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Dell Unveils First Ultrabook, The XPS 13

by - source: Engadget

Ultrabooks are definitely one of the trends at CES 2012. While there's a ton of them on display, not all of them are new (it's not at all unusual for companies to bring old or already-announced products to CES to try and catch some of the media rays). However, we're also seeing some companies announce their first ever Ultrabook, and among them is Dell.

Dell today showed off its first foray into the Ultrabook market in the form of the XPS 13. Boasting a 13-inch 1366 x 768 Gorilla Glass display (which, similar to the HP Spectre, fits inside a chassis that's an inch smaller), the XPS 13 packs a Core i5 CPU, Intel HD 3000 graphics, a 128 GB SSD, 4 GB of RAM, Bluetooth 3.0, Intel's Smart Connect and Rapid Start technologies, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, a MiniDisplay port, and a battery life of eight hours.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Ultrabook if you didn't know how heavy it was and just how it compares to the other super-slim notebooks on the market. To that end, the XPS 13 measures in at 18-mm at its thickest and 6-mm at its thinnest. The whole thing weighs in just shy of 3-lbs and is wrapped up in a sleek aluminum finish.

As far as pricing and availability are concerned, the XPS 13 is set for release at the end of next month and will start at $999. Upgrades to Core i7 and more storage space will push that up quite a bit, though.

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dontknownotsure 01/12/2012 10:24 AM
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I am very drowsy and i read "Devil Unveils First Ultrabook, The XPS 13"

Vladislaus 01/12/2012 10:44 AM
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Wasn't the Dell Adamo 13 and the Dell Adamo XPS ultrabooks?

mcvf 01/12/2012 11:28 AM
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back_by_demand 01/12/2012 11:44 AM
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mcvf :
This seems to be very close to Macbook Air design.


What way? Thin, no optical drive and shaped like a laptop?
Toshiba Portege were doing ultrabook shape before the Air was an itch in Jobs nutsack

skyline100 01/12/2012 12:46 PM
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The display is something that I care alot, it is a matte display or the glossy one?

southernshark 01/12/2012 12:51 PM
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back_by_demand 01/12/2012 1:02 PM
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southernshark :
So about the only real edge it has over tablets is memory storage


Don't forget the keyboard

southernshark 01/12/2012 1:35 PM
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TEAMSWITCHER 01/12/2012 1:50 PM
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TEAMSWITCHER 01/12/2012 1:51 PM
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Anonymous 01/12/2012 1:51 PM
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I personally have been waiting for ultrabooks for a while. Currently using a Macbook Air with Windows as the primary OS. Things I hate are no backlit keyboard and the FN key is where CTRL is (oh and ALT is wrong but I fixed that with a key mapper).

Not sure this is the one, if its got a backlit keyboard I think it might be worth a shot though.

I have a tablet, notebooks have a totally differnet use. Unlike many people I actually like windows, and when creating content Windows notebooks are my goto. Tablets will always be for reading and playing not creating at least for me.

ojas 01/12/2012 2:28 PM
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Finally. Direct Macbook Air competition for a cheaper price. Bring on the swivel touch-screen + Win 8, and we have a winner!

Though I wish they'd make some of these a a tiny bit thicker and add a slim ODD...

Anonymous 01/12/2012 2:36 PM
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Crappy display resolution. No thanks. Macbook Air or Asus Zenbook (if it comes down a cpl hundred) for me.

back_by_demand 01/12/2012 2:41 PM
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TEAMSWITCHER :
A valiant attempt but you still failed. The teardrop profile, drop hinge, battery indicator, keyboard layout, port layout, and larger track-pad are all indicators that this is a derivative design of the MacBook Air. So many people won't buy Apple products, but they will buy these Apple design rip-offs. It's hypocrisy.


I would use a Macbook Air, if it had Windows on and cost about $300 less

twu 01/12/2012 2:48 PM
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Resolution suks. I just hate to keep scroll down the page.

Anonymous 01/12/2012 4:23 PM
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To all who say the resolution sucks - it is the same as most laptops with that size of screen. Any higher resolution and the icons, etc., will be way too small for the average person. Of course you could always decrease the resolution in software but that never looks right on LCD monitors. If you need a higher resolution then hook up to the TV.

It also has way more power (core i5 vs Tegra 250) than tablets, not just storage space, plus all the benefits of running real productivity software. Try running photoshop or lightroom on a tablet - oh wait, you can't.

As for the Macbook Air - you can have it. I refuse to pay a premium for a computer with less computing power and compatibility.

snowzsan 01/12/2012 6:13 PM
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LOL I'm loving the Apple Blumpkin fest going on. The Macbook Air is an excellent product, but if someone can offer something similar WITHOUT it costing an arm and a leg and using an inferior OS, they're always going to be a better seller.

@TEAMSWITCHER

Honestly, you need to relax kid. Fanboyism doesn't work if everyone knows you're a fanboy. Also, how is it hypocrisy? People know Windows, and have come to prefer and trust it. No one cared for Apple's outrageous and unustified prices and that is their downfall. The average user isn't going to buy something that's extremely expensive just because it's 'supposed' to be better. They're going to spend the least amount of money and want the world, and the only company that can offer that is Microsoft and their affiliates.

Apple's pocket gouging is becoming a thing of the past. Not to mention with all the bad rep they've been getting from sueing everyone, it's a wonder people even still consider their product a viable alternative to a Windows based platform. Let a dying dog die. Apple isn't even competition nor comparable.

willard 01/12/2012 6:29 PM
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TEAMSWITCHER :
A valiant attempt but you still failed. The teardrop profile, drop hinge, battery indicator, keyboard layout, port layout, and larger track-pad are all indicators that this is a derivative design of the MacBook Air. So many people won't buy Apple products, but they will buy these Apple design rip-offs. It's hypocrisy.


Obvious fanboy is obvious.

How dare anybody use a standard keyboard layout, or place ports on the only part of the laptop thick enough to hold them! Apple invented ports and thin computers, never mind all the thin and light computers with ports on them that came years before the Macbook Air. They must have used a time machine to travel into the future to steal Apple's designs!

Moron.

lordstormdragon 01/13/2012 5:01 AM
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It seems like a lot of people are missing the point. This isn't about brand-loyalty, but performance portability. The real beef everyone should be having: Intel HD 3000 graphics.

It doesn't matter what your excuse is. When you buy products like this, you're making the statement that you don't care how you spend your money and will frivolously follow any fad possible. That you don't know enough about computers to have made a proper judgement in the first place. That you're a douchebag.

Dell's not copying Apple's design here. What they're copying is Apple's tactics - sell crap for lots of money and make it shiny enough some moron will purchase it. These aren't computers, they're accessories. They're decorations, like badges of moronic honor. To get excited about being duped by your own self is possibly the greatest example of going "Full Retard" I've ever seen outside Simple Jack.

But hey, it's got Gorilla Glass, right? And we all know how tough that crap is.

phate 01/13/2012 6:01 PM
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lordstormdragon :
The real beef everyone should be having: Intel HD 3000 graphics..



Why? Are you going to try and play skyrim on a 13inch laptop? The graphics are perfectly fine for the use case of this size laptop.

lordstormdragon 01/13/2012 6:47 PM
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phate :
Why? Are you going to try and play skyrim on a 13inch laptop? The graphics are perfectly fine for the use case of this size laptop.



If you're going to settle for mediocrity, just get an Apple.

NapoleonDK 01/13/2012 8:48 PM
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Some people are forgetting what you CAN do with an HD3000 on low-med settings. Valve games, Indie game, almost anything 2-3 years old. I personally don't see the ultrabooks as being meant for gaming. I would rather have an extremely fast system with a good backlit keyboard, 12+hours of life, plenty of RAM, 120GB SSD, and 500GB HDD. The fact that you can play some fun games from a few years ago is icing on the already lightweight and portable cake!

I'm more interested in Ivy Bridge based ultrabooks. There's no way I would consider buying one until HD4000 hits the shelves. If it's under $900 it's a done deal...but I would pay $1000 for 1440x1050. ;)

lordstormdragon 01/13/2012 8:54 PM
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I totally get that, Napoleon. Sorry for my GPU elitism, but as a graphics professional Intel's parts are useless to me.

I guess my point is that we should be seeing more Llanos-based laptops - way more bang for the buck. At this price point AMD could be very competitive, as their product is superior in many ways and cheaper too. If a tool is going to be this useless, it should cost $500 or less, not almost a thousand.

One day we'll have modular laptops that actually perform! Or maybe we won't, at this rate!

NapoleonDK 01/13/2012 10:00 PM
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No worries, I appreciate it. I'll be first to admit I have absolutely no experience with content creation outside of Ableton Live and Windows Movie Maker, plus a little AutoCAD and GIMP I suppose... I've heard that programs like Photoshop and Premier can take advantage of hardware acceleration. If you work in 3D then yes a chip with more muscle is needed.

You can't deny that Intel has put a lot more effort into integrated graphics in the last few years than in the past. We aren't dealing with the GMA950 here, they've grown impressively. Sure you're not maxing out Skyrim on an HD4000, it's not like I'm maxing it out on my 8800GTS 512 either.

I completely agree that we should be seeing much more activity from the Green Camp in the Ultrabook (Intelbook) sector. The entire made-up genre up to this point stinks of underhanded incentives. We're both waiting for some respectable Llano stuff in a sexy form factor. :)

del35 01/16/2012 10:19 AM
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" Dell's not copying Apple's design here. What they're copying is Apple's tactics - sell crap for lots of money and make it shiny enough so some moron will purchase it."

Well put.

del35 01/16/2012 10:24 AM
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In my opinion this ultrabook looks real ugly. It could be that it reminds me of an iCrap and Apple conjurs up the image of a hoodwinked moron trying to look cool.

jehnavi 03/03/2012 1:27 PM
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It is believed to be best laptop designs by Dell XPS 13 till date.

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