Dell XPS M1330
Dell NZ brings you
all the best deals from the web. We would like to
provide you reviews of the products we advertise so
that you the customer can decide what best suits your
needs.
Dell launched the new line of Inspiron laptops and
desktops with much fanfare on June 26th, 2007 at a
Macy's department store in New York. The flagship
laptop, the XPS M1330, garnered a lot of press coverage.
The launch coincided with a revamping of Dell's marketing
efforts in an attempt to lose the 'beige-box' manufacturer
cachet and move more upstream by making the brand
more appealing to a wider demographic.
Aside from the redesigns to the notebook line-up,
Dell was also touting the multitude of colored lids
that the new laptops would ship with, allowing a bit
of personalization by customers. In addition, the
XPS M1330 was touted as the thinnest 13.3" notebook
and boasted a radically new design for Dell, challenging
manufacturers such as Sony and Apple, who were traditionally
viewed as more 'stylish' companies, known for their
design. There was substantial press coverage for the
launch as well as for the new product line, something
that hasn't been terribly common for Dell in recent
memory. After years of building my own computers,
I decided to give Dell a try and ordered the XPS M1330.
The XPS M1330 with its 13.3" widescreen display
falls somewhere between the thin-and-light and ultra-portable
categories. Its weight, at just under 4 lbs with the
4-cell battery and LED backlit display, puts it squarely
in ultra-portable space, but its relatively large
footprint means it's not an ultra-portable in the
strictest sense of the word. Nevertheless, at under
0.9 inches thick at its thinnest point, with the LED
backlit display, it's a very stylish and small laptop,
convenient for carrying around and using in all but
the tightest of spaces.
Design
Just spectacular. If anyone could say it better, it
would be the friends that were over when I opened
up the box. Words like, 'wow', 'sleek', and 'awesome'
were uttered by them and in my mind, they were right
on the money. I was also told by a few people that
the M1330 is the best looking laptop they've seen,
bar none. Those are pretty strong words for a laptop
from a company that is more typically known as the
ultimate 'beige-box' provider. Congratulations, Dell,
for designing something eye-catching for all the right
reasons!
It goes without saying that the M1330 bears a striking
resemblance to the Sony SZ series, from its wedge-shaped
design to the 13.3" form factor to its use of
an LED panel. Nonetheless, it's a good design that
Dell has implemented well. Let's take a virtual tour
of some of the more interesting design features.
Using the 13.3" widescreen display popularized
by companies such as Sony and Apple, Dell mated the
chassis with an optional LED backlit display to achieve
what they say is the world's thinnest 13.3" laptop.
It sneaks in just under the thickness of the Sony
SZ at the front, but slopes up towards the back, until
it is thicker than the Apple MacBook, which is of
uniform thickness from front to back. It is on par
with the SZ in terms of weight and around a pound
lighter than the MacBook, with the 6-cell battery.
The LED backlit display is about 2.5mm thinner than
the CCFL. (view large image)
I opted for the color that Dell calls 'Tuxedo Black'.
The finish of the lid is matte and, unfortunately,
picks up a lot of fingerprints, which are difficult
to remove. I chose the black color as I wanted it
to look professional - something I wouldn't be embarrassed
to bring to a business meeting at one of my co-op
jobs. The chrome effect on the Dell and XPS logos
add a bit of flair, but the overall statement is muted.
Don't worry; this laptop doesn't need flashy colors
or lots of lights to get noticed.
Open up the screen and you'll notice a very harmonious
design. The silver of the keyboard and palm rest complements
the black region up the center, bordering the display.
At a glance, the keyboard looks like it might be made
of aluminum as well, but upon closer inspection, this
is not the case. A few people who saw the laptop were
definitely fooled initially.
There is no mechanical latch to keep the lid closed.
Instead a hinge spring snaps it shut and keeps it
closed securely. Even though a larger portion of the
weight is distributed towards the rear of the laptop,
opening the lid can still be a one-handed task.
There's no need to hold the base down while opening
the lid; the laptop doesn't tip backwards. Dell even
provides a little protrusion at the front of the lid
to give you a finger grip to open the display more
easily. The VGA (0.3MP, 640x480) webcam is by Creative
and is mounted above the screen, between two microphone
pick-ups.
Dell made an interesting design choice for the display
module. The hinge design is quite aesthetically pleasing,
but the implementation leaves a bit to be desired.
The hinge is of the 'bamboo' type, which rotates around
a central pillar. In most cases, this type of hinge
reduces the height of the screen when opened, since
part of the bottom bezel may be swivelled behind the
back of the laptop. However, Dell has decided to keep
the screen at a higher level, by increasing the thickness
of the bottom bezel, negating one of the advantages
of the bamboo hinge. In addition, due to the added
thickness of the bezel, the laptop itself has become
deeper in dimension, measuring in at 9.4" compared
to 8.92" of the MacBook, which is of similar
form factor. In fact, at 9.4" deep, the M1330
rivals the Vostro 1400/Inspiron 1420 in terms of depth.
On the other hand, Dell may have decided that the
design of the MacBook's (and the Pro for that matter)
hinge leaves the display too close to the keyboard
and isn't as comfortable for viewing. Another possible
reason is that Dell wanted their logo to be visible
on the bottom bezel. As well, due to the hinge design,
the display cannot be opened up to 180 degrees, instead,
stopping at around 140 degrees.
|
