With the high-definition format wars by, Dell is offering a laptop with Blu-ray for under $900. Aimed at movie buffs, the Inspiron 1525 with optional Blu-ray drive starts at $879.

Dell’s reasoning: As retailers and video-rental companies expand their high-definition offerings, Blu-ray is the new “must-have” technology to help consumers get the most out of the viewing experience.

“Like everyone else, Dell was inhibited by the dual-standard situation. Dell wanted to form certain it didn’t overcommit before the technology decision was made within Blu-ray and HD DVD,” said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. “Now that it is clear what the standard is, Dell is building to that. Of course, Dell has always been a major supporter of Blu-ray.”

The Inspiron Details

The Inspiron 1525 laptop features a 15.4-inch high-definition, wide-aspect display with 720p resolution. It plus includes an HDMI port for connectivity to high-resolution displays and HDTVs.

The Blu-ray disc drive is fully backward compatible, according

to Dell, and will play as well as burn traditional DVDs and CDs. Consumers can additionally chose a Blu-ray burner drive for backing up and storing digital files. A Blu-ray disc will hold up to 50GB of documents, compared to 8.5GB for the typical DVD disc.

Dell’s Inspiron 1525 with Blu-ray incorporates Broadcom Media PC technology that allows PCs with integrated graphics to play high-definition video. The high-definition video playback is enabled through a built-in committed accelerator located in a mini-card slot.

Like all Dell consumer laptops, the Inspiron 1525 features Dell MediaDirect technology which promises one-button instant access to media files, even whether the system is powered off or in hibernate.

Dell is offering optional accessories to enhance the movie-watching experience, including a slim travel potential adapter, a remote control that slips into the ExpressCard slot, and Creative noise-isolation earphones.

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