Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 hands-on

We hit up Dell for a few more minutes with the sleek new Studio XPS 13 and 16, and our positive early impressions just got better with time. We're really digging the leather panel on the lid, and while the machines are total fingerprint magnets, when they're cleaned up they're pretty eye-catching -- particularly the light-up circles on the hinges and the backlit keyboard and mouse buttons. Even the bottom is slick -- it's nicely detailed and the whole things lifts off (Dell calls it a "garage door") for easy access to the RAM and hard drive. We nabbed a ton of shots, check it out in the gallery!

Gallery: Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 hands-on

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[Aeqelae @ Jan 9th 2009 10:29PM]

Where are the pictures? =S

[Nilay Patel @ Jan 9th 2009 10:41PM]

Oof, two hours of sleep caught up with me -- it's up now!

[jackasswthn @ Jan 9th 2009 10:30PM]

Where's the gallery?

[AJR @ Jan 9th 2009 10:31PM]

It looks pretty. :)

[roomtek @ Jan 9th 2009 10:32PM]

hello XPS.

[Aaron @ Jan 9th 2009 10:36PM]

here ya go:

http://www.engadget.com/photos/dell-studio-xps-13-and-16-hands-on/

[Stacky @ Jan 9th 2009 10:39PM]

Thanks!

I'm waiting a month, but I'm getting the 1340 for sure.

[Leo @ Jan 9th 2009 11:50PM]

XPS 1340 is my next notebook too! Probably in March, when it gets a Blu-ray drive...

[L.Rawlins @ Jan 10th 2009 8:58AM]

Where have you read that the 13 gets a Blu-Ray drive in March? I am genuinely interested as this is my sole cavet with purchase.

[STINK @ Jan 9th 2009 10:41PM]

I'm not a germaphobe, but after seeing all the smudginess and who's creating the smudginess at CES, I'd be disinfecting my hands every 2 minutes

[Neha @ Jan 9th 2009 10:43PM]

Want

[vvtopkar @ Jan 9th 2009 10:51PM]

This is like the coolest laptop EVER!

[vuzebittorrent @ Jan 9th 2009 11:04PM]

Does anyone else think it's a bit...ugly?

I've got the M1530 and prefer the look of my current one.

[Somebody @ Jan 9th 2009 11:16PM]

If by ugly you mean stylish, leather bound, and eye catching: Yes, it is very ugly. Though I think the XPS 15/1330 look decent, I believe this outdoes it by quite a bit. Throw on Centrino 2, DDR3 RAM, and SLI and you've got yourself a customer.

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 9th 2009 11:20PM]

Your eyes are the problem here...

[vvtopkar @ Jan 9th 2009 11:40PM]

@Somebody:
Just FYI, but it DOES have DDR3 RAM

[dmac @ Jan 9th 2009 11:41PM]

I like the look of my M1530 better too.

[Somebody @ Jan 9th 2009 11:43PM]

@vvtopkar :

Yeah, I know that. It also has Centrino 2 and is SLI capable (9400M + 9500M). I was implying I am seriously considering getting one of these XD.

[vvtopkar @ Jan 9th 2009 11:46PM]

@Somebody
Oh, lol, well.....
Sorry, yeah these things look awesome, thinking about getting one myself the second Windows 7 comes out :P

[Leo @ Jan 9th 2009 11:47PM]

@vvtopkar
FYI, 1530 is DDR2, not DDR3, don't confuse people here.

[aeth @ Jan 9th 2009 11:49PM]

It's a love-it hate-it design. At first I disliked it, but then I came to love its design.

[aeth @ Jan 9th 2009 11:54PM]

In response to the points raised above. Dell XPS M1530 has DDR2-RAM at 667 MHz and a FSB of 800 MHz. Dell XPS Studio 16 has DDR3-RAM at I think 1066MHz and FSB of 1066MHz.

[someone @ Jan 10th 2009 6:19AM]

correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think the new xps 13 is centrino 2 compliant as it doesn't use intel wireless chips

[Pillow @ Jan 10th 2009 8:39AM]

Just FYI the Hybrid SLi is actually 9200M GS + 9400M G

[mtah @ Jan 10th 2009 10:15AM]

@someone: Not only that, but there is not much (other than the processor) that is Intel branded on this machine. It uses the NVIDIA MCP79 chipset as far as I can tell. I'm a bit disappointed by this, as NVIDIA hardware seems to be less reliable (e.g. 8400M GS and 8600M), their drivers are closed source and their Linux drivers are generally quite bad (ATI is no different on this point). I'm also concerned that it will have a negative impact in the heat and battery life departments.

I would have liked it if they'd gone with Montevina and GMA X4500MHD instead, with a dedicated GPU option, as this is not a pure gaming laptop but a multi-purpose laptop for people that prioritize looks. This makes it a direct competitor to the MacBook and MacBook Pro, so the move over to NVIDIA is probably just to match the graphics performance of those machines.

[Vesal @ Jan 9th 2009 11:14PM]

Dell's done a great job redesigning their laptops, now they just need to redesign their logo =)

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 9th 2009 11:20PM]

a banana?

[Uncontrol @ Jan 9th 2009 11:27PM]

Agreed, that cheesy logo kills a lot of their designs for me.

[Soulsaber @ Jan 9th 2009 11:47PM]

If they removed the circle on their logo, it would make everything much better.

[aeth @ Jan 9th 2009 11:50PM]

I think thinner letters in say Century Gothic would do wonders for the logo. All in lowercase. And lose the circle Dell.

[Deed @ Jan 10th 2009 9:55AM]

I dunno, I was always one for the text and a ring around it, which looks good against a dark lid. I also reckon the circle defines the brand a bit better, as having just text would be making it like, say, Toshiba.

Besides, the ring sort of goes with the rings of light on the hinges, so I reckon it's very right here.

[Doey @ Mar 23rd 2009 6:52AM]

Dell logo was the biggest thing that kept me away from Dell

[poematik14 @ Jan 9th 2009 11:24PM]

The laptop is skinny and bound in leather - just like how I prefer my women.

[Brad @ Jan 9th 2009 11:38PM]

Sorry Engadget, but you've got to tone down the shallow depth of field on these product shots. Lots of out of focus area is cool on a portrait, but on a laptop I'd rather see the entire, uh, product.

[PK @ Jan 9th 2009 11:54PM]

I'm with you - in a lot of the shots I wanted to see the rest of the product but it was out of focus. Shallow DOF is great for photos where there's only a small portion of the laptop that's been changed, but not so great when the entire machine is new.

[Zorat @ Jan 10th 2009 12:16AM]

All of the CES coverage has been that way.
It is like the photographer just found the feature. "Wait a minute... look what my camera can do!!! I have to go tell Ashton!"

[tom @ Jan 10th 2009 5:21AM]

Its ridiculous! You can VERY clearly see the windows key and the rest is just a blur...... learn to take photos PLEASE! it quite frustrating in things that are actually interesting, like this..

[SoulSolutions @ Jan 10th 2009 6:57PM]

At first I thought it a little over the top also, great to capture the details but not for all the photos. Keep in mind however that at these settings you need much less light. I'm guessing the dispay was poorly lit and using a flash would have reflected badly. Maybe they don't let press carry around tripods and take longer exposures?
Scrap that - should have taken your 5D Mk2 and done a full 1080p video at f1.4 ;)

[d889 @ Jan 9th 2009 11:40PM]

i gotta say dell is definitely trying hard, i am kind of liking their laptops now.

[aeth @ Jan 9th 2009 11:52PM]

Their design is a far cry from 2-3 years ago. I like the fact Dell listen very carefully to what their customers have to say regarding their products and service in order to improve themselves.

[waterwagen @ Jan 9th 2009 11:52PM]

That 13 is a sweet looking machine. If the screen is good, I'm pretty interested.

[Rotaryfan @ Jan 10th 2009 12:20AM]

is the 13 incher a 16:9 aspect screen ala vaio z? it sounds tempting. Specs and release date anyone?

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 10th 2009 1:00AM]

I guess like most dell laptop you will be able to choose from 3 or 4 different screen setup.

[Pillow @ Jan 10th 2009 9:40AM]

The "13 incher" is actually 16:10. 1280x800.

[memyself @ Jan 10th 2009 1:21AM]

Your photos suck. Stop using such a narrow depth of field - it doesn't make you cool, it just makes me feel like I've got Vaseline being sprayed in my face.

[Kebab in Korea @ Jan 10th 2009 5:07AM]

The exterior looks OK (yes, apart from the cheesy Dell logo) but the inside is pretty naff mainly because of the two screws on each side of the silver bracket that travels up the sides of the screen.

[Patrick @ Jan 10th 2009 6:14AM]

Yes, Mr. Blurrycam is working for engadget now!!! :-(

[boe @ Jan 10th 2009 9:08AM]

Not a lot of exciting news on desktop screens.

Did Dell have a 3009WFP at CES?

I figure someone would have posted if it was on display but I thought I'd ask.

[Valentina Pierce @ Jan 10th 2009 11:27AM]

From what I see old XPS 1330 was 0.9 lb lighter than the new one. Dumb move on the Dell side.

[Silvio @ Jan 10th 2009 2:05PM]

Almost 5lbs for a 13"....seems excessive. Why so heavy? I like the specs. Really looking forward to some reviews soon!!!