Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Arrives at CES Discussion

Really shocking as I never expected such statistics..

Thanks for the good read. Rep to you.

 

I don't know how well a $3,000-4,500 notebook "holds its value." The Vaio Z is really just a Japanese home market curiosity. I read that the cheaper $2K variant shares its dismal 900P screen with the SA2, with 10 degree viewing angles. Honestly, I haven't been into a Sony Style Store in a long, long time.

In any case, I'm not sure what the $2-5,000 Vaio Z has to do with a Dell notebook starting under $1,000?

 

A bit more Googling. The 91% doesn't tell the whole story.

Tech-Ex: Why Apple's 91% Market Share in $1,000+ PCs Isn't "All That"

Let's see:
-The numbers are brick and mortar store retail sales. Thus this doesn't count configured to order laptops and online retailers.
-They are for consumers. The largest buyer of premium Windows laptops is probably businesses.
-The number is awfully old. 2009... A lot has happened since 2009.

I would take the 91% number as BestBuy failing, not Windows.

Also. The Z 900p panel is not the SA 900p panel I believe. Not sure if its better though.

 

You can build a Z2390X with the 1080p screen for $2,049. Got to Sony.com and see for yourself. Compared to a MacBook Pro 13 that costs $1300, it has similar form factor, but a vastly more powerful CPU (a non-ULV i5 instead of a ULV i5), carbon fiber instead of aluminum construction (like the Dell), a superior screen, and a dock with an external GPU and optical drive. So it costs more but it offers more too.

Very true.

 

Thank you for the clarification. So Apple owns 91% of the $1000+ laptop market once you ignore online sales and business sales...wow. Since most $1000+ PC laptops are sold online (including mine) instead of through stores, that 91% statistic is utterly worthless.

They're not the same panel; the SA is 13.3" and the Z2 is 13.1". Regardless, the 1080p panel is only a $100 upgrade...I suspect most go for the 1080p panel because it's so legendary. Yes, it has extraordinary pixel density, but there are ways to make icons and text larger...high pixel density doesn't have to mean tiny menus.

 

Huge inaccuracies must be corrected. There is not a scintilla of similarity between the Z's 900p screen and that of the SA - or any other 13" screen on the market today, or ever! The Z's 900p screen has:

1) 1,146:1 contrast ratio - nothing comes close, IPS or otherwise

2) Full sRGB color gamut and 85% Adobe RGB color gamut. For all but professional graphic artists - who would never do their work on a 13" screen - this is as close to perfect color as you can buy in a laptop, at any price

3) 280-300nit brightness

4)0.26cd/m black level at 280 nit brightness. Again, as close to perfection as it gets.

FWIW, other than resolution and a bit wider (yet) color gamut, the Z's 900p display actually exceeds the specs of the 1080p screen. But both are miles and miles ahead of competition.

It may be hard to justify $2,000 on a laptop with so many excellent ones in the $1,000 $1,500 price range, but you are getting quite a bit for the money. The build quality is superb, the screen needs no further discussion - not one ultraportable or "ultrabook" is remotely in the same league. The Z is the only product with SATA III SSDs in RAID0. Somehow I think 900mb/s sequential read speeds make for more impressive performance than the 200-200 on all the others, including the MBA.

The PMD, while not as convenient as having the ODD and discrete gpu internal as in the Z1, is certainly a major and valuable feature compared to the other laptops in this category, none of which have blu ray drives - or any ODD nor the ability to have the use of a good mid range gpu.

Put all of the above together, add the 2.5 lb weight and 12 hrs battery life with the sheet battery and, while it may cost $400-$900 more than its "competition," there is way more than that difference in value. Or would you really rather have an Asus Zen book or an MBA13? If so, get one, and enjoy!

Off high horse. (PS: I don't own a Z2. I am so in love with my Z13 that I can't justify selling it to get a Z2. But if I didn't already have it's spectacular best-ever ultraportable, bar none, nothing remotely close, I would belly up to the bar for a new Z2. But I can afford it, and this is one of the things I indulge myself it. There is nothing electronic or mechanical I spend more hours of he day interacting with, and depending upon.

 

That isn't a forced air exhaust vent. From what I read, Macbooks are not free of heat complaints. I guess I would have made my point better if I said the CF bottom is for heat shielding instead of heat dissipation.

I disagree. I don't think a passive vent on the bottom is going to have much affect on whether the system overheats when placed on the lap. I also seriously doubt any significant heat will find its way out of that passive vent onto the user's skin. I'm pretty sure you can play a video with the XPS on your lap longer than you could stand the same video with a Macbook on your lap.

Fair enough. I agree with you here, as long as I get to keep my CF on the base.

Truer words were never spoken, but it's a little early to think of UB as having an insignificant impact, in all fairness.

Stay tuned to the 14" screens coming out from us later this year. Can't talk specifics, but I think we may be able to meet you on some points. At least on NITS and resolution. Viewing angles and IPS remain to be seen.

This is a very meaty topic, especially for marketing nerds like me. My team mate and I had a related discussion about this on something specific to Dell this morning. It basically comes down to how you tell your product story, how it plays out in the market, and how you take advantage of the movement of the classic supply and demand graph.

(I'm avoiding the topic of Linux and Dell in the consumer space like the plague, in case you can't tell.)

 

I didn't say the XPS 13 exhausted on the bottom. I don't know of a single notebook PC design that exhausts on the bottom, although most, but not all, have bottom vents for the intake of air.

As far as the use of the composite bottom for heat shielding, I disagree with the concept. I want heat to radiated away from the CPU and chipset, in the most effective and energy efficient manner. Again, because of the bottom vent, it's pretty darned clear that the XPS 13 needs airflow through the bottom for cooling, so you probably need to keep the bottom vent clear and you can't use it on your lap, unlike a notebook with a smooth, ventless bottom. Unless you're willing to tell me otherwise, I'm guessing those slots are on the bottom for reason. I'm guessing that Dell wouldn't want owners to block those vents? They are functional aren't they?

Second of all, Macbooks are very flexible when it comes fan controls thanks to the smcFanControl app. From my experience, Dell products have some very strange fan utilization issues and I personally own a Latitude that runs cooler under sustained full CPU loads (less than 50C) than it does under light loads or when idle (up to 60C), all thanks to some very odd power conservation priorities in BIOS. Weird, but true.

Okay, I think you know enough about OS X to realize that Macbooks with Intel integrated graphics use a lot more CPU cycles when playing a Flash or Silverlight video, although we all know that Flash is going bye-bye and that while Microsoft swears that Silverlight is going to be supported until 2020, HTML5 is the future there too. It's also worth noting that OS X Lion generally seems to be more energy efficient as an OS than Windows 7 or 8, that some Macbooks do "throttle" with Windows 7, but not with OS X. So the power usage and heat issue isn't intrinsic to OS X but to two very obsolete video plugins.

Flash is becoming a non-issue, especially as far as Youtube, but we all know that Silverlight has one, and only one, very popular application and I don't have any clue as to if or when this streaming provider plans on abandoning Silverlight. I do blame Microsoft for the instability of the Silverlight plugin, the lack of Linux support and the inefficiency of Silverlight in OS X. I blame Microsoft, and apparently with the HTML5 focus of Windows 8, even Microsoft is a bit disgusted with Silverlight.

Flash is dead, or soon will be, so there's no reason to speak ill of the dead.

Personally, I could care less whether composites are reinforced with fiberglass or carbon fiber. In either case, it's still just a polymer, or to use the layman's term, it's just plastic. Plastic. I said it. Toshiba has recently used fiberglass in the base of some notebooks. The technical term for fiberglass is really GRP, or glass-reinforced plastic. So to be fair, the base of the XPS 13 is probably correctly termed CFRP, or carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Plastic.

Now obviously, glass or carbon fibers are used for reinforcing material in many contexts. Carbon fiber is an excellent material in aerospace, because it is light and highly fatigue resistant, unlike metal. Personally, I don't think that the fatigue concern applies to a notebook PC. Nobody is going to repeatedly bend the bottom cover a notebook PC. Metal fatigue was never an issue in this context. It's a big deal if the aluminum wings fall off an airplane, but nobody flexes their Macbook until the metal unibody breaks in half.

My own personal guess is that Dell is using "carbon fiber" because of the attractive pattern from the carbon fiber roving in the polymer. Carbon fiber is attractive and trendy. There are supposedly major supply constraints in term of metal case production capacity in China. Windows PC OEMs also face major cost constraints when it comes to the "ultrabook" market.

I think we'll know whether the "ultrabook" was a success or a failure by this time next year - or perhaps even later. There are a lot of potential variables, and I'm even inclined to believe that we might see a series of clamshell ARM devices within the same form factor as the "ultrabook." Heck, Apple might go ARM with the entire Macbook Air line in another couple of generations. Sticking with the x86 instruction set, AMD might become a major ULV player. But technically, neither an ARM or AMD thin form factor notebook can be called an "ultrabook," and the Intel gameplan is still unfolding. I think that the term "ultrabook" will either come into common usage, or disappear entirely by time we see Haswell.

Decent viewing angles can be accomplished with a TN screen. There isn't a single IPS screen in the entire Macbook Air or Pro lines. They're all TN.

I can understand that, and for all I know, there might be strings attached to Intel's $300 million in "ultrabook" support, or at very least, the "ultrabook" moniker only seems to apply to Windows OEMs and has been withheld from the Macbook Air, despite the fact that Apple is using the same Intel ULV CPUs and the same form factor. So an "ultrabook" isn't an "ultrabook" if it doesn't ship with Windows preloaded, I guess.

I know there are many issues for any Windows PC manufacturer when it come to preloading systems with a Linux distro, most notably with Microsoft itself. A lot of attention seem to be focused on the cost of the Windows SOA sticker on the bottom of the PC, but the real issue is that when a company is in the business of selling Windows PCs, that's precisely what they're selling. Dell is working for Microsoft, and not the other way around.

Back before the Apotheker apocalypse at HP, there was apparently some talk about WebOS as a full-fledged x86 desktop alternative. Now, I'm not saying it would have worked, or that WebOS was anything but Palm inspired disaster, or that WebOS currently has a future in the FOSS world, but it goes to show that there was some sense of self preservation at HP. The same goes for Intel's Linux push in the form of Tizen, and believe me, Intel isn't planning on going ARM any time soon, but it does appear that there are cracks in the "Wintel" relationship.

 

You want heat radiated into your lap? That's where the heat is going if you are using the bottom of the notebook as a big heatsink.

Also, using the bottom as a heat radiator presents the same problem with vents on the bottom. Apple recommends that you put your MacBook on a flat stable surface for extended use because of this.

I'm more of a Thinkpad guy than a Latitude guy, but I think that there are probably fan control utilities for Dell laptops as well. Configurable fan controls are hardly a Mac exclusive feature, Thinkpads have TPFanControl for example.

Also, Macs radiate into your lap.

What's wrong with plastic? CFRP is just plastic, so what?

More quality TN's would be nice, but compare an iPad or X220 screen to a MacBook's screen. IPS has absolutely amazing angles.

 

It doesn't really matter if the presence of bottom vents preclude the use of the notebook on your lap to begin with?

And personally, I can accept that a metal notebook case can either be warm or cool to the touch.

There no vents on the bottom of a Macbook, and that's the entire point. You can put one down on textile surface, as there are no bottom vents to be blocked. This is the sheer genius of Macbook packaging.

Yes, depending on the Dell model. I've had one Dell model that seems to defy all common sensor and fanspeed programs and I typically avoid all fan control utilities when a notebook is under warranty.

I do know as a fact that Apple has smcFanControl in its own App Store and it seems to be unproblematic, free and universally applicable to modern Macbooks. It's almost a selling point for Macbooks.

Nothing is wrong with plastic, at least not at lower price points. It's just that Dell pioneered superior cast magnesium case technology, and with the aluminum unibody Macbook Air leading the market, people expect a metal case.

I agree that IPS is the solution for a handheld table, where viewing angle and brightness requirements are perhaps more demanding than for a clamshell notebook.

Again, I do think that there are acceptable TN screens for notebooks. It's just that I have seen one outside of certain FHD 15.6 Windows notebooks. Between a 12.5" IPS X220 and a 15.6" FHD, there isn't very much that's affordable and worth recommending on the basis of viewing angles, other than Macbooks.

 

They preclude the use of the notebook on your lap as much as the unibody's MacBook usage of the bottom surface as a heatsink does. It's definitely not recommended for long periods of heavy activity, but it's okay most of the time. I use my X220 on my lap all the time and it has bottom vents.

I don't see TPFC as a selling point for Thinkpads despite its near universal compatibility with Thinkpads.

Having it in the App Store is a good first step. Ideally fan control should be with the other system options be default instead of a third party app. It's fairly useful if you don't like the default fan settings.

Metal > Plastic is an illusion. In reality there are places where metal is superior and places where plastic is superior.

So back to the original point that started this. How is metal superior to CFRP in the base of a notebook? CFRP is lighter and doesn't shove the heat into your lap. Metal is heavier and does. Durability isn't significantly affected by either choice.

 

So is anyone still talking about the xps 13?

At first I didn't really like it, but seeing it more and more makes me really do a double take.

 

Can' wait to see the new XPS 13 in person
What is the exact release date ... The Dell site only says coming February?
XPS 13 Ultrabook Coming Soon - Thin, Light and Ultraportable | Dell

 

Well, it might be coming to big box stores near you. Actually, I suspect that if model does have a B&M retail presence, it might eventually have a B&M retail clearance sale. Remember the Inspiron Duo and the Streak (the tablet, not the Ray Stevens song)? Both launched with a major retail presence and both flopped. Dell's recent track record for product launches has been mixed.

Of course, the fact that the XPS 13 supposedly has a TPM chip makes me wonder if its going to be rebranded as a Latitude? It doesn't make sense to use the XPS brand for sales to enterprise customers, but there again, what makes sense about launching Sandy Bridge/Windows 7 "ultrabooks" when they'll soon have to make way Ivy Bridge/Windows 8 "ultrabooks?"

Under the circumstances, a major retail launch just doesn't make a lot of sense, but it might just happen anyway?

 

We have sold a lot of XPS 14z/15z, which are both fairly recent. I wouldn't count Duo and Streak as new product launches.

Rebranding to Latitude won't happen. We're trying to get on the consumerization of I/T curve with this one. We'll see how it goes. If it works out, you might see more of the blending of business and consumer staples. It makes perfect sense to me- if I/T purchasers want to buy them, we'll do our best to work through their requirements. Ivy Bridge UBs won't start hitting until like May (I could look that up, but I'm going by memory), so it doesn't make much sense not to put out something in the category while we wait. I don't think Sandy Bridge is a slouch.

Don't know if it meets the "major retail launch" criteria or not, but we're pretty proud of this platform for many good reasons. We want it on all the retail shelves we can get. Streak was not a major launch by any stretch of the imagination if you go by marketing spend, BTW.

 

I agree with Bill on not waiting for Ivy Bridge. It'll be months until Ivy Bridge is out; better to get something on the market now and have an update after Ivy Bridge is out. And that way, if there are hiccups with Ivy Bridge at launch, you've got a Sandy Bridge product on the market to keep around for another month or so while Intel sorts Ivy Bridge out.

 

Yes, the XPS brand has a surprising amount of equity left and combining the nomenclature of two sub-brands was clever. As far as the XPS 14z/15z, I'm not sure the product itself was entirely compelling.

Not exactly new, and in all fairness, I can't think of a single convertible touchscreen netbook that was a sales success, or a single early Android tablet that was a major success in the same timescale as the Streak.

Consumerization of IT is pretty much an Apple story. Their products might not fit the immediate requirements of IT departments, but corporate IT departments can be outright hostile to the real world requirements of end users.

For Dell, there is an apparent phenomenon of consumers shifting to the Dell Small & Medium Business line and away from Dell Consumer. Why? Let's just say that the sales and support experience from Dell Small Business is a revelation compared to Dell Consumer. The same can be said for perceived product quality and the ability to perform hardware replacements and upgrades - and Dell does apparently ask owners to perform their own hardware replacements on under-warranty systems. Dell sends you the part, you send the defective part back. DIY isn't all that difficult on something like a Latitude E-series but would be very challenging on a number of Dell's consumer systems.

I can't imagine Apple expecting customers to do DIY hardware replacements on under-warranty systems.

It makes sense to combine overlapping product lines. Dell has a huge product range, even though it's far more coherent than some competitors.

I'm sure there are many industrial and marketing considerations when it comes to a late hardware, late OS cycle product launch. OEMs can't just sit around and wait for Wintel.

In contrast, Apple can actually skip the occasional Intel hardware cycle, without any negative concequences, and has its own OS cycle.

It's a lot harder to manage inventories when products are on retail shelves.

In some ways, Dell's original direct sales business model would be more relevant today than stocking the shelves in big box stores.

I don't think that any amount of marketing could have sold early Android tablets, a situation that currently exists for Windows 7 Phones. Microsoft could have sponsored the halftime show and purchased every advertising slot for the last Super Bowl and it probably wouldn't have moved the needle on W7P sales.

Incidentally, how are you enjoying your Dell Venue Pro?

 

tl;dr version: SemiExpert thinks that Apple does everything right and Dell does everything wrong.

 

It's not crap. It's nothing like the 13.3" in the SA. It's the same panel used in the Z1. I've not once heard it being described as anything less than stellar. Not sure where you've read that.

It's a unique 13.1" panel so I'm truly mystified who would even suggest it's the same panel when nothing could be further from the truth (this is coming from a guy who has relentlessly bashed the 1600x900 in the SA and before that in the Sony CW). Little odd that you keep repeating it as a fact when even by your own admission you've never even seen it.

If you've read my post history, I've gone through 10+ laptops including everyone mentioned here sans the XPS 13 for obvious reasons in the last year alone much less the last decade (what can I say it's a sick hobby). The Z's panel is by far one of the best non-ips' screens on the market.

 

Not at all. I was merely reflecting on Dell, without judgement.

 

Dell doesn't innovate or take risks (/sarc), so that can't be right.

I don't see it that way, but I guess if I were an Apple fan I would?

You get what you pay for? There's a reason products with support contact centers in the US seem to cost more than ones with majority support overseas.

Evidently we're way ahead of you on this one. The ability for customers to replace parts comes from our business heritage for sure. The benefits are there for both the consumer and Dell. Consumer gets his RAM overnighted to his location and has his box up and running in one business day without having to go to a store and make an appointment with a tech. We save a little cost. We've had CRUs and FRU's (Customer Replaceable Units and Field Replaceable Units) for decades. The way you word it, it sounds as though you are saying we send out a motherboard and expect customers to swap them. Also, a customer can request any CRU be shipped with a tech to come onsite anytime if they have onsite warranty. If they have mail in warranty, they can request to ship it in to have the memory module swapped out at the depot if they don't want to do it themselves. It's not a requirement that customers replace their own CRUs. We just encourage it to save us cost and the customer time.

Neither can Apple. That's why while there may be a demand for their products from business users, but what IT guy wants to hassle with whatever machinations he has to go through to replace a laptop battery? Apple would much rather consumers bring their laptop into the Apple store so they can market to them while they are waiting for the battery swap. I'll take an overnight dispatch of a part I can replace myself in 5 minutes (and the flexibility not to have to DIY) over the requirement that I make an appointment, drive into a store, and wait for someone to do what I could have done myself at home.

While I wish we were still a 100% direct, BTO company, the realities of the market (lost market share, shift in consumer laptop buying behavior) dictate that we partner with stores that have foot traffic. People want to touch it before they buy it more now than before.

Pretty long in the tooth product also. TBH, I was never a huge fan of the DVP, but I don't think it's all that bad. My wife has one, and I've played around with it a bit. It's ok. For now, I'm good with my Samsung and Android. When we have something on the market that matches the Galaxy S II, I might give my employer back a little dough for one.

Perhaps you don't see it, but your posts are dripping with judgement on Dell, which is fine and all. It's a fact of life that Apple fans are supportive of the company, but there's no way anyone can read your posts on this thread and not come away thinking you have both deserved and undeserved preconceived notions about Dell. While much of your assertions are surely based on experience, as you have pointed out, the rest stops just short of Fanboi-ism, IMO. They make a great product and consistently provide a great user experience, so I am definitely not faulting you there. No offense at all meant. Just pointing that out since you put it in print.

 

I cited two examples where Dell discontinued product and I was merely pointing out that the segments didn't develop as planned. It's not that Dell wasn't innovative with the screen hinge of the Duo or didn't enter the Android tablet segment in a timely manner.

What makes you think I'm an Apple fan? Judging by the sheer number of Dell systems that I've bought, the evidence would point to me being a Dell fan. My experience with Dell is mixed, however.

All of the sales and support representatives I've communicated with appear to have been based somewhere overseas. I don't have a problem with the notion of outsourcing call centers. That's not the issue.

Without getting into specifics, I had to go through two depot repairs, the second to correct the first, and two do-it-yourself hardware replacements, both to correct apparent damage done at the depot. Oh, and this was my second system, the first having been returned for a full refund due to multiple hardware defects.

Would most customers be satisfied if the depot knowingly ships them back an inoperable Latitude notebook, in two boxes, expecting you to fix it yourself?

I dealt with the situation. Did it make me happy? Would it make you happy?

If you want me to, I can get into specifics, right down to dates and every chatlog.

Well, in my case, one part arrived at the same time as the notebook, and the second arrived next day after a very long telephone conversation. But the whole point is that this is after two depot repairs, the second to correct the first, and both DIY part replacements due to damage done at the depot. I'll give you specifics if you want. We got up into the double digits as far as the total number of FedEx shipments, all at Dell's expense, thank you very much. It took many hours of my time and I lost the use of the notebook for the better part of a month.


Now in my case, the final outcome was positive, if not unambiguously so. Do I feel that this sort of implementation of Depot warranty service is satisfactory? Do I feel that it's normal for customers to perform two under-warranty repairs after two depot returns? What do you think?

I don't seriously question why there is consumer acceptance of the Apple Store "Genius Bar" concept to customer service. Not anymore.

The problem is that the shift to B&M has furthered the commoditization of consumer Windows notebook PCs. Moreover, with units spread across hundred, if not thousands of retail locations, these products are especially subject to discounting. Nobody takes the retail price of a consumer quality notebook very seriously any more. We all know there will be a weekly discount or clearance. We're living in an age when i5 Windows notebooks dip to $399 on clearance. Windows notebooks have become mere commodities.

It doesn't help that the average consumer quality notebook now has a 150-220 nit display with narrow viewing angles that looks awful in the store. That's just a fact. A dim, narrow viewing angle screen looks awful under fluorescent lights. In contrast, when consumers look at a Macbook Air or Pro, they're looking at 300-350 nit display with wide viewing angles. The amazing thing is that Apple's displays still look good in the bright, glaring while lighting of an original Apple Store.

 

Is this a joke? You're the most zealous Apple fanatic on these forums. You've repeatedly come into review threads of specific models, or two-model shootouts, and basically say that people should either buy an Apple or not buy anything currently on the market.

I'm no iHater. Two out of my last three laptops were Apples, and my wife and I will likely buy an iMac all-in-one as our next computer purchase. But seriously, dude, you need to tone down the Apple-or-nothing responses that you've been putting in quite a few of these review threads. Asus ultrabook, Dell ultrabook, Toshiba ultrabook, your response is always the same and always vigorous and long-winded.

 

Latitude to the depot? Man, next time you need service on a Dell, please send me a PM. That's ridiculous that you had to go through that. Apologies on behalf of Dell for the poor experience. If there are any loose ends to tie up, feel free to let me know in PM. I'll do what I can to make it right.

 

New video ... XPS 13 | Dell

 

This video is more amusing:

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Hits San Francisco for The Ultrabook Challenge - Direct2Dell - Direct2Dell - Dell Community

 

Going back to the "why didn't they wait until Ivy Bridge" discussion, it looks like Ivy Bridge has been delayed until June (and if it's been delayed once, who knows if it'll be delayed again or if it'll have problems upon initial release). Thus, getting a Sandy Bridge product out now, instead of waiting, was definitely a good choice.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...63-ivy-bridge-delay-til-june.html#post8327476

 

Now it looks like only dual-core moble Ivy Bridge CPUs will be delayed, most likely due to oversupply issues with outgoing Sandy Bridge chips, and that the quad-core models are a go for April onward.

Intel is only delaying dual core mobile Ivy Bridge CPUs by VR-Zone.com

So far, the cause for the delay seems to be the poor sales performance of Windows notebook PCs, not production issues. When Intel has a stockpile this big, they'll either have to liquidate it, and destroy brand equity, or destroy the stockpiled inventory and take a write-off.

I think we all expected quad-core mobile Ivy Bridge processors to appear first, and this appears to be the case. At very least, the much anticipated 2012 Macbook Pro launch is important for Intel, since its probably the single highest volume application for Intel's quad-core mobile CPUs.

As far as existing stockpiles of Sandy Bridge CPUs, we're already seeing an i5 Windows 7 notebook at the sub-$350 pricepoint. Yup, $350 for an 15.6" Acer laptop with an i5-2450M - and the "Recommended Customer Price" of the CPU alone is $225, according to Intel. Let the discounting begin!

 

Right, and since ultrabooks would feature dual-core mobile CPUs, not quad-core desktop CPUs (the distinction your article drew), Ivy Bridge ultrabooks would be delayed. Thus, getting a Sandy Bridge model out now was the right choice for Dell.

As for your attempt to blame the situation on slow Windows PC sales, since Apple uses Intel Sandy Bridge too, I guess Apple's equally to blame...or equally not to blame for Intel overproduction, however you want to look at it.

 

I really don't know whether or not Ivy Bridge ultrabooks will be delayed. I'd assume that the release of Ivy Bridge ULV processors will be influenced by the update cycle for the Macbook Air, which no doubt is the best selling mobile ULV CPU product line. See a pattern here?

As far as conventional 35 watt dual core CPUs, the last Apple model is the Macbook Pro 13." Again, it may or may not be the best selling product line in its category, but Apple manages inventories without undermining retail price points.

 

Your own link said that dual-core mobile Ivy Bridge CPUs are delayed. Ultrabooks have dual-core mobile CPUs. Put 2 and 2 together.

Apple fanboyism completely unrelated to what I was saying, which is that it's good to have brought a Sandy Bridge ultrabook to the market instead of waiting for Ivy Bridge like you recommended.

 

To repeat:

 

It's finally here

XPS 13 Ultrabook | Dell

Price and Options: XPS 13 Ultrabook ? High performance & lightweight laptop details | Dell

 

Details of the promo

T-Mobile 4G Mobile HotSpot | Dell

 

Also of interest- service manual and other various documentation.

 

Serviceability is not high on the "pros list" for any Ultrabook that I'm aware of. It will be interesting to see how my brethren in Business/Client systems group handle that issue if and when they ever release a business class Ultrabook.

 

any chance this will get 1600x900 res?

 

Bill, thanks for the links
Are you aware of any promotions or discounts available at launch?

 

We're looking into this now.

You're welcome, and no promotions I know of specifically for XPS 13. There may be a general Dell discount coupon floating around the internets somewhere.

 

I think the vast majority of notebooks make it very difficult to replace the button battery, because frankly, the batteries usually outlast how long most consumers use the laptops for. It's just not a high priority.

 

Does no one else see the irony of the "buy a MacBook Air instead" guy complaining about the difficulties with user maintenance?

And whether it's five screws or ten, really, if you've got a screwdriver, you can do it. It's not like you're doing it on a daily basis. I don't remember how many screws it took to get to my MBP's hard drive, but ten doesn't impossible.

 

And I'm describing what's common in the ultrabook/ultraportable market. You yourself have repeatedly suggested that the MacBook Air is the gold standard of that market. The MacBook Air is extremely user-maintenance-unfriendly.

I needed a Torx (don't remember which number) to swap out the HDD in my MBP. I could get the back case off with just a Phillips just for blowing dust out and the like, but the HDD was screwed in with several Torx screws.

See above.

 

Serviceability on any ultra-thin laptop does not exist to the level of replacing a coin cell battery as easily as some would like it to be. This is kind of a silly argument in the context of ultra-thin laptops. No offense.

If someone needs a coin cell battery replaced under warranty, Dell will come out and do it onsite. What kind of onsite service options does Apple have?

 

Actually, you need BOTH a Phillips and a Torx T6 screwdriver on a late-2008 MBP to replace the HDD. Please see this video at 1:46 to see the four Torx screws at issue. I had to buy a Torx screwdriver to finish the job. Criticizing Dell for using Torx screws when you're always praising Apple is a clear double-standard.

How to replace a hard drive in a MacBook Pro (Late 2008) - YouTube

 

I haven't had to use Dell's NBD onsite service ever, but I would take onsite over going to a store.

Not to defend either Dell or Apple's choices regarding serviceability of ultra thin laptops, the general trend here is that ultrabooks are hard to service.

 

I think it looks nice like, but that's subjective and really it's just like every other ultrabook.
I really wish there was at least an option to have discrete graphics, even if they were only a step above the Intel 3000.

I'm still not sold on ultrabooks yet, I mean I'm pretty sure that the Lenovo X series and the Asus U series carry all their traits but with more power, (and less price often) and really, are they that much more less mobile? I think not.

I crave the release of the LG X-Note p330 worldwide, I've never been more sold on a laptop without ever even seeing it physically, I assume LG are waiting for the Ivy Bridge release before they go worldwide though which is a shame, if perhaps better in the long run.

 

And what happens when your nearest brick-and-mortar Apple store is a six-hour round trip away? I live in a city of 75,000 people (Medford, Oregon...the Rogue Valley as a whole has 130,000 people) and the nearest Apple store is Eugene. That's 130,000 people with no local Apple store. It's not really "nationwide" B&M presence unless you're only counting college towns and major metro areas.

Sure, there's a local computer store that is an "authorized" Apple service center ("Connecting Point Computer Center"), but I was not at all impressed with what I saw the one time I went in there. It's certainly not the same as an actual Apple store, I'll say that. For people who live outside of a major metro area where they're not going to have an Apple store locally, you're still dealing with third parties under contract, because that's exactly what Connecting Point is.

Edit: Peoria, Illinois, which is a classic example of "middle America," has 115,000 people and no Apple store.

There's always the Vaio SA if you want dedicated graphics. It's thicker than an ultrabook but it's only 3.6 lbs...comparable to many Ultrabooks and lighter than an Envy 14 Spectre. It packs a 6630M, a full-power i5, a 900p screen, and an optical drive.

 

That's true, I often forget Sony makes great laptops (though often at similar cost to apple computers ) The 13 inch Asus U had dedicated graphics also.

The question still remains, what do ultrabooks do better than these laptops?

The answer is essentially, nothing, computer manufacturers are just cashing in on the average consumers desire to choose a laptop that looks stylish, over what is better.

 

And what do fashionable slacks do better than denim overalls? What does a sleek two-door coupe do better than a four-door sedan or a station wagon? What on earth is the point of high heeled shoes for women? What advantage does a $200 Skagen watch have over a $50 Timex? Nothing, besides fashion.

The MacBook Air and ultrabooks make practical sacrifices in the name of fashion (i.e., being ultra-thin). There's no added utility there. But some people like fashionable consumer goods. That's fine. Fashionable-though-less-practical options exist for every type of consumer commodity.

If you don't like designer watches or high heels or two-door BMWs, don't buy them. But no need to be angry about the fact that they're made available and other people do want them.

 

Ultrabooks don't really do anything better. Intel just needs to create a market other than Apple for their ULV chips.

Spaceweed. Apparently the Thinkpad T430u "ultrabook" will have astandard voltage CPU and dedicated graphics.