New dell 13"!

When will the next one come out?

 

No one knows... heh?

 

My guess would be a 1340 refresh, since that seems to be the biggest hole in their lineup at the moment... but yeah, nobody knows.

 

Yup, it'l probably be called a 1345.

 

Honestly I think the XPS series is going bye bye as a whole. Probably be just a studio and not a 1340 refresh. Just my $.02

 

I see this happening. Dell now markets the Studio line as the "media enthusiast" brand, while Alienware takes care of gaming, and Inspiron is budget.

 

Yeah pretty sad if you ask me. I LOVE the XPS series as it suits my needs more then an alienware or studio. But as we have seen they did not refresh the 13in XPS and the 16 is actually a 15.6 now and they havent updated the dual core version. Honestly the only edition that is with the 'times' is the current 1645 and being as though they only have 1 iteration of an XPS and no refreshes coming says alot. I guess im happy that I at least bought before they finished off the icon for good.

 

There isn't much of a difference between the Studio and Latitude lines. Basically, both lines are just low-end plastic consumer notebooks. You can order them directly or buy them in big box stores.

 

In hindsight, when the XPS line was combined with the Studio line, it was a sign that the XPS brand had failed to compete with Apple in the high-end $1,000+ consumer notebook market. After all, Apple has 90% of that market!

Dell has been far more successful with+ $1,000 business and gaming notebooks, though. My advice to current XPS owners is to look at the Latitude and Alienware lines.

 

Dell has a lot of 13 inch notebooks, many of which have been recently updated. There's the wacky Adamo and similarly sized Vostro V13/Latitude 13. There's the Vostro 3300. The Latitude E4310 only premiered a couple of months ago.

 

I think you meant inspiron series.

What happened is they acquired alienware and realized that making XPS gaming laptops and making alienware gaming laptops didnt make much sense. The studio line fills the gap between the lower insprion and the alienware laptops just fine for the market, although I think the XPS line fits the bill better as a intermediary between low and high. But In all honesty the XPS line was always a gaming brand and to use the name for a mid level laptop would go against what they built the series up for. With that said I honestly think that this past may was the last iteration of the XPS icon and that if you want something better then a inspiron but cannot afford an alienware you are stuck with the studio series.

Rather unfortunate but in all honesty God only knows what series will be out in 2+ years when In I need a new computer to replace this one.

 

No, I meant what I said. There isn't much difference between the Inspiron and Studio series. I've even seen Inspiron 14xx models with the same case, hinge design as Studio 14 models.

Basically, there isn't much difference between the Inspiron and Studio lines. Both are simply just plastic cased, consumer quality notebook computer series. With the Inspiron 1xR series, it looks as if Dell is going to preconfigure Inspiron models, while still offering custom builds of Studio series notebooks. Other than that, there really aren't a lot of differences.

I'd argue that the XPS line was simply a half-hearted attempt to compete with Apple.

The XPS notebooks lacked the cooling to be true gaming notebooks. The case design was more about visual appeal than durability or cooling performance. In that way, the XPS line reminds me more of HP's ENVY line than Alienware. In the end, the XPS notebooks weren't business quality, they didn't successfully compete with Apple and they didn't establish their own niche.

Well, you'll probably still find the same three basic categories of notebook PC. There will still be business notebooks, niche gaming notebooks, and of course, the cheapo mass market plastic consumer notebooks.

 

Well I can tell you from experience that the business class notebooks from ell are far from the same quality of the inspiron ad studio series.

I agree both are VERY cheap and plastic based. I dont feel like that about my SXPS minus the top where it feels the same as the regular studio and inspiron lines.

Ill respectably disagree. While alot have had GPU issues, that is more based on nvidia's bad manufacturing process then dells ability to cool. The XPS line as made to compete in the high end gaming market. Before acquiring alienware there was always a model in the XPS line that contained the highest GPU offered and sli configurations. But once they got alienware there was no need to have the XPS line compete so they made the XPS series no a serious gaming line and thats when they may have tried to compete with the likes of the envy or mbp series'.

My 1645 runs pretty cool during work and warm during gaming. My temps are well within spec (especially for a notebook with this uch power in a super thin chassis). The older pre alienware XPS rigs were built a little better IMHO, but mine isnt bad. Granted I wouldn't even dream of calling it business class, but the bottom part is pretty well constructed and sturdy enough to handle alot of traveling and working all day and all night. So far I have had mine 2 months and it literally runs 8-10 hours at work as my primary rig then I take it home and use it for personal use (i.e. gaming, personal projects, side work, etc). The only thing that bothers me build wise about it is the plastic lid and the cheap plastic. Its an XPS and they used magnesium alloy on the bottom part why not the lid like the 1530?

Well I am pretty much willing to bet the XPS line will no longer be around, unless alienware disappears (not going to happen). So when I need a new laptop Ill browse he business class first like I always do and go from there. But I for one will never buy a consumer based laptop ever again, unless its a higher end system like the XPS as the lower ends would not last long with the abuse I put my systems through.

 

The 1340 line was discontinued. It's been gone a long time. I don't think they would refresh it... but maybe If they were going to refresh it, I don't see why they didn't do it during the i3 & i5 release period like all the other notebooks.

 

I was waiting for a 13" XPS refresh but with nothing on the horizon, got the Acer 3820TG. Thank you Dell for being so lame, I love this Acer and would never have bought it if Dell had a decent XPS 13.

Bronsky

 

The Acer 3820T doesn't seem to be available in North America anymore. Maybe there isn't much of a market for premium priced Acers?

Maybe there isn't much of a market for premium priced 13" notebook PCs. The Envy 13 is on its way out and some suspect that Adamo is going the way of the Dodo bird?

Apple pretty much owns the premium market.

 

The 3820TG has not yet made it to the US market. So far, only the 4820TG has shown up on a US retailer's site. I imported mine from Germany. When these computers are finally available from US retialers, they will sell as many as they can import.

The Sony Z12 has proven that there is a market for a high-end 13" unit. Even at a base price in excess of 2k, they still sell like wildfire. I don't even put the Apple in its class. Dell has just missed the bus.

Bronsky

 

I don't understand why dell no longer offers a 13 inch xps model. Sure many argue its because of AW, and perhaps even more atm to give the m11x a bigger market. But I think dell forgot that people also look at other brands aswell, so they can promote their overexpensive AW all they want, and stop producing their xps laptops, I still won't buy any of their laptops since their products are not what I want (the specs from dell are too low, the specs in aw are too expensive)

There was a time when 13 inch laptops where hard to find, with dell, sony and apple forcing us to pay 1k+ prices. But now, you can easily find a 13 inch laptop from asus and acer, and even from samsung with a dedicated gpu and long batery life. It's dell's loss, not ours. We got plenty of alternatives.

 

it is sad if dell really decides on eliminating the XPS line in the future and just replace it with studio line.

the studio line feels cheap and not that durable for me, mainly caused by the plastic all over the product. SXPS on the other hand, is better build and feels more classy.

 

I really doubt dell will pull the Studio XPS line. At most, they'll introduce a new premium notebook line. But why is this even being debated? I thought Dell_Bill said a new SXPS 13 was coming out later this year?

 

Wow really? this is the first thing I hear from it. Got any link?

 

I am completely speculating about the new premium line - I actually personally think Dell is going to stick with the Studio XPS series for a while. But here's the post I was talking about where Dell-Bill_B talks about the upcoming SXPS 13 refresh. He also said that the reason there is no SXPS 13 this generation was because the architecture wasn't capable of handling both arrandale + discrete. I guess Dell wants to make sure they get everything right for the refresh. At least I hope they do...

 

That is extremely doubtful. The previous generation Timeline was best known for a brief appearance at Walmart, where it was quickly marked down before it almost as quickly disappeared. Fortunately, Walmart has a very good return policy.

I can't possibly imagine why you bothered to import an Acer from Germany, unless you are some sort of professional reviewer. Unless you have some sort of Global Warranty, you're playing Russian roulette. Acer is a low end brand. I'm hardpressed to think of a more downscale manufacturer. By all accounts, the current Timeline series has no real competitive advantage and suffers from the same case issues as Acer products that are half the price. Even the pointless aluminum lid and palm rest are hardly impressive, as HP has made that feature very common in the last year or so.

Acer makes cheap computers, with "cheap" being the operative word in that statement. If an Acer costs $20 less than a comparable HP or Dell product, it normally is pretty obvious how Acer saved that $20. Flimsy cases, dim displays and unresponsive touch pads. Overall, I've never seen an Acer that was the equal of even a lowly Compaq branded HP product. That is really saying something.

What? Considering that Apple has 90% of the over-$1,000 notebook market, I doubt that the Sony Z-series is making even a minor dent in sales. Overall, I'm puzzled by why Sony is still in the PC business?

If you've read my previous posts, Dell most certainly hasn't "missed the bus," as it has at 5 separate entries in the 13" notebook market.

 

whats the deal with Dell not having a mainstream 13" core i based model? like i mentioned in another thread they could increase the thickness of Adamo by an inch and get space for better battery, processor and mid/low discrete gfx

 

Dell has the Inspiron 13r. If it's not on sale in North America at the moment, it soon will be.

What's the point of going from the thinnest notebook computer in the world to a rather think notebook? The Adamo was supposed to compete with the MacBook Air. If you want a gaming notebook, or even a desktop replacement, don't look at an Adamo or an Air.

I personally don't have a problem with the idea of an integrated battery, SULV processor and a single stick of RAM. I just think that a subnotebook should command a subnotebook price, even when it's a premium product. I think respect, the Vostro V13/Latitude 13 comes closer to the mark than the Adamo.

Actually, why in the world would a thin-and-light subnotebook need discrete graphics? Does every notebook in the entire world have to be a gaming notebook?

 

I understand what you mean, but for me I need my notebook to be light enough to travel with, have enough battery for at least 4 hours, but it is also the notebook I am using when going to my friends to play a few games in LAN.

Right now I am using an Asus UL30VT for that purpose, but the moment that someone produces a good quality 13" laptop with the above and a higher resolution screen, I am selling my Asus.

 

He did alright.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/450374-any-rumbles-xps-13-refresh-15.html#post5978825

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/450374-any-rumbles-xps-13-refresh-16.html#post6135886

 

Way to parrot Apple's June sales figures. That is a montly figure, not a quarterly or annual one. But how does that relate to the Z? What is Apple's share of the over $2K market. Exactly.

I won't even bother to comment on the Acer ... it would be a waste of energy.

Dell has nothing but crap in the 13" range. In fact, Dell just fell entirely flat this quarter in its consumer division, making no money, even with alienware selling rather well. What does that say for the other consumer lines. Its business services are still doing well, but I think most of that is inertia.

Yep ... Dell is doing so well that 25% of its shareholders want Michael Dell to step down.

Bronsky

 

Apple is entirely dominant at the high end of the notebook computer market, consistently taking 90% market share of the over $1,000 market. I'm not an Apple fan, just reporting the facts. What are you going to dispute next? That Apple doesn't really have 98% of the over $500 tablet market with the iPad? It does.

Exactly what?

As previously stated, it's hard to figure out why Sony is still in the PC business? Sony doesn't have exceptionally high volumes in the consumer sector and has a laughable business line. Overall, the VAIO brand isn't probably worth enough for Sony to sell off in the same way that IBM offloaded ThinkPad to Lenovo.

I have looked at the VAIO Z-series, and I'm entirely at a loss to imagine where the market is for this overpriced laptop? Perhaps it appeals to a small subset of status conscious consumers in the Japanese domestic market?

Actually, why are you using an Acer when you so love the Sony Z-12? Could it be that a $2k PC is unaffordable?

What can I say? Acer is pretty much the lowest end PC manufacturer - they're typically the cheapest of the cheap. The Timeline series was an attempt to go upmarket, and now the TimelineX is a second attempt, with the same metal lid/palmrest gimmick, but a conventional notebook line rather than low powered subnotebooks. The results are mixed, but a TimelineX is probably still behind a HP consumer notebook of the DM series. Acer still uses the same keyboard design on every notebook, whether it's a sub-$300 cheap or a TimelineX that's twice the price. Cheap is cheap. Acer probably could make more money by getting rid of its own retail brands and simply become an ODM like Compal and Quanta.

Dell's business lines are selling well because of the outstanding recent products and superior customer service. If you want a business quality notebook with a standard 3-year warranty, a high end Latitude or Precision is really the only way to go.

Dell also has a very wide range of 13" notebooks. The old Inspiron 13 series grew rather dated, but the new Inspiron 13r is going to be widely available in the next week or so. The case quality on the current Inspiron r series is actually quite reasonable - probably better than your much vaunted Acer TimelineX. Of course, Dell already has a wide selection of 13" notebook PC, most of which have been updated recently. I'd advise you to do a little more research.

With a little more research you might not have to order Acers from Germany and then have to replace German language keyboards.

Dell's margins have been slimmer than HPs. It's good news for the consumer, since Dell is offering unprecedented customer support and has very aggressive pricing.. Personally, I could care less about Dell's shareholders. I buy Dell computers, not share of Dell stock.

 

what a misleading title -_- to this thread

 

Now I know you're lost in the ozone. Nice talkin to you. Kind of.

Bronsky

 

Please name one Core - I based 13 inch notebook with discrete graphics that Dell makes.

I assume you mean unprecedent (bad) - I like Dell laptops, I've owned 3 dell lappies in last 5 years, but I will be the first to admit that it takes a special kind of evil to organize as byzantene and incompetent support network as dell has.

My most recent example:

Bought an adamo XPS through MS Store in May, it had a cracked hinge. Called MS store support. An American representative immediately picked up told me his extension and said he will manage my case to the end. Then we got on the line with Dell to schedule the repair. He did most of the talking, I just had my headset on, so I could confirm address etc. 5 transfers later we found the Adamo department. 1.5 hours later Dell confirmed that the warranty is in my name. After some back and forth, send out a tech.

First tech spent 3 hours and could not reassemble the laptop after disassembly.

1 week later, 2nd tech came out, said he doesn't have tools to deal with this laptop.

1 weke later 3rd tech came in and in the process of assembly lost a few screws, leaving the LCD hanging loose.

Every single time MS guy reached out to me to report on the progress of the work. This is what tech support SHOULD be like!

Eventually dell said, we'll give you a new laptop but first ship us back the old one, and 2-3 weeks later we'll ship you a new one. Then they called me and said we can't replace it, don't have any more in stock, would you like <random non-adamo laptop> instead? No, well then we can't help you.

MS store stepped in, found another laptop in their warehouse, had it overnighted to me at no cost, and said they'll deal with dell.

In summary Dell = over 10 hours on phone, 3 tech visits, over a month of laptop broken by their techs. Microsoft = soft and cuddly.

 

Yeah, and sometime you can tell us about the wonders of Acer's German customer service.

 

It all depends on how you approach Dell's customer service. I'll briefly explain your mistakes.

You made a tremendous mistake by calling the Microsoft Store. Basically, you had no reason to call the reseller, unless you were trying to exchange or return the notebook in question. Never call a reseller for a manufacturer warranty issue.

Again, your mistake was in calling, not using the chat function first. I've found that if you have your Service Tag and Express Service Code at the ready, you can arrange for service in a matter of minutes. Of course, it helps if you buy direct from Dell, so you can use the original transaction numbers.

You'd have been better off shipping you computer in for service than with on-site service, since the Adamo XPS has a very odd case design and was very unpopular and uncommon. My guess is that your Adamo XPS was the first and last notebook of its kind that any of these techs ever saw. Again, I would have either gone for a return, a replacement or shipped it in for service.

Now what good did that do? Hmmm?

Why bother with continuing contact with a reseller or a manufacturer warranty issue? Big mistake.

I can blame Dell for not having a discontinued notebook in stock. I think you fail to appreciate that the MS Store offers great deals periodically because the computers in question are discontinued. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the MS Store bought out Dell's inventory.

In this case, you probably should have asked the Microsoft Store for a replacement to begin with.

Just for the record, the online Microsoft Store seems to be Microsoft's rather sad attempt to counter the Apple Store, mostly by selling obsolete and discontinued PC systems at sharp discounts - or by reselling current systems for retail prices. I can assure you that the Microsoft Store doesn't have remarkable customer service - and I'm speaking from experience.

In your case, you approached the situation in precisely the wrong way. Never call a reseller for a factory warranty. Don't rely solely on the telephone. Don't assume that on-site service is superior to mail-in, especially when you have a rare and unpopular product. Don't buy a discontinued system expecting an exact replacement from the manufacturer.

Basically, you simply were luck the Microsoft Store had a stockpile of discontinued laptops. Truth be known, Dell did the right thing by offering you something else as a replacement.

 

Well, Dell apparently will bring offer an Inspiron 13R in North America very soon. Actually, I can't say for sure that the Inspiron 13R hasn't already been offered.

Personally, I don't think there's a huge market for mainstream consumer 13" notebooks. After last years 13" subnotebook boom turned to a bust, it's hard to see the appeal of this form factor. It's pretty telling that the HP Envy 14 has generate a lot more interest than the old Envy 13.

 

You think a retailer dialing 1-800-www-dell will make an iota of difference in dell customer service?

Techs breaking laptops is never acceptable. I got on site warranty for a reason.

What part of that is competent much less excellent service by dell?

Chat support? We'll never know how they would do on this issue, but in the past I found them to read answers from a script which may or not match my questions.

Read my story again. MS store is an example of excellent service.

And you still haven't listed a core I 13 incher with discrete graphics made by dell.

 

Do you just make stuff up or do you have some sources to back up any of the 3 sentences above?

 

As it turned out, on-site service doesn't mean much when you have a rare and unfamiliar laptop with a broken hinge and a very odd case design?

You probably would have gotten the job done right with mail-in.

If you're smart enough to put your issue forward, there's no problem. Chat actually streamlines the service process and gets the ball rolling a lot quicker than phone tag. You just have to be organized and clear in your presentation of the issue.

What I read is that you made all of the wrong approaches to service before lucking out. There was no method to your approach. You were simply lucky that after Dell exhausted its inventory of an obsolete and discontinued model, the MS store had a unit available. It's not as if you asked for a replacement upfront.

What about the Inspiron 13r with a 1GB ATI GPU? It's for sale but not listed on the North America website.

Dell didn't update the previous Inspiron 13 (1320) for a very long time and typically sold it as a low end system. At this end of the market, consumers weren't paying a premium for the 13" size, so it isn't a surprise that the 13r hasn't come out all that quickly. Not many people are all that interested.

 

It's pretty clear that after last year's SULV subnotebook bust, consumers were looking for more powerful full sized notebooks. The subnotebook never really caught on. PC manufacturers saw it as an opportunity to compete with Apple in the premium market, but consumers just didn't buy into the low powered SULV concept. As an example, I pointed to the success of the Envy 14 and the phase out of the Envy 13.

It's possible to build a conventional notebook PC in the 13" form factor, but it simply costs more than a 14" notebook and sells in lower volumes - hence the premium for the E4310 over the E6410.

 

You're making a wild guess. I never stated this.

It's not pretty clear. Just stating the same thing over and over doesn't a statistic make. You're quoting the fact that the 2010 core i based envy 14 sells more than the 2 year old outdated envy 13, and generalizing that as proof that there is no 13" market? Clearly Bronsky felt the need to import an acer from Germany because there is nothing comparable stateside besides the Vaio Z, as you yourself readily admit. Maybe when the Inspiron 13R does make it here it will be a hit, we'll see.

As for the customer service bit. Let's say you are right - suppose Dell is hiding an elite Tiger team of highly trained support specialists behind its chat feature, and puts all the grammar school rejects on the phone. Does that sound like "superior customer service" to you? How about selling an on-site service warranty and then having an expectation of client mailing the laptop in? How about not having spare parts or technician training for a model that was released less than a year ago? What good is your "3-year standard warranty" if you're letting dell off the hook for providing parts and labor during that time?

 

No offense, but I've owned Dells for ages and the myth of Dell bad service is almost always attributable to the incompetents that call in.

I've had next day, at my door service on EVERY laptop I've owned when that was never paid for.

I work in sales now with the public and their veracity is about a few points above zero.

It's one of the biggest lies in the PC game. Stop hanging on to 1998 viewpoints.

I'd almost guarantee that if I had an issue with my Precision that I'd get it resolved quicker than EVERY pc manufacturer in the States.

 

I never said any such thing:

I really have no idea why Bronsky imported an Acer from Germany. He obviously didn't need a German language keyboard, or a USA warranty. Overall, I'd consider importing an Acer from Germany to be a very risky and expensive exercise.

Well, the arrival of the Inspiron 13r has hardly been a top priority for Dell. After all, it was announced back in May. This is not a hot market segment.

You caused yourself a lot of time and trouble due to your dated and less than savvy approach to obtaining customer service. I outlined all the things you did wrong, mostly for the sake of other consumers.

You seem to have drawn the wrong conclusions from your experience.