Dell’s Studio line of laptops has got a new addition – the Studio 14z, which was announced on a rather low profile on Thursday. The 4.3-pound, 0.76 to 1.2 inches thin new upscale Studio laptop joins the ranks of the MacBook Air and Dell Adamo.

The slightly-tapered Studio 14z incorporates design elements from Dell’s high-end XPS laptops, and has been described by Dell as “a homework-busting system by day and an entertainment powerhouse by night.”

Studio 14z features 4W SRS audio with discrete tweeters; an HDMI port; and an Nvidia 9400M GPU. Other specs of the new laptop comprise a 1.3-megapixel integrated webcam, eSATA connectivity, DisplayPort, two headphone jacks, and an optional 8-in-1 card reader.

Supporting a 14-inch 16:9 LED display with either HD or HD+ resolution, the new Dell offering is ideal for users looking for an easy-to-carry laptop, with a larger hard drive up to 500 GB, rather than an optical drive. Studio 14z runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor; boasts of up to six hours of battery life with the system’s basic 8-cell battery; and offers mobile broadband, along with draft wireless-N and optional Bluetooth.

Priced at $649, Studio 14z will be available in an array of colors - Black Chain Link, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Plum Purple, Promise Pink, and Ruby Red – and over 120 designs from the Dell Studio collection!