Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook – Video (2012)

Posted on 11 January 2012, Last updated on 06 October 2024 by

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The Dell XPS 13 is a beautiful Ultrabook with what appears to be a class-leading keyboard. A few of us here at CES said the same thing – it’s well designed.

With Gorilla Glass scree facia and a stylish design it looks great but there’s a possible issue with the port – there aren’t many!

Specs include a Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD, 4GB of RAM and backlit keyboard. The screen is a 1366 x 768, Gorilla Glass-covered glossy display. There’s a 47Wh battery. As for the ports, you’ve got 1 USB 3.0 a USB 2.0 with PowerShare, a mini Display-Port and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

In terms of size it feels so small. They’ve done a great job with the screen. It’s nice to see a keyboard backlight too.

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The press release contains more details.

Dell XPS 13 Video

14 Comments For This Post

  1. Robert says:

    It looks really good, but how oh how oh how could they miss out on the sd card slot i mean goodness why why? can cant just one of them get it really right
    one additional slit come one !

  2. michael says:

    this is probably the best ultrabook around because it has a chasis of a 11.6 screen unit. This is according to Brad Linder of Liliputing. Most ultrabooks are actually huge though thin and light. Don’t be misled into thinking an ultrabook is cute and small like the 11 inch MacBook Air. So, this Dell is an achievement. Manufacturers should start giving consumers an option, whether they want 11.6 or 13.3 ultrabooks

  3. Robert says:

    the specter the dell the samung 9 ….. let´s see the sony viao ultrabook now:-)please

  4. Adam says:

    Michael, I agree about the screen. Not just because of total chassis size but also because those thin bezels are so drop-dead sexy! LG knows the screen is a huge asset but I didn’t hear too much from Dell about it. (The Dell is now one of 2 ultrabooks with the feature and the LG is going to be WAY more expensive; their marketing dept missed a huge opportunity there.)

    I don’t want to own a laptop with a Dell logo; it screams the opposite brand promise that an apple logo does (this thing will BREAK and the battery will fail within 18 months of purchase GUARANTEED!) but Dell is really trying to win my money with this product after an almost 10 year boycott.

    No HDMI port and no SD slot are inexcusable, though. If they add HDMI and an SD slot in a future version they are really, REALLY high up my list because the thin bezel screen which also allows you to have a smaller, lighter chassis is a “no brainer” feature to me that really makes it LOOK like an ultra premium product. (Look at most Netbooks they have HUGE screen bezels so you are even getting design language that shows product segment differentiation -this is SMART if Intel really plans on artificially maintaining the almost laughable markup on ULV parts.

    Adam
    It’s incredibly sad that Dell had such a winner of a product and something as dumb as an oversight on a couple of ports makes it a no-go for so many people. (Seriously the interwebs are FILLED with customers saying “no SD slot; no purchase”…)

  5. Dan says:

    Too bad you’re so down on Dell… their business line of products and their support is actually really great, IMHO. I just replaced a 5 year + inspiron e1505 that was a workhorse… still had 1 hour of battery life after 5 years! Give them some credit, their products are much better than you remember from 10 years ago.

  6. Adam says:

    I just remembered; Dell has GREAT corp discounts, too; I really hope they get the SD slot thing figured out because this really could be the closest to what I want for the money with the discount. (I could deal with the ridiculious display port to HDMI adapter if I had to; but no SD slot means no purchase, PERIOD.

    Adam

  7. Adam says:

    Anyone know the weight on this one?
    -The Gorilla Glass should certainly add some weight.

    Adam
    P.S. 47Wh battery == YES!

  8. PolkSDA says:

    From what I’m reading elsewhere, weight is just under 3 pounds and thickness ranges from 6mm at thinnest point to 18mm at thickest. Starting at US$999 (before the inevitable discounts/coupons/etc.)

  9. Robert says:

    so how does the dell compare to the promosing hp spectre anyone?

  10. komoornik says:

    Shame on Dell!

    2010 MBA might have low amount of ports, but 2011 model at least got Thunderbolt !

  11. michael says:

    despite the attractiveness of this notebook, I won’t bother buying Dell. Nowadsays, they got serious quality issues. Every Dell I have bought the past few years have failed or malfunction several times within 3 years. Yes, desktops, that do not move, are included. Ever since their products moved to China, they often malfunction. On the other hand, Asus, 3 years I have had it, 4 hours daily in the car with all the speed bumps and potholes, never once it has broken down. Dell has really gone down the drain since my first Dell in 1997.

  12. PolkSDA says:

    For every Dell anti story there is a pro, and visa versa. I personally have two Dell XPS workstations and a 5100 color laser, all Dell Outlet purchases. All have performed wonderfully and are still going strong. The university department I work for has bought exclusively Dell desktops and laptops for the last 5 years. I currently oversee 11 Dell desktops (Optiplex and Precision) and 7 laptops (Latitude and Vostro). We’ve only ever had problems with one unit, a Latitude D830 from about 4 years ago that was trouble from day one. Overall though, the Dells have performed superbly.

  13. Nikolay says:

    I will also agree. I was waiting for cheap and good ultrabook, but when i saw dell it is wonderful no matter how and what I will buy this not Toshiba or Acer as earlier.
    My brother has 4 year old dell notebook and it works perfect even better than my pc which is way “better” specs.
    Also I have worked with alot notebooks each brand but Dell is the best, maybe Apple but I am windows fan soo..

  14. PolkSDA says:

    Manuals are out:

    http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsL321x/en/index.htm

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