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The Dell XPS 13 is extremely thin … for an ultrabook, it’s definitely one of the thinnest we’ve seen for a long time. I have to say, it is very similar to Apple’s Macbook AIR in terms of size, looks and feel. This ultrabook is the only one we’ve come across to feature a large 13.3-inch LED screen that’s encased in a 12-inch body.
The dimensions of this ultrabook is truely amazing. Starting with a depth of 205mm, its width is only 316mm, followed by its thickness of between 6-18mm. What’s more, weighing at only 2.99lbs … it’s actually feels and looks the same, if not smaller than the Macbook AIR.
Like the Macbook AIR, the Dell XPS 13 does not come with an replaceable battery pack. Instead, it is a built-in 47WHr; 6-Cell Li-Polymer battery giving you upto to 8 hours of usage (depends on the user). If the battery fails, it’s a return to factory for repair.
The model we’ll be looking at in this review is the Dell XPS 13 – L321X … the flagship model. It’s powered by a 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2637M processor running at 1.7GHz (Turbo Boost up to 2.80 GHz), and comes with 4GB of ram. For storage, it features a 256GB SSD, which should help speed up this little ultrabook. According to Dell, the boot up time from cold start is no more than 8 seconds, and it can resume from sleep mode in just 1 second (4 seconds from deep sleep). Sounds pretty impressive but is it true or false?
A Closer Look
Taking a closer look at the XPS 13, you’ll find that it’s a bit limited in terms of connectivity. But I guess that’s the price you pay for ultra portability. You’ve got 1 x USB 3.0 and 1 xUSB 2.0 with PowerShare, there’s also a mini DisplayPort and 1 x Headset Jack … and that’s it. If you want to plug in more USB devices, you’re gonna have to get yourself a extra USB hub.
On the right-hand side of the unit, you’ll find a small button next to one of the USB ports. This button is in fact, a nifty battery indicator … pressing this button will light-up 5 tiny LEDs, depending on how much juice the battery has left.
The layout of the keyboard is fairly good, with plenty of room for even large hands to type on. However, I thought the keys felt a bit “plasticky” for my liking. Having said that, the keys are back-lit (which I like very much), allowing night time usage. It’s a welcomed changed to your standard notebook keyboard.
For multimedia features, the Dell XPS 13 comes with a 1.3 megapixel webcam supporting HD 720p with dual array digital microphones. It also comes with Dell’s high definition audio + Waves MaxxAudio® 4, which is delivered through a pair of 1.5W (3W total) stereo speakers.
The overall construction of the XPS 13 is very solid. For the main chassis/lid you get machined aluminum in silver, carbon fiber composite for its base and also a Magnesium palmrest with soft touch paint for comfort. On the underside of the notebook, you’ll find a removeable silver panel which I think is abolutely pointless … Why? because it doesn’t open up to anything, apart from some serial numbers, the Windows Home Premium key and MAC address details.
