XPS laptop - When will Dell be releasing a new version?

Does anyone have any idea when or if Dell will be releasing the XPS laptop with the Centrino 2 chip or if they will be releasing a new XPS laptop design all together as the current design has been around for well over a year now?


After hunting around for a solid performing laptop for home and office work for a month or 2 now, I have decided that the Dell XPS is probably the best machine I have looked at. It sounds to be well built, perform great, and has a premium warranty to back it up. The only negative things I have heard about it is the hard drive is loud and the slot loading drive is also loud, does anyone know if these issues have been resolved and updated in the last few months?

So I go to buy the laptop and realise they don’t have the new Centrino 2 chip! I assumed they would, however chip they only offer the Core Duo chip. I thought Dell was all about consumer customisation and they were able to get new technologies to the market faster because of their direct selling model? So why don’t they have the new Centrino 2 chips? I want to buy the 15” XPS, but don’t think I can part with the best part of $2000 AUD without the machine having this latest chip. Even the new Sony’s now have the new Centrino 2 chip and they sell for around the same price for this XPS.

So my question is, does anyone have any idea when or if they will be releasing the XPS laptop with the Centrino 2 chip or if they will be releasing a new XPS laptop design all together as the current design has been around for well over a year now?

Does anyone else have any feedback on the XPS laptops?

 

Currently, the only "refresh" known so far is the rumored Studio XPS 13 and 16.

Check the Dell Inspiron and Studio subforums for more info.

It's been confirmed though IIRC that XPS is becoming a sub-brand name now, so there will probably be something like this:

Inspiron --> Studio --> Inspiron XPS --> Studio XPS (please don't take my word for it regarding hierarchy order, I'm just stipulating.)

As it stands, it still remains unknown when these rumored units will be out. They were expected this month, however, they may now be delayed till January 2009, but no one really knows for sure.

 

I think Inspiron is going to really be eliminated, replaced by Studio XPS. The Studio XPS will be for home users, the latitudes will remain for business. I wouldn't hold my breath for an XPS refresh, I don't think you're going to see anything like we've seen in the past as far as performance goes, they seem to be toning down their gaming stuff, people have speculated this is because they would like more sales on the side of Alienware.

 

Ok. It sounds interesting. I hope they at least release the current xps model with Centrino 2, I'd buy it if they did. Otherwise I may get an hp dv5 instead, but I don't really like the look of this machine as much because its too shinny and home entertainment focused. I think the xps looks like a smarter more solid business machine.

Have you guys heard any problems with the xps 15" laptop? How good is the lattitude business machine suppose to be?

Thanks

 

The only real problems with the XPS is the chance of getting a grainy screen. (only if you order it with WSXGA+)

 

Uh, and the defective graphics card and the laptop overheating like crazy.

My friend's 1330 has been replaced 4 times this year.

 

I'm very happy with the M1330 I have owned for the past year. I just wish it had a newer processor.

 

And the keyboard. And in fact, lots of stuff in general. One of mine was completely rebuilt - might as well have been a new machine apart from the drives - and then replaced. It's been practically as bad as the Macbook Pro's for me (although the on-site service has mitigated much of the extended downtime that an Apple failure would bring) and that's definitely not what I expect from Dell - at least, if it's not an Inspiron or something like that. I've had near-zero problems with the M1730's and I don't read reports of the M1530 often, so I can only assume the trainwreck is limited to the 13.

Apart from a hike up to somewhere in the Latitude levels of build quality for the machines, I'm looking forward to an evolution in style more than anything else. The current XPS designs have dated quickly. Well, the M1530 and the M1330 have... the M1730 can only be referred to as 'congealed' and not 'designed'.

 

Well if having a montevina is of the highest priority then the Studio 15 has that option, however it comes with a Radeon Mobility 3450 if I recall correctly.

 

Less plastic used in the case - Are you aware that the XPS M1330's outer case is almost fully metal? And that, combined with the aluminium palmrest means that the case assembly is almost entirely metal? And that making the magnesium bits involves a higher-tech process than the 'unibody' Macs? Admittedly this is a lot about what Apple gets right - they understand their (dumbest) consumers very well and go with what they will believe is the best answer for the job at hand. Many buyers e.g. undoubtedly think the bottom shell on the XPS M1330 is plastic due to it's 'warm' feel. It's magnesium.

Screen? Grain / lines aplenty on some of the M1330's that have passed through my hands (I bought 4 in total, but I think I actually ended up effectively using about 8 through warranty replacements and the aforementioned complete rebuilds), but actually that wasn't what concerned me - I've seen worse grain on supposedly 'Pro' Apple gear. The problem was the lighting - a couple of mine had what I could only call 'mood lighting' due to the wavy backlight pattern at the bottom of the screen, and I also got the flickering issue as well, as well as a higher than I'd expect number of dead pixels which I successfully got exchanged.

The keyboard... oy. Where do I start on the M1330? Misregistering keys, non-registering (unless you prod them really hard) keys, humped keyboards, keyboards which sink, etc. Despite the other issues, I might (actually - no, but I might have if I was less demanding) have lived with the M1330 if it wasn't for the keyboard.

 

Wow, I thought the xps was suppose to be a top built machine. It sounds like their have been plenty of recorded issues with them!

Would I be better to get an hp dv5 over the dell xps 1530?

Thanks

 

Wow! I didn't know that. Okay then, if they can make the next XPS laptop with less seams, I'll be happy and would buy another one. I didn't experience any of the keyboard issues you have had on mine or my sister's M1330.

 

Every computer manufacturer has their strengths and weaknesses. In my experience, many HP laptops have a terrible touchpad, to the point of being unusable. It is something about the coating or materials they use. Even if I changed the software settings, I was unable to use the touchpad on a good deal of HP laptops, even their NC business models. On several HP laptops I could hardly get the mouse to move after 5 minutes of use.

The nice thing about HP laptops is that many of them are sold in retails stores, so you can easily go and check them out before purchasing. However, Dell has an excellent return policy too, I have never had to pay return shipping.

Out of all the touchpads I have used, the one's on Dell laptops are the best. Very smooth, very accurate and also, the mouse-buttons usually have the right amount of give, not too firm and not too mushy.

 

Your professional name isn't 'Moist' by any chance?

 

Nope. It's 'Sweaty Palms Support'

 

This is easily fixed by replacing the stock silver keyboard with a black Vostro 1400 keyboard. It has a strong, flat base/backing, and the keys are very crisp.

 

Perhaps that's best told to Dell. Easily fixed by geeks for whom their laptop is a source of modding entertainment maybe, but I have better things to do with my time - such as, well, shopping for my next laptop

 

Haha, not true. I've had lots of experience with both keyboards, they're identical parts in different colors. That mod is purely for aesthetics.