Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

I found the perfect case for the XPS 13 at my local Apple store. It is also available online at knomo London: Women's Bags | Laptop Bags | Laptop Cases | Work Bags | iPad Cases | iPhone Covers | Laptop Sleeves | Ladies Bags | Luggage. It's not cheap at $79.95 but it is an absolutely perfect fit.

 

Thanks apatz, which bag\sleeve\case specifically did you get from knomo?

 

My Adamo 13 still going strong. Hehe.. The xps 13 is technically the 3rd ultrabook by Dell, but funny how many official reviewers have no idea what they are saying.

I'm still eyeballing until it gets cheaper.

 

I have been following this thread and helping everyone get the required firmware (A02) before it was posted on Dell's site. However I have not made up my mind on this ultrabook yet.

I want one, but some of the issues like the trackpad (software update), fan noise (BIOS update - A03 maybe) and display put me off a bit.

Does anyone have a display comparison available?

 

Here's another one complaining about the screen:

http://digitaljive.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/dell-xps-13-ultrabook-vs-apple-macbook-air-day-1/

 

Ok the baby is available in Europe, UK, France, but it comes on only two options : I5 128 Go SSD / I7 256 GO SSD...

And that crappy MCaffee inside, no choice! confused: ).

Also, why Dell is pretending it s professional laptop when it has no ethernet and only Windows Home... explain to me how to contect to the AD with HOME version, simply impossible.

Maybe it s just for SOHO ?... OK ... might replace my dying hinges Alienware.

 

Sorry, but these reviewers are nuts... he indicates a consumer would be happy, but not a computer professional.... hmmm. I have been a professional for 15 years and this screen is nice. I put it next to the wife's 13" macbook pro and the difference is minimal.

Either there are different displays, or these people are making sh!t up.

User is deciding to keep this or switch back to macbook air - he also complains that the power brick has no cord management - personally i like the rolling the cord up and wrapping under the rubber bungie provided. Anyone with a macbook knows that the mac's cable management is a big fail - it always falls off the little ears.

For those on the fence - screen is nice; trackpad works well, but not with palm detection. I don't use all the gestures of the trackpad, so maybe that is what people are complaining about, but for point and click/tap it works well. Fan comes on when CPU is under load - no worse then my 15" macbook pro.

 

Dell is famous for their "panel lottery" in external monitors. Some monitors were fantastic, while others (with the exact same model number) were not very good. Could it be the same thing is happening here with this Ultrabook??

 

Ooooo....UK price is a bit hot. Way over £ per $...which makes the Uk price around 60% more expensive than the US....I think I'll pass. £1300 for an I7 with a 720P screen is bit steep.

 

How so? The i7 model is US$1499 here.

 

Good side-by-side versus 13" Macbook Air. Very fair review on both sides of the equation:

Dell XPS 13 vs MacBook Air 13 Comparison - YouTube

 

Bill @ Dell, is it possible to check what is up with these codes? If I call into Customer Service, will they have any idea what I am talking about?

 

I just wish Dell would release it to the "brick and mortar" stores (like Best Buy.....) so that a person can go and look it over. Pick it up.... hear the fan run.... see the display.... etc. The nearest Dell kiosk is over 300 miles away from me.

Correct me if I am wrong but you are charged a re-stocking fee if you return it to Dell..... correct?

 

Come to think when comparing with the 2nd generaiton Samsung Series 9. which has

1. Cheaper price tag
2. Bundled ethernet dongle
3. 400-nit super-bright LCD
4. Much higher resolution
5. Won't force us to take McAfee with 15th months

Being one of the last in the list with an ultrabook and few more months for ivy bridge availability. I would expect Dell to do their best to catch up.

 

I'm not a fan of higher resolution on a 13" screen (yeah, I know that most here prefer it) but other than that, the Series 9 sure looks like a winner.

 

???

I uninstalled McAfee from my XPS 13 without any difficulty whatsoever. MSE ftw.

 

I can`t notice any difference in the noise when copying/writing files, it`s just there constantly, even when the laptop is just sitting there. I replaced the power brick of my old computer because of this sound, and now I own a laptop making the same noise.

 

Exactly. The presence of McAfee is hardly a useful criticism, as it takes only seconds to uninstall it.

All laptop brands include various applications and trialware. No combination will ever be perfect for all users. Some users will welcome some of the inclusions, while others will uninstall them. Usually it's no big deal.

FWIW, I found that there wasn't all that much "crapware" on my Dell XPS15, certainly nowhere near as much as on the Sony Vaio I setup for a friend.

 

Well guys, I just saw (and used) a Dell Ultrabook for the very first time!

It was okay, not bad really, but I guess I was hoping for a little more.

First thing I noticed was that I wish the screen tilted back just a tad more. Dell had this laptop placed on top of an acrylic stand which lifted the laptop a few inches, but I took it off the stand and placed it on the table, like it would normally be sitting, and more than once I wanted to push the screen back a little. I sometimes walk over to my laptop and check email while standing, so this would affect me more than those that sit down to use your laptop.

The screen resolution actually didn't bother me all that much. I was fine with it (although it's not like I did anything hard-core on it). The screen quality was okay. Not great, but okay.

Surprisingly this laptop felt a little heavier than it looked like it would feel. Certainly not heavy, but heavi er than I expected.

I couldn't get the right-edge-scroll to work smoothly, no matter what settings I changed. The two-finger scroll worked okay, but I'm accumstomed to using my index finger to scroll, so this was frustrating.

Typing was also "just okay." Again, not bad, but I expected a little better.

I happened to say out loud to the Dell guy standing next to me that I wish it had an SD card slot. The Dell guy was quick to tell me (very confidently) that "no Ultraboooks have an SD card slot, not even the Macbook Air." I was like, ummm, yes they do, including the Macbook Air 13" laptop. Look it up. He did, but had trouble admitting he was wrong. I'll tell ya, nothing upsets me more when I'm shopping for something than a salesperson that has no idea what they're talking about. Especially when they volunteer the information (I didn't ask him any questions).

Anyway... I haven't crossed it off my list, but I didn't walk away quite as happy as I thought I would.

Oh well.

 

1. More driver updates coming to fix trackpad scrolling.

2. I actually like the weight of the XPS 13. It feels solid "dense" for lack of a better word. Contrast this with the Toshiba Z835 that I had for a short period, which while much lighter, also did not feel solid or robust. I much prefer that aspect of the XPS 13.

3. Keyboard preference is a very personal thing. Being one who loves chiclet style keys (my Vaio Z has them, as do the HP Wireless Elite keyboards I use at work and at home), in my opinion the XPS 13 keyboard is the best of any I've tried. The subtle contour is just right, the font on the keys is large enough to let plenty of backlight through.

If there are two areas that really stand out to me as positives above others on the XPS 13 they are the keyboard and the audio system.

 

Oh, I forgot to check the backlight. Darn. Yeah, I'm sure the keyboard issue is just a matter of getting used to a different keyboard. My current Vaio FW has chiclet style keys and I like them very much.

The font on the Dell keys looked odd to me for some reason, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Pun intended.

Funny, but I just realized that the keyboard I'm typing on right now is an HP Wireless keyboard (one of those super-thin super-flat keyboards). I knew that -- I just forgot!

 

So I've had my XPS 13 for a week now. I love everything about it...

But the fan is starting to get to me. The first couple of days I didn't notice it too much, it was off mostly. Now I find all it takes is web browsing and streaming music and it sounds like a small vacuum cleaner. Hm.

 

I own many Samsung consumer products including their latest LCD TV, refrigerator, and even the NX200 camera taking these photos. So, I decided to compare the NP900X3A-B01US 9 Series hybrid to the XPS-13 UB since it is common knowledge the Samsung offers some impressive features that may sway me away from the XPS-13 UB.

Here are my unbiased general pros/cons in regards to the Samsung:

Samsung Pros
Bright display with good viewing angles.
Full backlit keyboard.
Upgradeable RAM - 2 DIMMS. <--- MAKE A NOTE, DELL!!
Most common ports included.
Fan not as loud as Dell under load.
Very good build quality with excellent looking black finish.

Samsung Cons
The matte display is fine when looking head on, but hurts the viewing angles (no surprise).
The Ethernet port requires an OPTIONAL RJ45 pigtail so it is not really an included feature.
The SD card slot only support the mini-SD (Trans-Flash) cards... what!?
The port covers are nice looking when not being used, but do get in the way in some cases when using the ports.
The keyboard backlights bleed through the key bases.
The 128GB SSD is actually an older Samsung mSATA and not the latest PM830!
The finish is very nice but collects fingerprints and shows off ANY imperfection/scratch like there is no tomorrow. I laso think too much shinny plastic is used on/around the keyboard bezel.


Winning Features
Display: Draw (Samsung - better color/brightness heads on / Dell - higher quality finish and better overall viewing from various angles even with the reflective glass).
Keyboard: Dell.
Memory: Samsung.
SSD: Dell (for using the new PM830 mSATA).
Fan: Samsung (until the Dell A03 BIOS is officially released, which seems to even the score in testing).
Ports: Samsung (only because of the mini HDMI out).
Trackpad: Draw (both leave a lot to be desired although I am just old school when it comes to trackpads and wanting REAL buttons).
Construction Fit and Finish: Dell (It feels more solid, has a better display hinge assembly, and will not show every imperfection with the use of the anodized ALU lid, non-slip palmrest, and CF base).

Conclusion
As much as I like the Samsung and wish the Dell included a few of the same features, the Dell simply "feels" better overall and is more durable when it comes to fit and finish. Likewise, the included PM830 SSD in the Dell is a screamer (how ironic!). So the Samsung went back and the Dell stayed. With that said, I reserve the right to change my views when the new 2012 Series 9 is released in Q2.

Below are some pics of the two side by side. Enjoy.

Scott-

 

For those wondering about the T-Mobile codes, I just reached out to @DellCares and they responded with the following:

"Chris, checked w/ specialist group. Email w/ hotspot e-pin codes hasn't been sent out yet. Should be sent w/in few days to email we used to send order confirmation email. Thanks in advance for your patience. Let us know if you have any additional questions"

 

I am told for 100% sure we only sourced one panel for this system, which is indeed unusual for us. Reason is we had not found a vendor that met some of the specs we required for the Gorilla Glass bonding process.

I was going to suggest @DellCares or Facebook.com/Dell (support link on the left), but from your last post it looks like you figured it out.

Sometimes they waive that fee for cause. Depends on the case. Checking on retail launch now. I think it's coming up within a week or two. Just a guess for now though.

I declined the agreement on first boot, uninstalled it and had Windows Security Essentials up and running all in about 6 minutes or so. It really wasn't a big deal as far as I could see.

 

Ummm... so the emails only get sent out when someone at Dell/T-Mobile chooses to send a batch? It's not automated based on time of order? That is incredibly idiotic and license for something to fall between the cracks.

 

We worded our feedback a bit differently, I'd imagine, and I think T-Mo is making it happen now.

 

@Dell-Bill - can you explain the workings of the ambient light sensor? I see no functionality with it - neither keyboard nor screen autodims - is mine broken?

I am running Win Ultimate - i installed it and all drivers after wiping all partitions.

 

I'm pretty interested in this light sensor myself. I already have the listening team for Engineering Quality on the hunt for mentions of the "Window loses focus" comments. I actually saw this happen on a display unit this weekend. It may have something to do with the sensor, but that's just a theory I have to prove/disprove as a starting point. I'll try to check out another unit and reproduce that issue and look into the sensor in general. I'll post back what I find and pass the information along to the Quality guys.

 

A quick note on the fan behavior wherein the fan continues to spin in ranges above low and off after the CPU temp drops- The system uses 3 sensors that feed data into the thermal algorithm. It's possible to have situations where the CPU sensor reports a temperature low enough that you may think the fan should spin back down, but one or both of the other sensors are pushing the value high enough to leave the fan in a higher range longer than one might expect. A03 is looking much better on overall fan behavior. It should web post soon.

Second quick note re: touch pad driver- We have the next version out of test and ready to web post, however, some last minute items we were up until recently debating adding held us up a bit. The driver is sitting in the tool awaiting an April block release, but the lead engineer is working on an out of block release that might happen any day now.

Third quick note re: "Windows loses focus" feedback- We have seen this one before on XPS 15z, and we saw it on this box when looking at the touch pad drivers. This is not the light sensor. This is a bit more complicated. It has to do with the algorithms that are used to determine whether contact along the edges of the touch pad is intentional or the result of a touch typist who's resting his/her hands on the palm rest while typing (like I do). The algorithms are supposed to detect the shape of whatever's contacting it along the edge of the touch pad and determine whether it is the edge of the palm (at the base of the thumb where a touch typist would contact the touch pad) or whether it is a finger tip requesting an intentional user input. I say "algorithms" instead of "algorithm" because there are 2 of them that work together- one in the firmware and one in the driver. What we've found is one of the algorithms needed to be tweaked, and that tweak is part of the changes to the upcoming driver release. In other words, it's basically erroneous clicks caused by the driver/firmware.

 

I was really hoping for a fourth quick note.

 

Fourth quick note- I'm checking out a unit tonight to test what the light sensor actually does. First working theory to prove/disprove is it only engages while on battery power.

 

At the knomo website look under laptop sleeves for the Macbook Air 13" sleeve at $79.95 or just click this link:

http://www.knomobags.com/usa/women/...ok-air-13-laptop-envelope-leather-brown.html/

I know it's not cheap but neither is this Ultrabook. I love and it fits into my leather messenger bag with my other crap required on a day-to-day basis.

 

I thought I was crazy, but I think it does only engage under battery power. I used a highly scientific method of jumping in and out of a dark room while plugged in and unplugged, and only noticed a difference while on battery.

 

Been on the phone fighting with Dell order support trying to return this hotspot for 30 minutes. Anyone have any advice on returning this thing? I pay for a 4g hotspot through Sprint and also have tethering on my phone..... Really dont want to deal with the hassle of trying to sell this on CL.

 

Fastest resolution: create a Twitter account if you don't have one. Follow @DellCares and tweet to them about it. They'll take you offline in email and do what they can. You can also reach that team at Facebook.com/Dell via the "support" link on the left hand side of the page.

 

THIS. Unless your PC is on fire, use the social media team. They respond quickly, and seem to know just who to get involved right away.

 

I just ordered the 13z with the 256gb SSD. I still have a 14z that I bought a few years ago at Best buy. I liked it because very few laptops had no optical drives at the time and I didn' want one.

I already received the TMobile device, but have no use for it. I only use my laptop at home and while travelling overseas. What's the best way to sell it.

 

I started testing the new trackpad driver today and it's a serious improvement!

 

I really hope the drivers come before April. I think you might see a fair number of returns if the touch pad isn't fixed within the 30 day period. I really love this machine but can't live with the touch pad for this investment.

 

Anandtech review up: AnandTech - Dell XPS 13: A Different Kind of Ultrabook.

Disappointed about the screen. Since I am looking for an Ivy Bridge laptop, I hope Dell will give options for better panels in the next revision of the XPS 13.

 

With all due respect to Dustin Sklavos/AnandTech, the review lacks a lot of common sense and realistic comparisons. That's all I am going to say about that...

Scott

 

My t-mo hotspot had a separate order number - i called and said I didn't order it - the web site added it and i don't want it. I want to return it and not pay shipping or restocking - the rep said no problem and it has gone like clockwork.

@Dell-Bill_B - thanks for all the great information - I am an SA for another tech company, and it is refreshing to get such great feedback - I also worked for Dell in RR in the past (internal IT) so I know how things work. Still a Dell fan even through all the ups and downs.

 

In my opinion it's just sneaky for Dell to throw in a hidden costs for us consumers. Even when they mention it's free, there's always a costs to everything and anything no matter what.

The machine is already not price competitive enough even with a mass producing brand like dell.

I would keep an eye out for Samsung. Looking at the past 15 years, they have got their way up to the top above Sony (making a net loss for the past 8 years). Sony was good.

 

Thats exactly what I said and the ESL phone rep said that he would have to return the entire laptop... this is stupid... can someone give me an escalation path to have this returned? I do like the laptop, but this policy is ridiculous.... Im tempted to return it just for spite from the terrible phone support...

I went through terrible service with my 11z order in December... over a month of delayed orders.. then had to order a second one in January to get it shipped.

 

My understanding (and I could be wrong) is that this is a package deal. You can't simply return the T-Mobile hotspot and get $125 back.

One thing I noticed that DID irk me though, is that the XPS 13 portion of the purchase gets DPA promotional pricing, but NOT the hotspot portion of the purchase, which in my opinion is dirty pool on Dell's part. The entire purchase is supposed to get the 6-months or 12-months 0% financing.

I hope that Dell gets their poop in a group though. Right now I'm dealing with an unmitigated disaster with Dell India since they want my XPS 13 back to run testing on it since it was one of the first units that showed the fan/heatsink problem. They were supposed to have sent out a new unit first, but the only thing I've received is a tiny box with a shipping label in it. Thus far I've spent 3 hours in Hold Hell with these idiots trying to get it resolved, and they have offered absolutely NOTHING in compensation for the inconvenience... and it's not even close to being resolved.

Dell rep today said their records show that the box I received today had the new XPS 13 in it... I said "not unless the XPS 13 folds in on itself". The box I got was the size of a DVD case and had a shipping weight of 1.0 pounds.

Ugh.

 

I didn't say it, but since they expose it as a separate line item, i was going to call Amex and dispute it if they didn't return it. If the laptop was just $1499 and they didn't expose the hot spot as costing $100 - I would have just accepted the free hot spot. But on my CC it shows up as an another charge, just like on the invoice.

You can always try for another rep. I got my invoice emailed within 5 minutes of ordering, and tried to cancel as soon as i saw it - maybe that is what was different.

 

i don't like the bloatware - but 30 day trial of security software is not sneaky - it is clearly stipulated when you buy - you can even change to the paid for version at that time. Or, as others mentioned, just uninstall it and install a free package.

After Samsung phones and mediocre firmware on some digital tuners and tvs - I don't share your love for their products.

 

Two options now.

1. Wait for ivy bridge from Fujitsu Ultrabook.

Or

2. Get a good discount bundle from Dell. e.g. HP Folio is selling at RM2999 (Malaysia), which is less than USD999, same specs and solid built. Free 2nd unit power adaptor. Fast sata3 SSD.