Dell XPS 13 - Ultrabook that looks like they've almost got it right

[darkewaffle]

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-l321x/pd - product page
http://www.dell.com/html/global/xps13/xps-13-ultrabook.html - marketing crap, though it's actually pretty slick

I got an email about this earlier today and I really like what they've done with it. It looks like it has almost all the goods at the base $1000 configuration even: 128GB SSD, backlit keyboard, gorilla glass screen (seems like a good idea at any rate), moderate speed SNB dualcore with solid turbo and personally I think it looks very good aesthetically; I think I'd prefer using their 'carbon fiber' bottom to an all metal body. Hit's a lot of the same marks the Macbook Air does for certain.

Though I'm not sure what I'd think about a glass touchpad and the keyboard at first glance looks a little suspect, and how good/bad the screen is remains to be seen. But I think Dell's XPS line is moving in a really good direction over the last few generations; since the revitalized XPS 15 Anand reviewed I've actually been excited to see what Dell comes up for their laptops.

 

[Sunburn74]

I would have liked to see an all metal body, and a thinner form factor. But as a laptop its not bad...

 

[ultimatebob]

Come on... no Ethernet jack? That's lame.

I don't care if Apple did the same thing with the Macbook Air... I thought it was stupid when they did it as well.

Why are people willing to wait forever for large files to transfer over their wireless network just so they can have a cool looking laptop??

 

[TheStu]

Even the $1500 option only comes with a 720p (so 1366*768) display. At least on the Air and the Asus you can get 1440*900 (standard on Air) or 1600*900 (upgrade on Asus) display.

Glass trackpad is the way to go, it feels the same through its entire life, unlike plastic ones that get all gunky and shiny and bad.

Also, their adapter prices are really high, $36 for a MiniDP-VGA adapter. Apple charges $29 (which is still high as well) and monoprice has them for $7 each (their VGA one is $14)

 

[Pardus]

no optical, hdmi or ethernet = fail
display not 1080p, only 1,366-by-768 = fail

 

[gmaster456]

Looks sexy, but would rather have a thinkpad or latitude.

 

[TheStu]

no optical, hdmi or ethernet = fail
display not 1080p, only 1,366-by-768 = fail

There is only 1 1080p 13" that I know of, the Sony Z (or X or whatever). It starts at like $2000 and per Anandtech's review has a fairly lackluster keyboard and trackpad, and the hinge design is... silly.

None of the current flock of 'ultrabooks' have optical drives that I know of, and it really isn't a huge deal unless you really do watch DVDs all. the. time. HDMI is available through the MiniDP which also supports DVI (obviously) and VGA. Lack of ethernet... I don't really have strong feelings on the matter.

 

[Herr Kutz]

No dedicated home and end buttons = fail

 

[ultimatebob]

Looks sexy, but would rather have a thinkpad or latitude.

Yeah... Lenovo seems to do a better job of making thin and light laptops that do not leave out critical features just for the sake of making things slightly thinner or lighter.

 

[rsutoratosu]

i use lenovos they just cost a lot more.. i'm waiting for docking stations ultrabooks.. it sucks to use these for work without them.

 

[rabbitz]

i use lenovos they just cost a lot more.. i'm waiting for docking stations ultrabooks.. it sucks to use these for work without them.

omg yes docking stations.... they're one of those things that you don't know you're missing until you use one, then you can't understand how you've ever lived without

 

[Hulk]

I realize this has been discussed and moaned about for literally years now by the Anandtech staff and readers but it is absolutely, completely ridiculous that we aren't offered high resolution IPS displays on laptops. I used to think the reason was power based, they simply used too much power, but we've been seeing IPS tablets for some time now so that's not it. As far as price there are many, many people that will pay the premium.

I just don't get it? If ONE manufacturer, just one, went out on a limb and offered a high resolution display IPS display option on all of their laptops they would own the market. Assuming the rest of the laptop didn't completely suck. Imagine this new Dell XPS 13 with a 1080p IPS display. In fact 1080p could be the De facto upgrade standard resolution from every laptop up to 16" or so. Just scale the fonts and icons to your personal preference. I'd pay $200 for a high resolution IPS screen as an upgrade. Maybe more.

 

[Phynaz]

If ONE manufacturer, just one, went out on a limb and offered a high resolution display IPS display option on all of their laptops they would go out of business because they will have priced themselves out of the market.

Fixed for you.

People don't want quality, they want cheap. Just look at all the the threads here, the vast majority have the word "cheap" in them.

 

[Hulk]

Fixed for you.

People don't want quality, they want cheap. Just look at all the the threads here, the vast majority have the word "cheap" in them.

Sadly you are right

 

[jrocks84]

Fixed for you.

People don't want quality, they want cheap. Just look at all the the threads here, the vast majority have the word "cheap" in them.

Well... as much as I hate to say it, hopefully Apple will use IPS displays in the future Macbook Pro refresh. Then maybe they'll set off the same display spec war we see going on now in phones/tablets.

 

[darkewaffle]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5660/dell-xps-13-a-different-kind-of-ultrabook

AT review just posted this morning for anyone interested. Seems the fan is loudish, the thermal dissipation could use some re-thinking and the screen is as expected but generally positive otherwise. Maybe I'll bite on the XPS 13.1 sometime

 

[Anubis]

no optical, hdmi or ethernet = fail
display not 1080p, only 1,366-by-768 = fail

chicklet style keyboard = fail

trifecta compleat

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Island-style keyboards are great as long as they're implemented right. In the case of the new XPS 13 it looks like Dell made the perfect recipe for failure: very low travel, very mushy and low-quality feel.

If a laptop doesn't have a good keyboard then it's not worth spending money on, IMO.

 

[MrX8503]

Why the eff do you need an optical drive in an ultrabook? If you want an ancient optical drive then get a notebook. The dell xps looks nice, but the screen looks terrible! I've never seen a screen with such bad viewing angles.

 

[slopokdave]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5660/dell-xps-13-a-different-kind-of-ultrabook

AT review just posted this morning for anyone interested. Seems the fan is loudish, the thermal dissipation could use some re-thinking and the screen is as expected but generally positive otherwise. Maybe I'll bite on the XPS 13.1 sometime

The fan is unfortunately true, but, on notebook review forums we have a Dell rep working with owners stating that another BIOS revision is coming that will make it better. We already had 1 BIOS revision and I notice little difference.

Just basic web browsing like now kicks in on and whines. It wasn't bad at first, still isn't, but is noticeable. Everything else IMO is great. The form factor is soooooo good.

 

[UNCjigga]

Needs 3 things:
- Ivy Bridge
- Higher resolution screen
- Better battery

 

[erikistired]

Come on... no Ethernet jack? That's lame.

I don't care if Apple did the same thing with the Macbook Air... I thought it was stupid when they did it as well.

Why are people willing to wait forever for large files to transfer over their wireless network just so they can have a cool looking laptop??

i'm guessing the crowd for this laptop doesn't really care about ethernet. heck, most of the hotels i stay in these days don't even have wired rooms, it's all wireless unless you go down to the "business center". and if you do, it's not like you can't get a usb ethernet adapter on the cheap.

no optical, hdmi or ethernet = fail
display not 1080p, only 1,366-by-768 = fail

this is not the laptop you are looking for. arguing for the sake of arguing = fail

i use lenovos they just cost a lot more.. i'm waiting for docking stations ultrabooks.. it sucks to use these for work without them.

have you tried a usb docking station? you plug your monitor/keyboard/mouse into it and then it into your laptop. usb dvd drive and you're done.

edit: maybe not your monitor

 

[TheStu]

i'm guessing the crowd for this laptop doesn't really care about ethernet. heck, most of the hotels i stay in these days don't even have wired rooms, it's all wireless unless you go down to the "business center". and if you do, it's not like you can't get a usb ethernet adapter on the cheap.



this is not the laptop you are looking for. arguing for the sake of arguing = fail



have you tried a usb docking station? you plug your monitor/keyboard/mouse into it and then it into your laptop. usb dvd drive and you're done.

edit: maybe not your monitor

Or Thunderbolt like the MacBook Air. The Belkin dock has gigabit, USB, sound, firewire and video.

 

[vbuggy]

It'll take a spectacular product to tempt me back to the XPS line. A lot's changed since the M13/15/1730 lines, but given my experiences there it would take some serious hardware to get me to buy an XPS again.

The 13 looks like a solid offering though. Wonder how QA and the buying experience will be.

The use of carbon would be very interesting if it's actually carbon as most of us know it, as opposed to carbon-reinforced plastic with an embossed or printed weave pattern. Either is a better material to use than the bend/ding-prone aluminium of the Airs as long as it's not too thin.

In the meanwhile, I'll stick to my BeyondUltrabooks - the Sony Z2's.

 

[IntelUser2000]

The fan is unfortunately true, but, on notebook review forums we have a Dell rep working with owners stating that another BIOS revision is coming that will make it better. We already had 1 BIOS revision and I notice little difference.

I seriously don't hear as much complaints about the Macbook Air. You gotta admire Apple for actually testing out a product before they release it. The Asus Zenbook is almost perfect, except that complaint for the keyboard is very commonplace.

About the optical drive and ethernet port. I use a desktop, but I have a wireless connection and barely use my DVD-RW. Only time I use it is to install very old games and for the OS. All the new applications are downloadable so why bother with an optical drive?

Having an HDMI port makes sense in a laptop though. For thin form factors like Ultrabooks, mini HDMI would be fine.