First evidence Dell has shipped some XPS 700s

Round Rock (TX) - A long-time poster to Dell's community forum has reported that he received his Pentium D 930-based XPS 700 unit via next-day air this morning, after a long round of delays. The customer, who evidently declined the Core 2 Duo upgrade offer, says he has tested the system, has already begun playing games, and reports its performance as "awesome."

A Dell spokesperson told TG Daily last week that shipping had at last begun on XPS 700 systems delayed on account of what Dell describes as a faulty cooling assembly. Dell officials had stated in the past that shipping of delayed systems had begun, although there were few, if any, accounts from customers in the field of having received them. At least one other customer reports on Dell's community forum today of receiving word from Dell that the customer's XPS 700 is in shipment.

Meanwhile, customers suffering from delays who have accepted Dell's offer of a free upgrade from Pentium D-based to Core 2 Duo-based systems, continue to report having been told their systems will ship as late as 15 October. One customer reports having spoken to a Wall Street Journal reporter. While this is going on, an American Customer Satisfaction Index survey states that Dell's annual rating for overall customer satisfaction has rebounded to 78%, up from an eight-year low of 74% last year.