Dell XPS M1330 Review

It's been pretty much agreed to by everyone that the response to this model was much more than Dell expected.. I would never have looked at an ultraportable myself.. And I would never have looked at a low-end graphics card.. FTM, I would never have looked at Dell in the first place.. But this model is just too good.. And many people apparently feel the same.. I bet they are ramping up production to meet all the orders... I would not be surprised if this became Dell's flagship model for the current year...

 

I believe (though I need to double check) Inspirons historically have moved more numbers than their XPS line. It makes sense, since the XPS line occupies an uneasy space between the budget or minimalist buyers and the hardcore power users (gamers, graphic designers, etc). So when building their sales forecast models, they focused on the high demand Inspiron lines. They might have (and probably did) predict success for the m1330, but completely underestimated the scale of their success. It's sort of like the situation with the Nintendo Wii.

And for those saying that people will get frustrated with their waiting time and buy something else instead, I say: so what? If Dell delayed their launch in order to build up inventory, then those buyers would still buy a different computer. At least this way, Dell can keep a higher percentage of those "might have been" buyers. And even if Dell did have a huge amount of components in stock, there's still a physical limit on how many they can put together and test in a given day, so there's still going to be a delay.

 

I think its wrong to compare production of the 1330 to the production of a product like the iPhone. Dell works on the principle of just in time manufacture which has no stockpiles and thus reduces their production costs. It would be easier for apple because they could forecast the demand for the iphone build up a decent stockpile. With the M1330 because its configurable when you buy it you can't really do that. From what I've read here dell still seems to be selling plenty 1330s even with the quite long waiting time.

 

Guess you slept in through marketing 101.

 

There is a world wide shortage at the moment of LCD's, which is causing a slight delay in shipments, but systems will start to ship very soon.

Currently the leadtime is max 30 days from order to delivery, the only exception to this is if your ordered additional accessories, but your system should arrive within 30 days from order.

 

That is very optimistic. I ordered mine July 13th and got a September 5th estimation.

 

I agree with your general point, but it's hardly fair to compare a $200 (that's how much some experts say the iPhone costs to build) product to a $1500 product. iPhone has 2 configs, and it not assembled to order, you just walk into a store and buy one. So the comparison is not really valid.

Maybe compare it to the MBP where a lot of people in Europe can not get one because of parts shortages.

And to be fair to Dell, at this point they have not conned anyone. When I ordered I knew the ship date, and it looks like they will hit that date or even be early (I hope). So really the only thing Dell has done wrong is announce the M1330 before they were ready to ship, which is a mistake in my eyes buy not huge.

Maybe they also under estimated demand, but we will not know that until early August when we see how later orders are being handled.

 

Here's a question aside from the whole shipping discussion.
If you order the 1GB ram configuration, would that bet 2x512 or 1x1024?

 

You usually get to pick which ram configuation you want...call and ask.

 

I ordered the M1330 in the UK soon after it became available on their website (26th June I think). I ordered the T7700 CPU, and initial deliveries were for the 16th of July. Obviously that day came and went and it hadnt arrived. I got an email telling me it would be delivered on the 7th Aug.

Today I get the following email "I am writing to as you recently placed an order with Dell for an XPS M1330 notebook with an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7700 (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB).

Tests have shown that there is a technical issue with this processor on the XPS M1330, We regret to inform you that we are unable to fulfill the order as configured."

So why the heck did they put it on their website without testing it first? Surely its gone through a relatively rigourous testing phase already?

Anyway, long and short is they have dropped the T7700 chip from the website and you can only get the T7500 chip. Delivery date is now "sometime in Aug" for the same spec, but T7500 chip. Im not holding my breath!

 

I would assume the default is the cheapest 2x512. But if mike is correct and you can request 1x1024 for the same price that would be cool.

 

Good stuff, Chuck.

I can't see myself waiting 45 days for a frickin laptop. (no, it's not fun or cool to be in line for a "hot" item) A laptop that apparently has production problems. I'll get around to canceling my order in a week or two. I wonder what the next few months will bring in the world of laptops? Perhaps this "paper launch" is jumping real launches of other compelling designs?

In short, I'm no Dell fanboy. The will have to work as hard as ever to earn my business. (especially after the M1210 BSOD debacle)

PS (hopefully in a few months they still offer XP as an alternative to Vista! Wouldn't that chap Microsoft's ass!))

 

Does anyone have an idea what kind of HD they used as the 7200 RPM version? I'm curious what the access time is of this model.

 

They probably source from a few manufacturers, but the Seagate seems to be most common.

Yeah, I agree. If it is a paper launch, at least tell us so - put it up for pre-order. Don't get the reps to assure us that it will be the 'normal 10-15 days'. Cause it's not. If I were in a hurry to get a laptop, I'd definitely have no qualms canceling. It's quite unacceptable how Dell's got our hopes up on the thing only to promptly crush them a few days later.

Luckily I'm not in any rush so I'll just wait it out.

 

That's reassuring. It'd still be nice to know for sure though. For instance, Seagate has two 7200 RPM models which differ quite a lot in access time (14.2 vs 15.4).
I've searched for this (also on the dell.com site) with no result, but wouldn't there have to be a spec sheet somewhere with all the different parts they use to make this notebook. That'd make a purchase decision a whole lot easier!

 

The thing is, Dell probably sources from multiple manufacturers - there's no way to specify which one you'd get anyways.

 

Does anyone know when the production is going to start overall ?

 

No one knows anything for sure at the moment. There are lots of conflicting reports, but the bottom line is after 3 weeks no one has one in their hands.

 

Checked on my order status about 1/2 hour ago, and it says CANCELLED!! WTF!!! I'm goin after Dell with a large, pain-inducing weapon.

Anybody else with this problem? This better be a website foul-up, or Dell just pissed-off and lost a customer.

 

I'm starting to think if getting XPS is such a good idea anymore... Maybe I should stick with a MBP (which is 25 bucks more after uni savings) or go with a cheap Asus instead.

 

Mine wasn't canceled but my order date changed from 7/3/2007 to 7/5/2007

 

Mines still 08/08/07 - Germany.

 

I remember hearing a couple of months ago that production of the 1330 was to start around the end of july. 27th? maybe. How dell was quoting delivery dates before that is a mystery to me and probably the source of alot of confusion for people here. Maybe they treat their sales reps like mushrooms. Keep them in the dark etc.....

 

shipping date 17.08.07-Germany
date never change so far (and i hope never!!)

 

Shipments started this week...

 

Does teh 6-cell stick out like the 9cell

 

no, only the 9 cell does

 

R U dell staff ? Where do you get this info ?

 

Turns out my order wasn't cancelled - they replaced the cancelled one with another that's now supposed to ship on September 5th! And I ordered on July 3rd!

Anyone know of a decent replacement for the m1330? I really can't wait that long. Dell's 1420 looks good, and seems like its actually shipping, but if I can avoid Dell entirely that'd be nice.

 

Sony is coming out with a refresh of its SZ model which should be available around the beginning of next month. It will be very comparable to the M1330. Sony will have pre-configured models that will be available in stores (hopefully at launch), so you may be able to pick one up in a couple weeks.

 

I'm just kind of curious, having loosely followed the XPS M1330 since it was announced, and having ordered one a couple of weeks ago....

Why is everybody bashing only Dell for allowing customers to place orders for a computer that won't be shipping for a few weeks? It's not like this hasn't happened many, many times before with Apple, Sony, among others. And it's not like most people who ordered it weren't informed that it would be a while before they shipped (although it is a problem that some people were told their systems would ship within two weeks or so, which obviously hasn't happened).

In any case, this seems to be (for whatever reason) standard operating procedure for computer manufacturers. In that regard, I don't consider Dell any better nor any worse than any of the others.

 

^^^^^^
Here, Here

 

I don't blame them for going live with it and taking the orders.. at least they know how many they need to build..rather than going live and suddenly realise that its way more popular than they expected and we get the same amount of delay.

If its the laptop you want..just wait..

 

WHENS the updated review due on fans, heat etc?

 

I don't blame them for the long lead times. I blame them because when I ordered, the CSR told me it would be 10 -15 days, then got my invoice to find it would be a 7 week wait.

Add to that the fact that many people got their orders canceled due to 'excessive lead times'. They had no notification and when their order was reinstated, they got pushed back another 2 weeks to a month.

 

Now that, completely justified (which is what I was referring to about it being a problem if people were told they would ship in two weeks). Really, I was mostly questioning the people who were complaining that there was any wait at all - if CSRs have been lying through their teeth, I'll happily blast Dell as much as anybody else for pulling stunts like that. :wink:

In the meantime, I get to wait like everyone else. Mine supposedly ships on August 23rd... seems so far away right now... :cry:

 

I think that the review that's the first post of this thread is about as much of a review as we're going to get until individual users start getting their actual units. Earlier on, they said they needed to ship their unit to CNBC, so I don't think we're getting any more hard information at this point.

 

I ordered an XPS M1330 from the Dell UK website (being English and so on) on the 4th July.

The estimated delivery date was "on or before" Jul 23 2007. I recently recieved an email from Dell UK stating that the new date will be Aug 15 2007. Below is the email:

"...Dear Customer

"To ensure your Dell order is of the highest quality it is being assembled to your exact specification.

"I have checked on the progress of your order and your Estimated Delivery Date has been revised as follows: {Aug 15 2007}

"Once all the parts are available we will assemble it and then carefully pack it in time to meet the new Revised Delivery Date.

"You can check on the progress of your order at anytime by clicking on this link: www.dell.co.uk/orderstatus

"You’ll need your order number and your customer number 7583425

"Thanks,

Dell..."

Having read this and many other forums and news post (the 1st 12 pages on Google for XPM M1330... ouch) it seems common that everyone is experiencing a delay. However, my most serious concern is that a previous post states that the T7700 Processor is not available any more (they state that they recieved an email confessing of a "technical issue with this processor on the XPS M1330"). Indeed, the T7700 is no longer available on the Dell UK website. Yet... Dell have failed to email me this detail despite the fact my order contains this processor... kind of important, and the fact that Dell have neglected to email me this despite the fact they have emailed another UK customer is worrisome. It clearly isn't an automated email system that is merely doing the rounds. Are they going to wait till the 14th August to let me know that it wont be avilable ? Nasty.

Dell were clearly not ready to ship these laptops, thus the delays, but SO unready that they failed to even successful test the Intel T7700 Processor before launching it on their UK website.

If anyone gets an XPS M1330 UK or otherwise, i'd be interested to know.

 

It's is strange that people are complaining about lead times. I ordered mine within minutes of it getting posted to the website in Canada. I got a shipping date of Aug 13th the next day. I'm fine with that.

 

Well it sounds like some people ordered on the phone, and were told shipping in one or two weeks. It's not four weeks later and they are starting to ship a few.

 

For me, it’s not the wait per se.

It is more of a case of having my wait time increased by a month (give or take) so close to its actual delivery date when they would have known long before that that a delay was imminent. It is like they were waiting till the last possible moment to let me know.

That and the fact that the processor chip I have ordered is no longer on available on the dell website and other dell customers have allegedly been told there is a ‘technical problem’ with it and it wont be used. Dell have failed to let me know this and my best guess is they wont tell me for as long as possible. They will probably wait till very close to my ship-date in order to keep my custom from going elsewhere. Perhaps that’s a backhanded businesses idea that could make sense to them I suppose, but in times when it backfires like this, it just works against them.

I was well aware there would be a wait on these laptops due to the high and probably slightly unexpected demand. However, the way they handle things leaves something to be desired. I haven’t bought a Dell before, but when a customer is spending over £1,800 on a laptop you would expect better service in the communications department.

Alas, as far as I can tell there is no other laptop that rivals the M1330 for weight, screen-size and feature list. Otherwise I would be there already.

 

Can anyone tell me if there's really no S/PDIF to get digital audio? Is there no digital audio output on this computer?

 

There's always the HDMI digital audio output.

 

We have not confirmed if that works yet, it looks doubtful at the moment.

 

I wished I knew about this situation before I ordered couple hours ago! The Rep told me a couple of weeks but after checking online its more like 2 months! I checked the online status and they wont ship til the 2nd week of September!

I have a question about the lo jack, I see the price is included in the system but on the details list it has it as a $50 option. Is it possible to call them and not get the lo jack, because I probably will never use it and that software won't ship till the 3rd week of September!

 

They updated the HTML manual, and it definitely shows you how to set your settings for HDMI audio.

 

Looks like there's no more fingerprint reader option in Canada. And I also guess that's why they canceled my order for the SECOND time now.

Dell will be receiving a nice call from a disgruntled customer tomorrow

 

Second cancelation? Nice.

I wonder if this change will be echoed around the other Dell websites such as USA and UK?

Can't hurt to try. I would imagine if its part of your base configuration that you wont find it easy, and you may need to start over with your order on a different base configuration - which may or may not put your order back even further.

I myself am ringing Dell UK today to find out more about the dodgy processor chip, and while i'm at it i'll ask about the finger print reader...lol.

 

For anyone interested, Dell UK have infact cancelled all orders on those containing the T7700 Intel chipset.

I rang up customer support today and my order had to be cancelled. I then re-rung sales and they offered me a 7.5% discount on my new order and speedy shipment and production. My order is now due the week begining 20th August. I placed the order today.

 

I find it so amusing how many people have posted that they are getting next day delivery or priority building of their system or how they ordered yesterday and its expected next week.

The truth is the order system on this machine is a farce; it has, thusfar been proven wrong in any case.

To date there is not one system delivery completed and many have lead times of mid September for delivery....

Sorry to be a bit pessimistic but, one just has to check around to know....

the only word that describes accurately when anyone will be receiving their system is....later.

PS....reread his and sorry for being so negative but this is getting to be so #$%^&%$#@@$ frustrating!!!!