New Dell XPS M140 Released (specs)

Dell has released the Dell XPS M140 14.1-inch widescreen display notebook. The M140 weighs about 5.5 pounds and starts at $999. The Intel Pentium M 700 series of processors are used in the M140 and it can be configured with XP Home, Pro or Media Center Edition. There is a TV tuner option, but it is external not built-in. Orders can be placed now but shipments of the M140 will not start until November.

XPS M140 Specs:

• Processor: Intel Pentium M 740 (1.73GHz)- 770 (2.13 GHz)
• OS: Windows XP Media Center Edition / Home / Pro
• Screen: 14.1-inch WXGA or TrueLife WXGA (+$25)
• Memory: 512MB SDRAM standard, expandable to 2GB
• Hard Drive: 40GB 4200RPM standard, 60GB (7200RPM) and 60GB - 100GB option (4200 RPM)
• Optical Drive: CD/DVD Burner
• Graphics: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 900
• Battery: 6-cell / 9-cell option
• Wireless: Intel PRO Wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g)or 2915 (802.11 a/b/g)
• Ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports, headphone, microphone, monitor out, s-video out, ethernet, modem, FireWire
• Slots: ExpressCard, 5-in-1 Media Card Reader
• External TV Tuner Option (+$130)
• Dimensions:
• Warranty: 1-year standard (upgradeable)
• Product Page and Ordering: Dell M140 Product Page

The XPS M140 appears to be a replacement for the existing Inspiron 600m notebook as both are 14.1" screen models. The HP dv1000 and Compaq v2000 will be direct competitors to this notebook (both are 14" widescreen multimedia notebooks). Some were hoping for a nice graphics card to be included with the M140 so that it would be a competitor with the Sony VAIO S or Asus W3v 14" series laptops that allow for gaming with their dedicated graphics cards, but alas, Dell has gone the route of integrated Intel graphics so this is not a gaming notebook. This is somewhat surprising given the fact the XPS branding has been associated with high-end gaming machines in the past.

For what it is and the price though the M140 seems like it's at a fairly sweet spot for consumers and might be popular with students who want to be mobile and still have a large enough screen to be productive. 5.5lbs is fairly light, but not the lightest available 14" screen notebook, but the price of $999 for the base system (Intel Pentium M 740, 512MB RAM) isn't a bad asking price.

Some of the specs are still sketchy on this notebook, the Dell site indicates there is an ExpressCard slot but no PCMCIA slot, whichis going to be limiting because many accessories are still not available in the ExpressCard format (such as an EVDO card etc.). Also, some news releases indicate there is a 5-in-1 multi-card reader but the Dell site currently does not -- we assume there is as this is a multimedia notebook. Also, images are fairly limited and there are not product tours of the notebook yet so more information will become available about this machine, check the Dell site or back herefor that!

 

U can get it here!!

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/pro...40?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab#tabtop

 

thanks arevee, forgot to add that link to the post, added it now

 

This uses Intel integrated graphics!?!?!?!?

 

Wow, I started reading about it - scanned for the graphics - INTEL GMA900!?!? What a total letdown, I had high hopes that this would be a really nice 14"WS with dedicated graphics. I'm not even sure why this is called an XPS.

 

-1- Why on earth would Dell release this three months after Toshiba released the same thing for the same price?

-2- Why on earth would someone buy this over the Toshiba 14" model?

 

A lot of people like Dell still, they're more popular than Toshiba. They needed to bring this to the table because they were missing a 14" wide for a long time. That size has become wildly popular. I'm more surprised it took them so long. The lack of dedicated GPU is bad news for many, but the thruth of the matter is the masses don't need it. This will be a nice option for those who want something smaller than the i6000 and are on a budget.

 

There's several other 14" models with dedicated graphics and yet Dell finally releases a 14" model with GMA 900 graphics and has the nerve to put XPS in front of it!? Geez Dell, I've really lost my faith in you, you've sorely dissapointed me.

 

don't be surprised if dell releases a model with a dedicated card in a couple months.

think back to the 6000. they did the same thing. the 6000d came out a few months after the 6000.

everybody take a breathe and relax

 

True, you got a point.
The nice thing is the excellent battery life this thing gets, over 6 hours!! Nice...

 

It is still disappointing. It's like when GM throws Special Edition Badging on a car where the only difference is the paint job. XPS is supposed to be top performance. It should have been maybe a Suped-up 6000, not a Latitude with a fancy badge.

 

And the TV tuner option...

 

The M140 TV tuner option is external though, it would have been a ton cooler to have a built-in option. External on a 14-inch is dumb, extra baggage to carry with a portable notebook, nobody is going to go for that option.

 

Pcmag has a review of it up. I was surprised by the battery life:6.5 hrs. At 5.9lbs it's a little on the heavy side imo for that category.

 

XPS? Doesn't that stand for eXtreme Performance Machine? Intel Integrated Graphics.....oh boy

This is what I feared. Dell is going to sell their standard laptops under a new name and make them sound all big and powerful when they're really not. I do not like this kind of marketing. It's deceptive and a lot of companies do it. The least they could have done was get rid of the white edging and make it black, but they didn't even do that.

 

I'm in the market for my first notebook. I almost placed an order for the 700m until I realized Dell is coming up with the XPS M140 and I decided I want dedicated graphics. So I waited and well, it's here. Frankly, I'm disappointed.

To be fair to Dell though, they're calling it the Inspiron 630M here in Canada, not an XPS. I think that's a better representation of what it actually is. Maybe there will be an XPS version with a dedicated graphics card a couple months later as someone else mentioned?

 

They're calling it the 630m in Canada and the UK I think. That's super annoying, not only are they confusing buyers here in the U.S. by calling it an XPS when it's quite obviously not a high-end notebook, but they're making it hard for us all to speak common terms with laptop models. Sheesh.

 

Not to completely defend Dell here because I still take issue at the lack of integrated graphics, but practically everybody misses the boat here on what XPS means.

XPS does not mean performance. Take a moment and absorb that. It's just Dell's premium line. Premium at this point means that a laptop is MC enabled, has a TV tuner, and sports a bright widescreen display.

At the risk of being brutalized, I will return to Dell's "Lexus" analogy. We're all familiar with Lexus. In fact, my family owns two of them, so I can speak up about the Lexus experience. I'm assuming that people buy Lexus to enjoy its styling, its luxuries, the reliability, the (expensive but good) service, and the bells and whistles. I don't think that Lexus models are marketed as performance racers made to tear up the road, not even their SC (Sports Coupe) series. The same thing applies to Dell.

The XPS 200 for example is not a gaming machine at all but rather a slim/portable MC desktop that runs quietly and integrates into the living room should you desire that option. It's not meant to be a performance machine at all.

If you put the M140 into perspective, it does fit into the XPS philosophy and is somewhat analagous to the XPS 200. It's the industry's only Media Center enabled 14" widescreen notebook from the get-go, and relative to Dell's other 14" notebooks (the budget 2200 and 1200), it's actually a premium product. It's a little heavy, but as someone nicely pointed out, it has a stunning battery life of over 6 hours, impressive for any laptop. If it were a Lexus model, I would compare it to the ES 330, their smaller Entry level Sedan.

While it would be nice (and I'm still betting on it) to see dedicated graphics in the future, this laptop is clearly marketed towards road warriors who desire long battery life and decent screen-estate. This is not a gamer's laptop nor does it strive to be. If anything, it's just a bigger, badder 700m.

I know that it's hard to see things from Dell's perspective, but if you were honestly expecting to be blown away by fresh designs and dazzling specs from the get-go, you were mistaken. Dell said that it would be recycling old designs for the first product cycle or so, so that's why these machines look identical or "rebranded" as you call them. Given the time contraints, it was better for Dell to go ahead and release these products now rather than take an extra 6 months and release late, putting them behind the competition ( Sony, HP and Gateway).

If there's anything I want everybody to glean from this post, it's the fact that XPS is no longer equated with extreme gaming performance. It's something that will take a little getting used to, but I hope that everybody understands this.

 

For one thing, the Dell ExpressCard works. We have had this machine in-house for testing, and Dell have done a good job with the ExpressCard slot. Many manufacturers have not implemented PCI enumeration and resource allocation correctly, resulting in PCIe implementations not working. This is the case with IBM, Toshiba and Fujitsu. These manufacturers make incorrect assumptions about the number of PCI bridges and devices that may be behind the PCIe bus link. Since one of the use cases for ExpressCard is a docking station, this is a stupid assumption. PCMCIA.org, who own the ExpressCard spec, sorted all this out ages ago, with a set of revised rules. The manufacturers whose ExpressCard notebooks don't work are in violation of the spec, and should not be claiming ExpressCard compatability. ----Rant Off----

Oh and another thing, the 9 cell XPS has an awesome battery life....

 

I agree with you to a point Eliwood, I think some people have been lead to believe XPS also equates to a better level of support or higher standard base warranty, but that's not the case, it's the same support as the rest of the Inspiron machines. I don't have a major beef with Dell's support anyway though, I've heard a lot of good stories.

timfountain, do you work for the PCMCIA.org or something? How did you get an early model of the Dell M140?

 

I want to know how this machine is getting over 6 hours of battery life when its competitors such as the HP DV1000 and Compaq V2000 get about 3 hours. Does this have an extended battery as default or what?

 

Yeah - that is kind of weird...I guess that's with the screen and hard drive off

Maybe that is with two batteries...

 

i wondered the same thing too 6 hour battery life? thats a first for all the laptops i have seen.

 

Sorry for weighing in late to the naming convention portion of this thread, but if you go to the Small Business section of dell.com, they ARE labelling this thing the Inspiron 630m.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/inspn?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

since it has integrated graphics how will dvd playback be, or is the only issue with playing games, b/c i ordered one yesterday and i could careless about games but i would like to watch movies on it while im flying.

 

You will have no problem watching movies on an integrated graphics chip. It won't matter wether or not you have a dedicated or integrated for anything other than games/rendering.

 

BTW, 6 hour battery life is with 9-cell battery, not standard 6-cell(53Whr). I still think it is good.

And one more note, the 6-cell battery in V2000,DV1000 series notebook is 43Whr vs 6-cell 53Whr battery in Dells including 600M( the difference is because of Battery voltage).

Here is the one CNET user review( most of those are negative though) But this guy gave good rating initially, then added his comments later.

Pros:Top features, easy to use, free upgrade to dvd burner.
Cons:Not good graphics, but suitable for home use.And has a pretty small screen compared to other xps series.
Full user opinion
This is a awsome laptop, it has all the ports you need, a dvd burner, 14.1 inch wxga or14.1 inch wxga trulife display, centrino processor, mine has 1 gig of ram, came earlier than expected. Nice silver design, although it's a thin and light, it is a little heavier than the 600m, it packs a windows xp media center edition with it for such a light laptop! Amazing,if you want a more portable laptop, and has better graphics, get the 600m, but if you want a portable xps with top features, cheap price, and really good battery life, then get this one instead.And make sure to get a at least 2 year warrenty because some people have expierienced dead pixels before so you can replace it. Hope this helps.
Updated
by hijack masta (see profile) - October 28, 2005
Actually...
I would really suspect better graphics on this notebook, then it will be even more perfect than before, because of that, i would probably reduce my rating to 8, but i still can't find any problems with this laptop. It can operate most games with a high ram so...

Updated
by hijack masta (see profile) - November 6, 2005
god this sucks now
I have tried it for several weeks and now it broke and the screen acts wierd now, don't order it. I now ordered the inspiron 9300 and it's here and the graphics are absolute amazing and it's the same price as this rip-off laptop!