High Resolution 1530 Released!!

High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera [add $50 or $2/month1]
May delay your XPS M1530 ship date

High Resolution glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1680x1050) & 2MP Camera [add $100 or $3/month1]
May delay your XPS M1530 ship date

These are the new options on the Dell USA site!

 

I SAW THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ORDERING NOW!
1680x1050!
I'll post later!

 

...and only 1280x800 in europe

 

In Canada we now have:

High Res, Glossy wide screen 15.4 inch LCD & 2.0 MP Camera (1440x900)

My question now is, if I buy this one, wouldn't the game performance decrease compare to 1280x800?

 

The 1440x900 was offered online in Europe yesterday and earlier today, for later delivery.

 

In Canada, it is $150 extra over the 1280x800 while in the US it is only $50 extra. Typical.

 

It doesn't really affect gaming performance per se. It's just that on more demanding games, you'd have to set your resolution down. That means non-native resolution. And non-native res doesn't exactly look too good. But most are fine with that and would rather have higher res for larger screen estate anyway. Because 1280x800 isn't that high of a resolution anyway, this is less of a problem for us WXGA users.

@topic: wow, this is good news! Hopefully none of the early adopters are upset

 

oh, i hate dell lol, why do this after I order!!

 

Now just have to wait until they offer the LED backlight option. Hmm, at $150 upgrade cost at Dell Canada for just the 1440x900 screen, the LED should cost at least $400 more ;-/

 

Speaking of...

 

Great news! But why does it cost so much Canadians? That is seriously a problem... You guys even get the 1680x1050 for cheaper than we get the 1440x900 and just as a short comparison:

US: 1440x900 for $50, 1680x1050 for $100
CAD: 1440x900 for $150, 1680x1050 N/A

 

I just ordered the M1530 with WXGA screen. I wonder that WXGA+ screen really makes a huge different? I am typing on my E1505 with WXGA screen, and the fonts look perfect for me. They aren't too big or too small. I haven't really seen the notebook with WXGA+ screen. What do you guy think? Well, WXGA+ has 250 nits brightness compare to WXGA with 220 nits. Personally, I have to turn the brigghtness level down like 2, which is around 75-80%. I am in a very bright room, and I think my screen is really bright.

Let get to the point. Doesn't it worth it to get WXGA+ over WXGA or it just a personal taste?

 

It really is a matter of personal taste. Try seeing one for yourself and decide. Tried looking at this post, but unfortunately, no WXGA+ for comparison.

I'm pretty sure though that WXGA+ wouldn't make text look so small. I think that sort of thing starts with WSXGA+ [1680x1050]...

 

I just look at the post that you showed me. It don't show that much different on the fonts though. Yes, the fonts look smaller on WSXGA+, but I think it is over kill for me, and it has less brightness too according to Dell spec. I never really buy anything ultrasharp from Dell because I always stick with regular resolution if you know what I mean. Thanks for the link.

I want my purchase to be perfect because I will keep it until Intel releases Nehalem or it becomes a mainstram quad core.

Anyone else has anymore comments? I love to hear from someone else too.

 

Hopefully one day they will have a matte 1680x1050

 

I had initially ordered a 1530 upon release but I had to cancel becaue some of the programs I run require a slightly higher resolution. I'm about to place my order for the 1440x900. Although, the higher resolution is nice and it would benefit me even more, I worry about the strain on my eyes because I use my laptops 4+ hours at a time. it's a little too small for me on a 15" laptop and lowering the settings usually entails a fuzzy image. I think i'm taking the middle road and will leave the higher resolutions to my 17".

 

When I first saw this news, I was ticked that I had already placed my order.

Then, I realized that the very laptop I was reading the news on was running at 1280x800. Now I'm 100% fine with it!

I plan on using the 1530 as my main system, but it will be hooked up to my 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor, so I'll get my resolution when I want/need it.

Can't wait any longer!

 

I plan on doing the same if I need higher resolution. I'll just hook it up to my desktop monitor with higher native.

 

Which of theses is wxvga?

Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera High Resolution
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1440x900) & 2MP Camera High Resolution
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1680x1050) & 2MP Camera

?????????????????????????????

 

Not sure what wxvga is, but:

1280x800 -- WXGA
1440x900 -- WXGA+
1680x1050 -- WSXGA+

 

ITS WUXGA

1280x800 WXGA
1440x900 WSXGA --- Wide Super
1650x1080 WUXGA -- Wide Ultra

 

my screen has some light leakage...could i get it replaced with a 1440X900 lol?

 

umm no...WUXGA is 1920X1200

 

Nope.

1280x800 -- WXGA
1440x900 -- WXGA+
1680x1050 -- WSXGA+
1920x1200 -- WUXGA

 

LOL! yeah you got a warranty? I'm sure you can. And if they say no tell them you might pay for the upgrade.

 

Exactly.

Anyway, this annoys me slightly as the Dell rep told me that the 1440x900 screens were a long way off (luckily I didn't believe her), but I ordered anyway because I knew I wasn't going to get a better deal. I would have preferred to have had the 1440x900 screen, but I wouldn't have been able to get the $300 off, so I'm still happy.

 

Ok here's my problem----I have been waiting forever to buy the 1530 w/ the higher res screens...

Now that they are finally out, my Member Purchase Program is only allowing 1280x800 res... Anyone else having this issue??? I can get 12% off my current configuration if I could just get the res I want. I've talked to some dell reps, all very unhelpful and seemingly unwilling to make a sale.

Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks

 

I really wanted a high res display, i just received my 1530 with the 1280x800 screen and already opened it. is there anyway i can upgrade to the different display?

 

My original specs for my 1530 came out to just under 4k and after my EPP discounts and other Dell offers it was around 2900. I sent an email today and left a voicemail for Derek(the salesman) about modifying to the 1440x900. I will keep this thread updated on my progress. I simply won't take no for an answer and will hound Dell until I get my way.

 

I had the same problem. Emailed my sales rep and he called me a few minutes later to help me place my order for the 1440x900. I can pm you his info if you can't seem to get anyone else to help. Hopefully he works with the same segment you need and can help. 'cause certain reps can only work certain purchase orders. Unfortunately, he is out until after christmas. He made sure to get my order tight today before he left.

 

i think i will be doing the same thing......I am kind of dissapointed in the low resolution espcially with games......it seem the games look better graphically with my 1520 running at the 1440x900 resolution. However, the game moves at a higher frame rate with the m1530 but its like the graphics took a step back

 

OK, I've got an interesting question... I'm considering getting one of these laptops and maybe getting one of the higher res screens...but does anybody know if these lower battery life to any significant degree?

 

This M1530 user manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM1530/en/OM/specs.htm#wp1102222

Says there is

15.4-inch WLED WXGA+ TrueLife

how far away from that?

 

Fonts should not be larger or smaller depending on the resolution of your display. A 12pt font should look EXACTLY the same on a 15.4 inch screen regardless of whether or not it is 1280x800 or 1680x1050. Even if it was a 13 inch screen with a resolution of 16000x9000, 12 points is still 12 points!

If your fonts are "too small" it is because you haven't configured font scaling properly (either in your operating system or in your application--if it is separate a la Adobe [whatever]). Here's an explanation of the point scale:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)

If you're using Windows XP you're pretty much screwed. Changing the OS from 96dpi to something higher tends to screw up a LOT of applications (this is because the rendering engine sucks and application APIs don't enforce scalability). If you're using Windows Vista you might have more luck (I haven't tried it). Here's a HOWTO:

http://www.istartedsomething.com/20061211/vista-dpi-scaling/

Here's a quick way to figure out if your fonts are scaling properly: A 72-point font is supposed to be ONE INCH tall (as in, "72 points = One inch"). It is a fairly precise measurement but not all fonts match the point scale perfectly. I've found that Arial comes pretty close. Here's the test:

1) Open up a word processor and type "ONE INCH"
2) Change the text to be 72pt Arial
3) Measure the height of the text with a ruler. If it is pretty close to one inch your fonts are scaling properly. If it is significantly larger or smaller then you'll need to adjust your configuration.

In KDE on Linux fonts are scaled PERFECTLY if you set the "DisplaySize X Y" variable in your xorg.conf config file. Instructions can be found here. If you're a Gnome user you'll need to configure DPI in your Fonts control panel (it doesn't look at the DisplaySize setting).

Once your OS is configured properly fonts should be easier to read (more crisp) the higher your resolution. The only problem you'll run into after that are applications and websites that are poorly written (i.e. amateurs). Example: Any website that uses text-as-a-graphic (that isn't an SVG) or "px" instead of "pt" or "em" in their CSS is going to be too small to read.

Warning: The more you run a system with a high-DPI display the more you're going to dislike Microsoft. Either because you're using Windows XP (or older) or because you're suffering the effects of a website that was designed for Internet Explorer (because it was designed with a GUI tool meant to output IE-specific HTML).

-Riskable
http://riskable.com
"Why run a desktop from your server when you can run a server from your desktop?"

 

Well, I have a question regarding this. If you scale your fonts to appear larger on your high resolution screen, don't you defeat the purpose of gaining more screen real estate? For example, higher resolution screens make things smaller therefore providing more space to view things correct? If you make the scales larger, increasing the space your fonts take up again, don't you decrease the space? It seems counter productive to me and basically nulls the point of getting the higher resolution.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding it but if anyone has further clarification on the scaling that would be great.

 

The point of a higher resolution isn't to give you more screen space. It is to give you sharper text and images (especially if you're using SVG in everything like KDE does). If you want more screen space there's two solutions:

1) Reduce the size of your fonts (as in, change your theme to use 9pt instead of 12pt for menus, titles, and such), window decorations, and buttons (buttons usually scale with fonts but not always).
2) Add more screen space: Buy a bigger monitor or add a second, third, or fourth one.

The resolution of the display should not be dictating what size text or graphics appear.

-Riskable
http://riskable.com
"What a strange delusion it is to suppose that a good-looking thing is a well-designed thing."

 

wow, this post couldn't be more wrong

dude, you posted AGAIN !!

just stop, you're embarrassing yourself

 

Interesting. Honestly the 1280x800 looks pretty crisp to me on newer laptops, especially on smaller size screens so my only reason for going with a higher res is additional program window real estate. Although there are differences in crispness when it comes to resolution, it's not enough to make a huge difference to me but just wait until I get my bionic eyes.

I don't like jacking with the fonts and icon size because they typically become distorted. I hate fuzzy icons.

 

there's a difference in video game graphics

 

I am totally agreed with you. You already said what I want to say. Thanks!!!

 

I'd love to hear the specifics as to why I'm wrong. Considering that I spent two years of my life working at an advertising agency and 10+ years programming/designing web sites I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to fonts.

I provided references in my post. Perhaps you could do the same? In case you wish to correct your knowledge of DPI, fonts, and OS font scaling here's the basics:

Absolute units:

* in: inches, one inch = 2.54 centimeters
* pt: points, one point = 1/72 of an inch
* pc: picas, one pica = 12 points

From this list we can see that 1/72 of an inch = 1pt. Therefore, 72pt = one inch. Here's pretty good references for you:

http://www.webreference.com/html/tutorial8/5.html

If it wasn't that way, you'd go from a 150dpi printer to a 600dpi one and have to change all the fonts around in your documents just to keep them from being enormous!

The point system is absolute. Windows font scaling is where it goes wrong. If Microsoft didn't have such a huge percentage of the market we might all have high-DPI displays and be surfing a "scalable web" by now. Firefox has been handling SVGs properly for years now but web developers can't use them because too many people are using Internet Explorer.

Fun example of how bad Microsoft does fonts: Open a nice big Microsoft Word document and then change the printer you're going to print to. 9 times out of 10 your whole document layout will change! What a hunk of garbage.

 

Could some of Riskable's "detractors" post some support for their opinions? Riskable seems to have posted a bunch of sources so I'd be inclined to believe him unless somebody gives me reason otherwise....

I am very interested in the fonts question so yeah, clarification would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Yeah, this really pisses me off too. I have a warranty but even if there is no problem with my notebook, how could I upgrade my screen? Can/will Dell do it? Is there any way to do it myself? Mechanically, what could stop me or Dell from swapping out the screen without replacing the entire laptop? Thanks for the help.

 

Maybe you should call and ask them. tell them you re not happy with laptop and would like to exchange it with better one... no harm frm asking.. if the 21 day from order day are past then you have no choice but to live with it or Ebay...
let us know !!

 

Well I didn't want to call and ask Dell to replace and say there is nothing wrong because I'm afraid that if they say no and I call back at a later time with some sort of an excuse to get the screen the replaced, they may refuse to upgrade the screen for some reason. I also do not wish to lie and make up excuses unnessceraily to upgrade my screen...
So what exactly should I ask them?

 

Just opened the m1530 box and while the sceen is nice and bright, the low resolution isn't cutting it. I will be returning it. Upon inspection, the large panel on the bottom was not installed correctly causing the plastic cover to bend. The screw heads were noticeably shiny and were nearly stripped. I installed the plate correctly but Dell quality sure has slipped. Had I not wanted higher reslolution I might have just asked for new screws and a cover. That leaves me wondering what else in the system was hastily installed.

 

Question: Why isn't the 1680x1050 option offered on the Dell Canada website yet?

 

No clue, call up Dell and ask them what the hold up is.