Dell XPS 13-l321x Pro Reviews

A super slim laptop with a fast processor, but the fussy touchpad lets it down a little

The changes under the hood coupled with the pristine display give Dell's current generation XPS 13 a fighting chance in the ultrabook market. The crappy 720p display of old is only available on the entry-level $999 XPS 13; starting at $1,299, they all have the 1080p one. Our $1,399 model is solid, but the sweet spot in Dell's lineup is actually the $1,299 version, featuring the i7-3537U, 8GB of DDR3L, and the 128GB SSD. This model is price competitive (if not better) on NewEgg with everything but the entry level ASUS Zenbook Prime, but Dell smartly includes 8GB of DDR3 instead of the more common 4GB, an important distinction when you can't upgrade the system memory. We're not at Editor's Choice level yet (the chassis design needs to be fixed for that), but at least the Dell XPS 13 is now far, far easier to recommend.

We like the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook for many reasons. The build quality is top notch; it's constructed with premium materials including aluminum and carbon fiber. This Ultrabook manages to fit a 13.3" display inside a chassis that's normal-sized for a 12" notebook and keeps the weight at just three pounds. The full HD 1080p display is beautiful and has unlimited viewing angles thanks to IPS technology. The touchpad and backlit keyboard are nearly perfect, providing excellent tactile feedback. And the battery life is in line with what we've seen from competing models. We found almost nothing to complain about aside from a limited number of ports (just two USB, DisplayPort and no media card reader). The XPS 13 isn't inexpensive starting at $999 but for the money you're getting perhaps the best packaged Ultrabook on the market. We're happy to recommend the Dell XPS 13.

Dell is proud as peacock about the display upgrade it gave the XPS 13, and it should be. Not only does it boast a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) resolution providing end-users with more real-estate than is typical from a 13.3-inch display, but it's also an extremely high quality panel. Colors pop off the screen, it's bright and vibrant, and it's not saddled with strict viewing angles. In fact, you can still see the screen very well from the side. Mighty impressive. More than just a pretty face, the Dell XPS 13 is a peppy little machine. That's evident right from the get-go, as it takes a mere 12 seconds to boot into Windows 8. Microsoft deserves considerable credit for that feat, but so does Dell for pairing the operating system with a high-performance mSATA SSD from Samsung. Speaking of Windows 8, a system like this really begs for touch support, and unfortunately you don't get that here. In lieu of that, the slick touchpad supports gestures, so you can still navigate Windows 8 like a boss, whether it's bringing up the Charms menu or cycling through open applications.

We know the XPS 13 is a year-old design. If that knowledge was somehow blasted out of our memory, however, we wouldn’t have noticed. In some areas, like build quality and battery life, this aging system remains more advanced than competitors just coming to market. Despite its advantages, the original version was held back by its ho-hum 1366 x 768 display. The 1080p panel resolves that problem entirely. No Ultrabook we’ve tested offers a wider color gamut or higher contrast. The original 720p display is still available in the $999 version. Skip it. Buyers on a budget should look at more affordable options like the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 or Dell’s Inspiron line. Pricing starts at $1,300 for the 1080p model with a Core i5 and 128GB hard drive, which is where the only serious flaw appears. Though we do think it worth the price, the XPS 13 is no bargain. The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31 offers similar hardware and a slightly inferior, though still good, 1080p display for $200 less. HP’s high-end Envy and Spectre laptops also seem a better value. Frankly, we think the XPS 13 a better laptop than any of those, and users who want the best small Ultrabook on the market should stop reading and buy this laptop now. For those on a tight budget, however, the extra $200 (or more) will be difficult to justify.

Dell might have been late to the Ultrabook party, but the XPS 13 certainly makes a head-turning entrance with its superb design. It’s not faultless by any means - connectivity is limited, and it would have been nice to see a higher resolution screen - especially with the price tag it carries, but it's an impressive, speedy first attempt at the genre.

After spending some time with the Dell XPS 13 we were left with the feeling that this is actually a reasonable alternative to a MacBook Air. Yes, if you buy the XPS 13 you have to live without Apple's operating system and you have to settle for a less-than-stellar screen. But you get a VERY durable Gorilla Glass screen, carbon fiber to keep the notebook cool, and exceptional performance with great battery life. In all honesty the ultrabook market is going to be flooded with competition in 2012, and that means Dell needs to seize every opportunity to surpass other ultrabooks. That's why things like the missing SD card slot and the average screen might prove to be the downfall for what would otherwise be the best ultrabook on the market. As it stands now, the Dell XPS 13 is the leader of the pack in terms of performance among ultrabooks. What remains to be seen is whether the competition will rise to the challenge and provide those extra features that the XPS 13 fails to deliver.

The Dell XPS 13 is impressive: in a form-factor slightly bigger than the Macbook Air 11”, Dell has managed to provide a powerful 13” thin-and-light platform that scales up to a Core i7 processor, 256GB of SSD storage and 4G as an option. At $999, it offers twice the RAM and twice the SSD storage when compared to the current ($999) Macbook Air 11″, and its battery is 50% higher as well (7.5hrs vs 5hrs). The XPS 13 works particularly well if you are a nomad who can work on a table, as this is the optimal position to get the best image quality from the display. For those who care about productivity, the keyboard performance is stellar and stands closest to the Lenovo X1 which I still consider to be the best keyboard out there. Dell has been consistently making its computer designs better, and it shows: this is probably the finest laptop that Dell has produced in recent years.

From the moment it comes out of the box the XPS 13 looks and feels like a truly premium product and, with a nice keyboard and respectable performance, it's a nice machine to use, too. But, the display suffers the same complaints we've seen with other Ultrabooks in this price range -- middling resolution, poor off-angle contrast -- and the trackpad only works well when it feels like it. It is, then, another solid choice at the sub-$1,000 price point, but put aesthetics aside and we wouldn't say it's universally better than HP's Folio 13, which is about $100 cheaper. It is, however, better looking.

The Dell XPS 13 ultrabook offered up exceptional performance on all levels. This machine is the fastest ultrabook we've tested to date, and we've looked at machines from Toshiba, Lenovo and Asus thus far. The XPS 13 took the lead in performance by a small margin in all tests, though in some cases it achieved this with a slightly slower processor. In terms of battery life, Dell's new ultrabook also put up some of the best light workload numbers we've seen yet from a notebook, but also drained the battery the quickest of the current batch of ultrabooks we've tested when under heavy workloads. This may or may not be a bad thing from your perspective. The XPS 13 offers a little bit of the best of both worlds; performance when you need it, battery life be darned, but miserly consumption when you don't need it.

Dell's first entry into the ultrabook market is a patient and smart one. They've arrived at the party a bit later than the competition, but they're fashionably late: instead of a design that just apes the Apple MacBook Air, Dell has taken care to produce something unique to them with the XPS 13. Aesthetics are almost always a matter of taste, but I continue to personally prefer the looks of the XPS 13 to the other ultrabooks on the market barring the hot pink Zenbook ASUS produces. The materials Dell has chosen to use in the construction of the XPS 13 are notable not just for their quality on their own, but for the lack of chintzy or cheap materials employed. The two-toned black and silver design is also a distinctive one; where other vendors are emphasizing silver and aluminum tones (and giving away their inspiration), Dell has produced an ultrabook that stands out in the right ways.

Classy, understated and brimming with potential, Dell has conjured up an industry-leading Ultrabook with its XPS 13

Our quest for the perfect ultrabook continues. The XPS 13 certainly isn't it, held back by its display, somewhat disappointing battery life, lack of ports or adapters, and above all, the touchpad. It's a shame, too, because it feels like Dell came quite close to a truly excellent machine. Perhaps the battery life couldn't be helped in the smaller frame, but with some more touchpad work and a higher-quality display to match its well-designed keyboard and chassis, it'd definitely have my recommendation. For now, if you don't mind the 1366 x 768 resolution and a little more girth, you'd be better off with the $899 HP Folio 13 or the $1,195 Lenovo U300s, or, of course, a $1,299 MacBook Air so long as you're comfortable with OS X. There's one more option, though: you could wait just a few short months to see what kind of performance and battery life Intel's Ivy Bridge and AMD's Trinity processors might bring.

From a design perspective, the XPS 13 is a fantastic addition to Dell's lineup, establishing a new bar that Dell should aim to clear with its future products. The laptop is attractive, solid, and fast. Battery life is good if you don't go crazy with the screen brightness. Audio is better than you'd expect, and the keyboard and trackpad (after the driver update) don't disappoint. With better display quality, it would be a slam-dunk. Unfortunately, the middling resolution, iffy color reproduction, and poor off-axis viewing leave a considerable stain on what would otherwise be a five-star product. Let's hope that Dell releases a revised version this summer that carries Intel's Ivy Bridge chips and a better display.

The XPS 13 is a solid entry into the Ultrabook market and a high performer on almost all tests. Even so, Ultrabooks have been around for a while now, and we expected more from Dell after waiting so long. While it does look nice, the XPS's MacBook Air design is uninspired and apes Apple just a little too much. It's a pity because we know Dell can make some sexy looking notebooks on their own (Adamo anyone?). While it's better in some areas, like its compact size and better audio, they don't really make up for the standard resolution display and lack of ports. In the end, with only a S$189 price difference between them (not including the cost of the OS), there's not a lot of strong reasons to consider the S$1499 Dell XPS 13 over a Boot Camped MacBook Air with its base price of S$1688 if you're after a Windows OS Ultrabook in this style.

If the display was higher resolution and offered better off-axis viewing angles, this would be our favorite Ultrabook.

So is the Dell XPS 13 the perfect Ultrabook? Unfortunately not, even if the manufacturer has done a lot right. Once again let's look in detail at what we found in the review. Above all the high-tech case sits on its throne, made of carbon fibre and aluminium, whose stability and build quality are on an exemplary level. Even amidst its high-quality competition, the XPS 13 occupies a top spot. The manufacturer had a knack for choosing hardware that convinces with its great performance and in the case of the SSD even reaches new high scores. Hardcore gamers won't be happy with the lack of a dedicated graphics card, yet the compact newbie's application performance leaves many a larger notebook out in the cold. Only very few rivals measure up to Dell's candidate in traditional Ultrabook disciplines like mobility and design.

Dell has taken the Ultrabook specification and made something beautiful. It's an excellent choice, but not quite the best.

There's only so cheap you can be with a thin and light chassis, Intel Core i5 or i7 under the hood, 4GB of memory and a 128/256GB SSD and Dell hasn't managed to make the XPS 13 as cheap as some competing Ultrabooks. But this shouldn't be a message of doom and gloom - we think Dell will manage to bring prices down, while the XPS 13 is the most desirable Ultrabook we've seen. And, because of its corporate-friendly features we think it'll become a fixture in many boardrooms. But it's far from being just good for business. It's an excellent choice for anyone wanting a highly powered, highly portable machine.

At a starting price of just under a grand, the XPS 13 is just below competitors from Apple Samsung and Asus, but more than HP and Acer – in other words, exactly where you’d expect it to be. If you want to spend less, there are plenty of options out there, and if you want to spend more you can get a faster processor or denser SSD drive. You’re definitely paying for style here, especially after the upgrades. Even so, I don’t feel that it’s a bad deal at all – the premium construction, slim design and impressive screen make for a compelling package. There are cheaper alternatives, certainly, but none with this much portability or style without sacrificing screen size. Those looking for a long-haul machine or a machine for pounding out a thousand words at a time should look elsewhere. The Dell performs admirably in just about all areas, but doesn’t really excel in any. If style, processing power and portability are among your top considerations in a Windows laptop, the Dell XPS 13 Ultraportable should be in your short list.

Dell backs the XPS 13 with an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, but the company also includes a year of Accidental Damage Service and a year of theft protection (the latter with Computrace LoJack for Laptops Theft Recovery). Accidental Damage service protects against drops, spills, and other mishaps, while the Computrace LoJack service helps locate, lock down, and recover a stolen system. That makes the coverage plan on this machine a good bit better than average. Plus, enterprise customers can work with Dell to include additional security features on the XPS 13, including a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for BitLocker Data Encryption, along with custom imaging and asset tagging. The Dell XPS 13’s design takes a backseat to no ultrabook, with the possible exception of the Apple MacBook Air. Its thin profile and sturdy chassis make it a fine travel companion, and it offers performance that should meet the demands of most mainstream users. The lack of a flash-card slot will mean a bit of inconvenience for some users; so will the need to carry around a DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter should you have HDMI devices you’d like to connect to. We’d also like to see a slightly higher resolution for the display and more vibrant colors.

From its aluminum and carbon fiber case to its edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass screen, the Dell XPS 13 is a sensational compact traveler, but it lacks some ports found on other ultrabooks.

The Dell XPS 13 misses a few things on the path to ultrabook greatness, but it also passes a very important test. Everyone in the office who has seen and picked it up has come away impressed, and that first impression at least shows that this system can cut through the crowded slim 13-inch laptop field. With a better battery and screen, and a few other tweaks, it would be an easy go-to ultrabook recommendation.