The full 1080p version of the display incorporates a technology that Dell calls "Splendid Color." An "enhanced color performance" option in the Windows 7 Mobility Center lets you toggle between Generic Color and Splendid Color. Nearly all laptops today use twisted-nematic-style displays that can show only 6 bits of color per channel, so they attempt to match the 8-bit-per-channel color from your graphics card with a combination of dithering techniques. As such, they have trouble encompassing the entire sRGB color space. Splendid Color can't get around these basic engineering issues, but it attempts to match colors more closely with the part of the sRGB color space that the panel can display. So, it doesn't extend the 6-bit color gamut, but it does more accurately represent colors within that color gamut. Splendid Color also incorporates color enhancement, sharpness enhancement, and contrast enhancement.

Does it work? Well, some of the colors may be more accurate, but overall the saturation and contrast are blown out of whack. The effect is reminiscent of how HDTVs have their contrast and color saturation pumped up to look good in stores but somewhat unnatural at home. Photos pop maybe more than intended, and subtle detail in very dark areas is lost in the name of contrast enhancement. I spent hours jumping back and forth between Generic and Splendid Color settings, and I definitely prefer the Generic Color mode.

The XPS 15z's performance is about what you'd expect from a laptop with a midlevel dual-core Core i5 or Core i7 processor. Our review unit scored an impressive 134 on WorldBench 6, and its gaming performance was okay; you can play real modern games, but you'll have to run the more strenuous titles at reduced resolution and settings to maintain a smooth frame rate. Our test unit lasted just over 5 hours on one charge in our battery tests--less than Dell claims, but reasonable for a powerful system with a 15.6-inch screen. We would have expected a better graphics card in a $1500 laptop, however, in place of the pointless doubling of graphics RAM. The entry-level model's price/performance ratio is far more appealing. Audio quality from the built-in speakers was among the best we've seen in this class of laptop.

Dell throws in some basic software with the XPS 15z, including McAfee antivirus software and Dell's Webcam Central software, which makes tweaking webcam settings easy. The most important part of the software bundle may be Stage, a floating desktop toolbar that lets you quick-launch games, music, photos, websites, and access to Dell support software. I'm not entirely sold on it, in part because I just don't think that the world needs another proprietary toolbar. Some of the apps, such as those for listening to music or viewing photos, are Dell's own. They're okay, but it's not as if we need more music, photo, or video software. Stage is easy to disable or uninstall, however.

Let's hope that the XPS 15z proves to be a turning point for Dell, signaling a new direction for Dell consumer product design and engineering in general, rather than a niche "high style" brand that will represent only a small fraction of the company's consumer sales. Perhaps in two or three years, the Dell lineup will consist entirely of sleek, stylish, well-built models with great features and reasonable prices. And we'll say, "You know, it all started with that XPS 15z." Regardless of how things turn out, this is one of the best laptops Dell has made in a long time. It has its quirks, and it's not a great value in its higher-priced configurations, but it hits all the right notes. It's good enough to make me look forward to the future models of the XPS z-series, and to hope that the sensibilities that produced this laptop find expression throughout Dell's product lines.