thus creating a truly global guest list. From yachts in St Barts to luxury villas in Marrakech this will be an event not to be missed by the world’s elite.

Charities

Up to 15 charities will benefit from the event. Not only will monies be raised for these charities, but their cause will be highlighted to the 100,000 invited guests and the consequent press coverage will amplify the charities profile to a new global audience.

Charities benefiting include ARK (Absolute Return for Kids), The Duke of Edinburgh Award (IAA International Award Association), IIE (Institute of International Education), Blue Marine Foundation, Rasia Gorbachev Foundation, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Tusk and Sentebale and many more.

Tickets

5000 pairs of tickets are available to purchase by companies and individuals with prices starting at £3000 for a pair of tickets. The Global Party acts as the ultimate corporate gift as invited guests have a choice of any one of the 80+ parties around the world.

The Directors - Lord Fink  renowned hedge fund veteran and David Johnstone luxury lifestyle expert  - will also host The Worldwide Launch Party at The Natural History Museum, London on Thursday 8th September 2011.

Each invitee will receive a limited edition ‘Global Party Key-2 Luxury silver key ring. This will not only be the guests unique entrance key for their chosen party on the night but will also give them access to a vast array of privileges around the world, for the rest of their lives.

For further details contact www.theglobalparty.com

The Global Party: One invitation to rule them all, raising millions for charity.

Friday night is girl’s night in. Pizzas in, Pinot on tap, Xbox Kinect ready for plug and play.

Hold on, Xbox? As in a games console? Yes.

Ambience is set. Doors are locked, curtains are drawn and the surround sound is up. We are going to dance the night away in my living room to Xbox Kinect’s Dance Central.

Harmonix are the brains behind Dance Central and have created a party atmosphere game which teach you dance routines and include songs ranging from Cascada’s Evacuate The Dance Floor to Kool & The Gang’s Jungle Boogie, so we were not short of choices to make fools of ourselves.

The geniuses at Microsoft have invented the Kinect sensor which means that your whole body is in control. There are no control pads or fiddly buttons to press. Which is great for us (girl) gamers who tend to button bash and can’t remember where A or Z is located on a control pad. The fancy technology in the Kinect means the camera, microphone and the sensors can detect your body movement and voice commands.

You do need an element of bravery to dance and goof around with your mates, once you’re over that it is a tremendous amount of fun. The Break It Down mode is the only way to learn the more difficult routines. The dance coach gees you up when you get a flawless finish or encourages you to do better when you don’t get a move on point. While Dance Central doesn’t contain back flips or headstand moves to make you an advanced street dancer, this game can help you learn dance moves that you can easily take to a club.

You do actually break a sweat in this game, if not from the fits of laughter then from the routines itself. In Workout Mode you can enter your weight and keep track of the amount of calories burned during dance time; a game that looks out for you, thank you Microsoft.

If you are up for more banter and a little competition Battle Mode is the way forward. From easy, medium or hard, with or without the flashcards your dance skills are tested with the accumulation of points for the correct moves danced then pitted against your opponent as you dash in and out of the dance area.

For the more confident dancer, going straight to Perform It Mode will guarantee laughs, especially in the freestyle section where you are at liberty to pop it like it’s hot and then have it all embarrassingly replayed back to you via the in-built camera.

The navigation took a bit of getting used to, but once I got the knack of waving commands in the air I felt like I was emulating Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The downside, or not, as the case may be, is that as the controller you have to be spatially aware. You could blame it on the Pinot for hitting your play mate in the face or you could make the required 6-8 foot of space available. My front room was a bit of a squeeze, there were five of us and a couple bottles of Rosé so being space aware wasn’t entirely on the agenda.

The Kinect takes gaming to a different level. It makes the games console seem less of an insular activity and more socially interactive. With Dance Central it would be an idea that you like to be active and actually like to dance otherwise you may feel a bit of a third wheel watching your friends have all the fun.

The Kinect’s in-built camera ramped up the hilarity of girls’ night by taking pictures and video footage randomly. These gaming moments can be kept alongside other entertainment content on the massive 250GB hard drive. Sleek and in gloss black finish with touch sensitive buttons, this kit is quite sexy and sitting pretty beneath the LCD screen you would hardly notice it was a games console. If that wasn’t enough, with the Xbox 360 LIVE having wi-fi in-built meant I could tweet and dance at the same time. The girls’ night was in full swing; we weren’t dancing around our handbags but having a party focused on Dance Central. Who said girls aren’t gamers? You don’t