Dell's XPS m1330 up for retail July 10?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jun 22nd 2007 2:02AM
posted Jun 22nd 2007 2:02AM
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Being an XPS user and all, I'm just going to go ahead and say that this thing is one of the ugliest laptops that I've seen from the Round Rock drawing boards. Even Dell should know better than to make the chassis too small to properly fit a keyboard. Ughh.
Ethan,
You really have no concept of what an ultra portable is don't you?
John,
You really aren't open-minded to the other ultra portable machines, are you?
I think it looks great. And I appreciate the Page-Up/Page-Down keys on the right side.
What a beast! I sure hope the other XPS revisions sure to follow look this nice!
That's a really nice laptop....so who did Dell contract to design it?
probably Apple..
LOL ignore him... can't be apple, i mean come on, its not a plain rectangle with rounded corners... he's being ridiculous!
I would say Samsung. One of Dell's other ultraportable's was just a rebranded Q30 I believe, and the prominent red is also very Samsung like. The hinge (with the circular logo) also reminds me of Samsung.
This is an impressive design coming from Dell. It's nice to see they're willing to take some risks (finally) on their laptop designs. Not a bad start. Welcome back Mr.Dell!
Me wonders if the new Inspiron line will launch then too.
You didn't catch the leaked photos of them nigh a few moons ago?
Yah know. I've been doing training the repairs of this model over the last week and I can honestly say the internal designs are worlds apart from previous models. Someone really did a good job at designing this laptop.
FYI- There are features on this laptop (One which is very Apple like) that haven't gone public. Nothing big but just in case Dell is watching I'm not saying squat. :-P There is no way they could know who I am but ya know. I'm not risking my job over a laptop. :-P
Are you referring to the slot load drive?
Nope.
My guess would be an automatically dimming display.
hmmm... john maybe LED!
XPS is dell's high end line. Its not their gaming line. It just happens to include their gaming rigs because...Oh I don't know. High end PC's ARE gaming rigs. It like Apple and their MBs being consumer and their MBPs being "pro" consumer.
Go back to bed kid...you didn't get enough sleep.
lol @ john doe
im not some f**king no life adult that posts comments on engadget everyday
get a girlfriend please
It is necessary to work all over again on it
Was that only 1 USB port????
There are 2 USB ports. One on either side. The second one is underneath the optical drive.
I like the look of that a lot. If the price is reasonable, I'll be all over it upon release (+ a couple of favourable reviews on the webs). Small, portable gaming laptop for a quick LAN bash at a friend's place ftw.
Are you guys on crack??? this thing is hideous!
It is made of plastic, it is like 4 different colors, and looks pretty thick too.
wow, for a 14 year old kid, you have a big, dirty mouth. did your mommy forget to change your diaper?
John Doe: Its the closing mechanism. Its magnetic like on the MacBook right? With the little strip on the top of the lid being used to open the computer.
Its either that, or relying on the hinges. On this computer though, theres no real way to pull the lid and the base separately other than the wedge them apart with fingernails, so its gotta be magnetic.
Finally a MacBook with a right click button...
Juicebeetle:
Yet another idiot that doesn't understand how to use two fingers. Your girlfriend must be disappointed.
Right. Now read my comment again. Take your time... No rush...
Does it look like I would appreciate a right click button on a Macbook (Pro)? (Hint: yes I would) Jeez.
Hey, thanks for the post. I hadn't seen all these pictures anywhere else, so good work. As an aside, I think the meds are beginning to kick in ... which is a good thing. I almost don't even register the banal corporate-sucking iDiots who regard almost any halfway decent design as an unfair threat to their beloved business.
Almost.
Hmmm, the specs are definitely a bump up from the m1210, which I have, and so's the sexiness factor, but two USB ports? Ouch. And the HDMI better mean that Blu-ray will be an option on this.
Is that the power input to the left (in the photo) of the VGA port? I love the HDMI feature. That is a huge selling point for me.
1. Finally, a slot-in drive. I don't understand why slot-in drive is not that common in PC laptops.
2. HDMI out, nice. So maybe there will be options for HD-DVD/blu-ray drive?
3. Yet another fan at the bottom. Why can't PC manufactures change this? A laptop will usually be used on the lap, or on a table, not hanging in the air. I don't get why manufactures are putting fans and holes at the bottom, where air circulation will be poor at best, especially if it's on a lap, where the fans holes are going to be blocked anyway. Sure there is not much space on the sides, but can they at least look at the Macbook/MBP for design?
Can you tell me where the fans are on a MBP? Seriously, I'm just wondering how their configuration of the fan is different?
Yep. Like I said. Nothing overly new. Its nice nonetheless.
The rear of the MBP is one long vent. If you look inside you can actually see the leading edge of the motherboard. The fans route air through that vent in the back. All of the ports on Apple's products are located on the sides. I actually like this design because if you ever have to pick up the laptop, usually from the front. It places stress on the connectors on the back.
3. The thinking of PC manufacturers is that the laptop \ notebook will be on a flat surface. If you look at all the various laptop models out there that have fans on the bottem you will notice the majority have feet that keep the laptop a couple MM off the ground. They don't take into account carpet or people's laps which bypass the feet. *shrugs* right or wrong..that's their thinking.
That's without a doubt a nice copy of a Sony Vaio SZ!!! Compare them, specially from the sides!!
Not a bad design, bravo on the keyboard, finally extra column for other keys, but...
1, No docking available from the look of bottom, man!
2, The fan/exhaust design is really not ideal
3, Touchpad seems kinda small and they really should have included a track-point.
4, Why not just take out VGA like they did with RJ-11 and use the space for 2 extra USB since you got HDMI anyway.
I really want to like this machine. It's small and powerfull, easy to bring on "mini lan-parties". But Dell still has som design flaws like:
- To many latches and pieces of plastic, especially underneath
- Why the hell isn't the touchpad centered?
- Please Dell, stick with one color-theme. The front, the back, underneath - everything has a different theme. If you want to use metal on the front, for GOD SAKE use on the back too!
The touchpad is ergonomically centered in the middle of the keyboard.
Put your hands in the home position (if you know how to actually type rather than hunt and peck), and you'll see that the touchpad is right in the middle of your hands.
Looks like a relatively solid design, except for one thing... headphone jack in front.
wtf is up with laptop manufacturers putting commonly used ports on the front of machines? If you actually use it on your lap, you're bound to bend or break whatever's plugged in, or damage the port itself. Stupid, stupid, STUPID design flaw.
I hope you can get it without the gaudy red lid. Aside from that, aesthetically it's a nice laptop, easily the best looking Dell lappy ever.
Not a bad design. Strikes me as a cross between some previous Inspiron designs (the lid of it seems to have a lot in common with current Inspiron external appearances) and a Sony SZ. Looks cleaner overall than the XPSM1220.
Trading insults with a 14yo. YOU DA MAN!! LOL
1) Since when did an Insipron laptop have a docking interface? Why would they start now?
2) I'm indifferent
3) See point one. The latitude line is generally the only line that includes both.
4) A lot of people still use VGA. Taking it out would be a bad idea.
I disagree about the VGA. Yes, a lot of people still use it, but at the same time this isn't a $500 laptop -- you can't have style if you're showing a stinkin' blue VGA port on the back. Besides, couldn't you do something silly like use a HDMI to DVI dongle, and then hook that up to a DVI to VGA dongle, if you really wanted to?
On Inspirons, if you opt for the upgraded video cards they have DVI out instead of the VGA port. Perhaps this is true for the new ones, as well.
And VGA -> DVI using a dongle is 100% ass.
I'll agree that a DVI port would make more sense than a VGA.....but I still don't agree that getting rid of it all together in favor of just an HDMI port is a good idea.
Does anyone notice that these pictures reveal that there are no front media button (I believe I remember the laptop originally being reported as having them)? What's the deal there?
The media buttons look like they're at the back, behind the keyboard. Less convenient but a bit tidier I suppose.
I'm hoping this won't be too relevant, as the first set of pictures posted on 4th June feature something that looks a lot like a remote control...
Yeah, I noticed those, but I wouldn't mind having at least a volume control on the front...