Fresh off the production line is Dell’s newest and possibly most innovative personal home computing product ever created, the simply stunning Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook. Dell announced their newest laptop product at the annual 2012 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, NV.
What makes Dell’s late entrance into the ultrabook scene special? One thing is for certain and that is Dell stayed true to the real meaning of an “ultrathin” personal computing device. Almost unbelievably the fine matte finished Dell XPS 13 is measured at a super thin 18mm at the laptop’s thickest point and tapers to an even amazingly thinner 6mm. What about weight? You’ll never get tired lugging around this lightweight at a comfortable 3 pounds (or 1.36kg). Dell is able to achieve this kind of ultra lightweight body by fabricating the chassis with a finely machined and aesthetic aluminum body with a solid carbon-fiber base material.
What separates the XPS 13 from other ultrabook competitors? Let’s start with the expansive edge-to-edge display. Not only is the display capable of a crisp high resolution of 1366 x 768 but it also bolsters Corning’s ultra strong Gorilla Glass – a new material making an appearance in a lot of recent consumer electronics with LCD, LED, or touch screen displays. No longer will you be forced to spend hundreds of dollars on a screen replacements, the nearly shatter proof Gorilla Glass has ushered in a new era of ultra durable mobile electronics.
The Dell XPS 13 keyboard comes well equipped for day and night with the inclusion of a keyboard backlight with comfortable, well-shaped keys. Below the keyboard is a large glass touchpad designed for smooth and comfortable cursor movement.
The first generation of ultrabooks will be available in multiple price points and hardware configurations starting at $999 US (or £650). You can take home the Dell XPS with either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor loaded with 4gb RAM, an HD3000 integrated graphics chip, and highly reliable (and blistering fast) 128gb or 256gb SSD (Solid State Drive). Solid state drives are quickly become mainstream replacements for unreliable and dated platter based, “hard drives”. You can plan on ultra fast boot times, application loading, stand-by recovery, and data movement. Not enough data storage? The XPS 13 Ultrabook also comes with a bonus 100gb of online cloud storage. Never worry about losing important data ever again.
In order to maintain it’s sleek profile, the XPS 13 sacrifices some ports to maintain portability. You will find the Dell Ultrabook equipped with two USB ports, a MiniDisplay port, and a headphone jack. There is no ethernet port available on the XPS 13 so be sure you have a Wifi or 3g connection available to access the web. There is also no available SD slot with this model, so do not expect to be able to quickly important digital images from a camera via SD card slot.
Let’s talk battery life. This is one area where the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook shines brighter than many competitors. The battery is rated to last an impressive 8+ hours with Windows 7 installed.
Overall we think the Dell XPS 13 is a thoughtfully designed and well polished product that you can expect superb overall performance from. If you are looking for a strong performing laptop that is lightweight, comfortable, and durable than the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook may be the right choice for you.
The new Dell Ultrabook is set to be released in February 2012.
Want more? Check out this video review box opening of the XPS 13.