Dell XPS M1210 gaming notebook on sale in Japan

Not that we really doubted that the specs and pictures were fake, but now we have confirmation that Dell's XPS M1210 gaming laptop is indeed real, and already on sale in Japan. NotebookReview, who's been following this 12.1-inch UXGA model ever since it was leaked onto the web last month, reports that Dell Japan is offering the M1210 in configurations that max out with a 2.0GHz T2500 Core Duo processor, a hefty 4GB of RAM, 120GB of HDD space, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 graphics, an ExpressCard slot, and the usual assortment of ports and wireless radios. Using our superior knowledge of feature sets, we had predicted that this model would be cheaper than its 17-inch big brother, the $5,000 M1710, and sure enough, you'll be able to shell out at as little as $1,189 for the opportunity to become a proud member of the XPS club.

[Via NotebookReview]

[SR @ May 23rd 2006 2:26PM]

Buddy read your first sentence again.

[skantilous @ May 23rd 2006 2:37PM]

1. it can't possibly be that inexpensive
2. i love the look, i know people in past posts have hammered it, but compared to the current x1 and other ultra-mobile dell machines, the Apple, Lenovo, and even the Sony machines, this looks pretty good. Particularly the music buttons. People need to understand the perspective of how small these things are. In person they look a lot better.
3. I wish there was a remote.
4. Any idea of US release and pricing? It has to be more expensive here. I bet in the 1750 range.

[Erwos @ May 23rd 2006 2:58PM]

Wow - if that thing had a real dock, I'd be all over it.

[SkyLand @ May 23rd 2006 2:59PM]

12.1 inch and UXGA???

[The Norwegian @ May 23rd 2006 3:25PM]

This can't be right. A Dell Inspiron 620 that is priced out at 1,800 USD is about 2,600 NOK in Norway (so add around 45%)If the M1210 is 1,800 USD in Norway is should be around 1,000 USD here.

Also, when doing a search for this maching at Dell Norway there are no results

[moo @ May 23rd 2006 3:27PM]

Just ordered a macbook pro!!!!!!!!!!!!!,

sorry had to share that :)

[Ryan @ May 23rd 2006 3:37PM]

#4, hope you bought a liquid cooling system for your Mac. you'll need it!

[submachine @ May 23rd 2006 3:38PM]

Please give it built in EVDO

[pixelator @ May 23rd 2006 4:02PM]

Enter the Apple freak reminding us they are indeed better than us by paying more for an image.

Anyway, who says the M1710 is $5000..?! I got mine with T2500, 7900GTX 512MB, 1GB DDR2 677MHz, 80GB 7200 HD, 17" WUXGA for $3440 shipped. $5000 is a crock. Maybe if you maxxed every option and added every piece of software & accessory available, but that's just ridiculous.

Bad reporting, E.

[benhc911 @ May 23rd 2006 4:04PM]

That's odd, I was under the impression that windows XP could only utalize 2 gb of ram... perhaps I am mistaken... but I am sure I heard something of the sort. And something about a 64 bit system being able to acess 4gb... If someone could enlighten me on the issue I would be very happy.

[chaos spawn @ May 23rd 2006 4:08PM]

skantilous: the price quoted is the minimum price, probably with much less impressive specs as those quoted were the max available. All those options probably bump it up to double or more the starting price I'd bet.

Though I do wonder If it's possible to get any reasonable battery life out of it.

[DS @ May 23rd 2006 4:20PM]

Nice try dell, but whos gonna fork over that kinda cash for a POS! I mean would any sane person buy this over the Macbook Pro? Nice try though....


DS

[skantilous @ May 23rd 2006 4:33PM]

spawn, yeah i figured the 1750 was the base, and worked up from there, still i want to game and have a smaller screen. like a $500 premium for being in the US.

For the fanboys out there, this would be compared to the macbook, not the pro, but if you want to go there fine. Obviously the screen size isn't a fair comparison, but the vid card, and the options you get just own the macbook pro. seriously the max the macbook pro goes is to 2gigs of memory. what options are really being offered that are unique? the only 7,200 rpm drive is the 100gig.

Look i personally love the slot loading, i love the keyboard, and the remote. I love that you can boot both Xp and OS X, but come on for the price, you'd have to be insane. The dell has external buttons that do everything i want, its look is good, and it is tiny. Dell wins this contest easily, even when you are comparing two computers out of each others classes. Size, power, price all have the macbook and macbook pro covered. Now if the price truly is equivalent in the states. That has yet to be 100% confirmed.

[Brandon @ May 23rd 2006 4:44PM]

Hey #4 I just bought a macbook pro, you don't hear me bragging about it do you? Oh wait. Crap.

[Justin @ May 23rd 2006 4:59PM]

...yeah the 4GB of memory is about $400.00 by itself.

oh, and no digg (just kidding).

[Bo @ May 23rd 2006 5:13PM]

4 - Moo: Sorry to inform you that the MacBook Pro is no competition to this small gaming oriented laptop. I have a MacBook Pro 2.1Ghz, and its currently sitting in AppleCare service center for the past two weeks due to overheating issues, screen blemish due to the heat (LCD got burnt because the laptop was so hot when I close it), USB port not powering Hi-Speed USB and of course the battery life is horrible.

Dell on the other hand, eventhough it's not aesthetically pleasing design, is more functional, better performance and value than the MacBook Pro.

[moo @ May 23rd 2006 5:29PM]

WTF ppl :S last time on post on engadget.

thanks

[lhopki01 @ May 23rd 2006 5:38PM]

This is a dream computer. I've always loved the specs you could get on the xps but they were so big they weren't real laptops. But this beauty you'll be able ot use and take anywhere. I just wish I had a bit more money on me.

[Razib Ahmed @ May 23rd 2006 6:47PM]

The design is very nice but $5,000 is too much even for many Japanse gamers. Well, I do not know why Dell does not introduce this product in India seriously. Last year, Indian notebook market 177% (http://www.southasiabiz.com/2006/05/spectacular_growth_for_indian.html). I think that Dell has a lot to gain in India.

[Ali @ May 23rd 2006 8:06PM]

Umm...it's WXGA, not UXGA...got me there for a sec.

[DisplayBlog @ May 23rd 2006 8:37PM]

UXGA? I don't think so. The NBPC has a 12" wide display and that means it will have to be "W"UXGA. But that resolution sounds rather high... Maybe you meant to type WXGA (1280x800) instead.

[4me @ May 23rd 2006 10:06PM]

Hmm, that seems awful cheap for all of this. Will there be any overheating issues with the video card?

[Alan @ May 24th 2006 1:27AM]

This seems to only weigh around 4.3 lbs too! (1.98kg if I can read the specs properly). Not bad... I wanna see it on Dell's site.

[Alan @ May 24th 2006 1:28AM]

Err, Dell's Canadian site, I should say...

[eliot1785 @ May 24th 2006 2:54AM]

"...yeah the 4GB of memory is about $400.00 by itself."

Um no, it is $2,775 by itself. At least for the M1710. See for yourself:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=M1710G3&s=dhs

Agreed though that the $5000 figure is unrealistic. If you are not getting the 4GB RAM, you will probably pay less than $4000. (If you are getting it though, all bets are off and you might pay more than $6000 depending on the configuration you choose)

[eliot1785 @ May 24th 2006 2:59AM]

PS: Why would anybody buy any of these XPS systems over the new Alienware 17'' SLI laptop???

The Alienware m9700 is both better AND cheaper. The only way it is worse is that it maxes out at 2GB RAM rather than 4GB, but that is a price I would be willing to pay for 2 graphics cards in SLI (combined are better than the nVidia 7900 in the Dell), and the RAID hard drives. No real reason to go for the M1710, I think.

http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/aurora_m9700/aurora-m_overview.aspx?syscode=PC-LT-AURORA-M-9700&subcode=SKU-DEFAULT

[Stephen @ May 24th 2006 5:25AM]

Ok, I usually don't address the Apple fanboys, but I have to say something at this point. You guys are getting ridiculous, and not helping Apple with your incessant trolling on completely unrelated threads.

To show just how ridiculous your comparison of the MacBook to the Dell XPS line is, let's read the following from Apple's own spec sheet on the MacBook Pro:

"Graphics and Video Support
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory1 "


Hum... so what exactly were you so enthusiastic about again?

[ooooooooo you @ May 24th 2006 7:54AM]

"Graphics and Video Support
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory1 ......

thats the macbook, not the macbook pro....... *yawn*

[skantilous @ May 24th 2006 9:16AM]

eliot1785, that is really annoying. the two have absolute different processors, that is the difference in the price. does the m9700 have only one button on the trackpad. wtf. 8.5 pounds, jesus. i like the numpad though. yeah if i was going in this weight class i might go with the alienware. anyway

as far as the m1210, its all about how much power you can pack into the a 12" package. this one has the best specs so far, but we'll see what sony answers with.

[kaylan @ May 26th 2006 9:41AM]

just got off the phone with sales at Dell his information shows a official US release date of the 31st of May on the XPS M1210...he did not comment on the specs nor did i bother to ask...i figured he would not comment on something that isnt "official" yet.