Dell said on Tuesday that it has introduced a version of its XPS 13 Ultrabook (opens in new tab) here in the United States that sports a Full HD (1080p) display.
Starting at $999 USD, the previous XPS 13 Ultrabook model launched a year ago and featured a 720p display powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, a 128 GB SSD and 4 GB of memory. This new 1080p model now offered by Dell starts at $1,399 USD, and packs a Core i5 CPU, a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM.
"The new 1080p display contains almost 2x the pixels of a typical 720p display, and the difference is noticeable," said Dell chief blogger Lionel Menchaca. "Everything looks sharper, whether you are viewing high resolution images, watching 1080p video or even reading text on an eBook or a web page. More pixels also means you’ll have more screen real estate, so you will see more of that spreadsheet (see image below) or that you’ll be able to see more detail in a high resolution image than you would compared to a typical notebook screen."
Essentially Dell now offers four XPS 13 Ultrabook models, all sporting a 13.3-inch display: the 720p Core i5 model @ $999.99, the 720p Core i7 model at $1199.99, the 1080p Core i5 model @ $1399.99, and the 1080p Core i7 model @ $1599.99. All four default configurations feature Intel HD 4000 graphics, and there doesn't seem to be any option to upgrade to Nvidia or AMD chips.
In fact, after looking over the "customizations", Dell only offers the basics: productivity software, essential adapters and tools, on ther go accessories, security software, tax software and more. That said, these Ultrabooks are locked in hardware-wise, so it's good that Dell has introduced two new Ultrabook models with a higher resolution.
"The XPS 13 is smaller than the MacBook Air 13 because we fit a 13-inch screen into something barely bigger than an 11-inch footprint," Menchaca. "The 1080p display offers 44% more pixels than the 900p display that it currently offers. For those who want to compare it against the MacBook Pro 13, while the retina version (opens in new tab) does offer a higher resolution, it also adds several hundred dollars to the price and over a half pound of weight in the process."
Consumers looking for a new Ultrabook with a 1080p resolution should see what Dell has to offer (opens in new tab). That way, if you actually do buy it (and it seems that Michael Dell really needs your business right now), we get to say "Dude, you're getting a Dell!".