Dell XPS m1330 performance ultraportable revealed
By Ryan Block 
posted Jun 4th 2007 12:02PM
posted Jun 4th 2007 12:02PM
- 13.3-inch screen, configurable with LED backlight! (300cd/m2, or 220 with CCFL backlight)
- Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.4GHz), Santa Rosa chipset (965PM/GM)
- Up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 32GB SSD drive or spinning-platter drive options up to 250GB
- Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive!
- Optional NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS / 128MB
- WWAN option for Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T
- Ethernet, 802.11a, a/g, or n options, Bluetooth option
- Integrated 2 megapixel webcam (VGA only on LED-backlit display)
- HDMI, VGA, 1394, (2) USB 2.0, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), dual mini-PCI slots, fingerprint reader
- Dimensions with LED 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.87 - 1.33-inches (318 x 238 x 22.1 - 33.8mm) / with CCFL 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.97 - 1.43-inches (318 x 238 x 24.6 - 36.3mm)
- Weight starts at 4 pounds
I would've liked to see Dell stick with the 12 inch screen from the M1210
Damn, that's hot! These specs make my wallet hurt...
Wow that thing looks amazing. Dell seem to have really stepped up their designs. I am really impressed. I thought it was going to be a 12" screen.
Dayumm that's hot...argh must resist!
This is similar in looks to an old sony laptop. But it sure is nice - hopefully its dell price, not sony.
Looks like this is aimed fairly and squarely at the Vaio SZ series, though has better GPU options, unless Sony get their act together on that..
And maybe Apple are coming up with something similar too, could be a three way fight for my new laptop..
Ultraportables are typically under 3lbs. Sony has had similar models (made by asus) for a couple of years now. Make this unit with similar specs under 3lbs and it would be impressive.
Check out the toshiba portege 2000 (its from 2001 or so)
imagine a computer the size of 50 sheets of letter paper. and weighing something simular.
I've been waiting for this new configuration. Hello SSD & LED.
Could someone please explain the difference between a CCFL and a LED screen. Why one is thicker and which is better. Thank You.
you aint seen nothin yet. wait and see what apple has up their sleeve.
What are you talking about, the 13.3 MacBook? Yeah whatever, this is better than that in every way.
apple has a proprietary os to go with their cool hardware. it doesn't matter what they produce until they're willing to open up to new platforms and offer windows and opensource w/ their hardware.
The design looks eeriely and strikingly similar to the older Sony VAIO Z1 series.
Anyway, the specs do look impressive (But I was hoping for a faster display card), and I am sure Dell will charge a premium for this. I have a feeling with the amount Dell charges there would be plenty of other options available.
Mildly reverable direction from Dell in terms of design. It borrows some
design cues from the now extinct Sony VAIO Z and I think that is a
good thing.
http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-Z1V/feat4.html
Thanks Neel for explaining that.
Hey I am looking to buy a new laptop, I truly love Asian machines (Sony, Fujitsu) but I don't love the price. And I'm not interested in a mac. Does anyone know of some good asian companies who make great machines besides the more well known. And where can you by a nice ASUS or ACER machine, or do they not exist?
They're ALL Asian machines. Do you think Gateway laptops are made in Des Moines? No, they're made in Shanghai, in the same building Dell laptops are made.
8400M GS (128mb dedicated) > Go 7400 (64 mb dedicated)
Dell also has a factory in Xiamen (in Fujian province), and quite possibly many other locations too.
I have a M1210. The screen size is fine, but I hate the glare from the shinny screen. could be a bit thinner too.
HELP, anyone know how to get the M1210 to output in is wide screen format? I have a 24" 1920X1200 screen I would like to see this thing on. I've been on the phone with Dell for 4 hours trying to add resolutions with no luck.
Hi Chris, found this out when researching the same issue, except I was looking to use a 1210 with dells 30". Hope it helps -- Stu
"To use the full resolution of the screen, you need a laptop which has a graphics card which suppots dual-link DVI"
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2098720,00.asp
http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2006/02/dell_3007wfp_on_dell_2001fp_action_8_megapixel_desktop.html
That doesn't really help. The 30" displays are a whole-nother ball of wax.
The problem is you can't set the output rez to what ever you want. I'm sure it can do 1920X1200 but it doesn't let you set the external resolution to that. I think nvidia blows.
I have a 3 year old Dell 6000 laptop with a 64meg ATI card that works just fine.
Yeah, BUT - this has a slot-loading CD/DVD-RW drive! That's what the ultraportables have typically lacked, and was the reason I went with the Dell M1210 a couple months ago. Also, this runs 1/2 the price of the Vaios, etc. Looks great!
Damn you Dell!
Why couldn't you have just put a better graphics card into this bad boy so I wouldn't have to spend endless sleepless nights tossing and turning deciding between this and a 14.1" with a better card?
My fingers are crossed three times over hoping that they'll offer a better card as an ugrade.
Dell did a great job of aping the design from current HP notebooks (everything from the rounded hinge, the touch-sensitive media buttons near the screen, and even the ExpressCard remote). Yes, I understand that HP doesn't have a 13.3 inch notebook in this design, don't get all riled up.
Notice that there's nothing about battery life. An ultra portable should have 6+ hours of life. The idea is to be able to carry it around all day to meeting and such. That's what I do with my Sharp MM20.
Fake.
Wow! Aren't you insightful!
Next time back up your less than intelligent comments.
I think it is a fake. I do not think that ilancen (above) has been clear about why.
It is fake because it is fantastic and it is different in two ways. Dell designs bricks. Even the XPS line is just a bunch of nice bricks with racing stripes.
We don't normally see new Dells as a computer-gen image, but these XPS m1330 "revealed" shots are rendered. We don't normally hear about a new dell all at once. We usually get word from someone has seen it in a presentation, and may have low-res pictures and no port-level stats. Then, it just shows up a few weeks later.
The Wal^Mart story is different, but it is not fantastic. Both companies are obsessed with low cost distribution, and Dell is trying to find a way to gain share.
How does it feel to be wrong? Both the m1330 and a slew of Inspiron laptops have been confirmed directly from the horse's mouth!
Looks like we're going to have to learn how to type without looking at the keys (they're all blank).
The price on the Sonys hurt, but are the XPS's really that much better? All the decent coupons on the Dells seem to be for Inspirons only, and in the end the price isnt all that different between the two.
Then again I've heard about how horrid Sony's support is, so if the XPS system can provide matching style and performance (and a decent screen), this may be a decent choice...
I can definitely vouch for Sony's support being very poor, my S series laptop stopped booting a couple of weeks back,. It took a week for an engineer to come out and replace the motherboard, it now boots but hangs after 15-30minutes of usage and Sony are refusing to believe its a hardware problem unless I revert it to the factory default install, unfortunately in doing that the damn thing hung again and I'm left with a 4lb paperweight...
grrrr
Having said that I'd definitely buy another Sony, I'd just get a better warranty package.
are you people on crack?
this thing does NOT have a good design!!!! its a BAD thing that it looks like a vaio z or one of those HPs.
what the F is wrong with pc makers and this totally stupid slanted/wedge design factor? it looks so ugly in my opinion!!!
why cant they take cues from GOOD industrial design?
a flat, one toned, curvy edged machine that doesnt use that STUPID xps wow radical frikken high school dork gone to college flames everywhere extreme BULL CRAP branding would do dell some good. its been said they want to be more like Apple anyway, right?
Now that intel laptop prototype, THAT was impressive.
Actually, considering your comment about the wedge shape of laptops I'm not sure you know what "good" industrial design constitutes. Ever tried to type on a flat keyboard? It's not particularly comfortable is it? It's all these little things that help with overall usability.
What you're actually telling us is your opinion on whether this is aesthetically pleasing to you. You don't find it to be a pleasing design, whereas some of us think otherwise.
Personally, I find it attractive because it borrows styling cues from the Vaio SZ series and the HP Pavillions but may also come in at a lower price. It has a clean design without opting for a too simple look (although I hope the lid comes in black/silver as well). Yes, macbooks are regarded as an example of "good" design but I find the all black/white/brushed aluminium look a little boring after a while. They're easy to like because they have a neutral colour scheme and simple looking shape, and therefore don't offend the eyes as much as a competing product that opts for more distinctive colours and/or shapes.
Good design isn't just about putting out a product, making it all one colour and calling it 'minimal', it's about making a product that pleases your target audience. If Apple set out to create a laptop that appeals to as many people as possible, they've succeeded. If Dell has intended to make people re-think the notion of what you get with a Dell PC, they could be well on the way with this and their glass fringed monitor.
Oh God, that's another pathetic attempt to overcome apple's macbooks. Another pile of junk from Dell.
Gabe, my 710m "pile of junk" from last year has better specs than your brand new MacBook with a cheaper price. It's also in one piece, which is more than i can say for all those shiny Macs at the campus coffee shop.
overcome apples macbooks? waht you mean OVERCOME? and yes, lol i've had 4 dell latitudes (dads former office laptops) since 1997, and they all still work, havent broken, chipped etc... how often do you hear about dells falling apart (other than the battery issues, which STILL affect apple)? question number 2, how often do you hear about apples openin gaps, splitting etc? now, look at the price difference between the respective models... and mind you, all those complaints about the apples comes from a much smaller number of overall consumers... so a higher percentage of all the apple macbooks are reported than the dells.
eat my shorts!
Wow, a lovely 13.3", 4 pound "ultraportable" - such a useful term
"Ultraportable"? How can 1.8kg be ultraportable? My 7 year old Toshiba Portege 3440CT weighs 1.4kg, come on now!
I can tell you that my new macbook does have better specs than the 710m: 2.16>2.0, 1GB>512.... the only thing I envy about that 710m is the battery life of 5+hours, but I'm quit satisfied with this OS.
Yes and your MB also has the world's most shittastic warranty as well. This coming from someone who has had his MBP in for repairs no less then 7 times. (6 on the first MBP, 1 on the second.) now where Apple has had the system for about 3 weeks total. Fuck Apple. I don't care how good their OS is, their hardware sucks my ass. >:-(
Dell may suck but at least they usually are pretty damn responsive with repairs.
PS- And before you tell me oh you just had bad luck. So did two of my friends who had iBooks. They each had their logic boards replaced twice.
That sucks, man. I've heard a ton of bad stories about Apple, but I also have coworkers who 6-year-old Apple Laptops that haven't malfunctioned once. Granted, I've only had my MacBook for about two weeks, but so far I love it. Personally, I choose to try the experience out myself - sometimes it isn't that the company (whether it is Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Sony...) is all bad, it's just that the ones with bad experiences are especially vocal (and rightly so; if you had a shitty deal with a company, you have every right to bitch and moan.) while the satisfied customers have no reason to talk about it. I'm trying it out myself, and so are 7 of my friends. That'll be the true test.
What are you talking about? You really think the 710m maxes out at 512mb memory?
Your also comparing apple at their "best value" time when they have just updated their models (led screen, hurray?) to a laptop that I don't think you can even buy right now.
The price point of the macbook starts at 1099 + shipping + tax (with a 90/1 year day warranty, what sounds like mail in, wait in line for 4 hour warranty)
where I have seen the XPS M1210 (with a 3 year next day, come to you warranty) well loaded for 750 with shipping and tax, so comparing it to dells lower home line isn't exactly fair. Of course the Dells you can find deals and coupons on where Apple keeps pretty much the same price for at least 6 months and highly controls any deals on them. Mac people act like having the option to have a cheaper laptop is someone an advantage. For thinking differnt you sure hate choice.
anyone know when this is going to be available.
june 29th
26th of june to be more exact :P
How does it compare to the Apple MacBook Pro Quad Core 17" Machine?
quad core macbook pro? when was that?