Dell XPS M1330 Review

The Dell XPS M1330 is considered by many to be a breakthough in design, which I agree. It sure beats the traditional functional but boring design, which looks no different from other notebooks. This is certainly a plus point for Dell fans out there.

What is also nice is that, this notebook is light and thin. It proves that Dell has been listening to its consumers. Finally, you can show off your Dell at Starbucks instead of trying to hide it from the next table using a Sony Vaio.

The design is not totally flat, but with curves at the sides and corners. It is a sloping design, with the front thinner than the back. I would think that it aims to promote a better typing posture. Weighing in at approximately 1.7 kgs, this 13-inch notebook is definitely in the ultra-portable category. You can have 3 different colours for the lid of this notebook, which is available in red, white or black. This would definitely widen its user base to include women who likes using a trendy looking notebook. It is no surprise that the majority of female notebook shoppers tend to go for the looks of a notebook first before even looking at the specs.

The design is very nice in its entirety, although if you want to be picky, the touchpad could be larger for easier usage, especially if you got big fingers. Also, there are only 2 USB ports, sufficient for many people, unless you plan to attach more than 2 USB devices at a single time. This point aside, this is a rather highly equipped notebook. The beauty of buying from Dell is that, there is always a high level of choice when it comes to customization - getting what you want, instead of settling for what the manufacturers want to give you.

Just take a look at the following options, and you will get excited about getting what you wish for:

Processors

Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz, 4M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2GHz, 4M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T7100 (1.80GHz, 2M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T5250 (1.50GHz, 2M L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)

Operating System

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate
Genuine Windows Vista® Business
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic

Memory

Up to 4GB shared4 Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM provides blazing performance.

DDR2 dual channel5 memory offers excellent performance and bandwidth. This memory architecture is designed to help to improve overall system performance and help reduce power consumption. As demands from processors, graphics and networking increase, DDR2 is the standard in notebook memory.

Graphics

Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100

NVIDIA GeForceTM Go 8400M GS with 128MB dedicated GDDR3 graphics memory

Screen

Optional:
13.3" UltraSharpTM WXGA display with TrueLifeTM
2.0 MP camera (standard CCFL display)

13.3" UltraSharpTM WXGA display with TrueLifeTM
0.3 MP camera (optional WLED slim & light display)

Hard Drives

Up to 160GB6 configured with 5400 RPM SATA hard drive.

Optical Storage

Integrated Slot-Load DVD+/-RW Drive7

Weight & Dimensions

Weight: Starting at 1.79 kg
Width: 31.8cm
Height: 2.21cm – 3.38cm
Depth: 23.8cm

I/O Ports

2 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin connectors
IEEE 1394a
RJ45 Ethernet port (10/100)
External Modem via USB
Video: VGA
Video: HDMI
ExpressCard 54 mm slot
8-in-1 removable memory card reader
Audio jacks: Stereo in & headphone/speaker out (x2) dual digital array mics

Obviously, this is a very well equipped notebook, satisfying even the most avid road warrior. Performance wise, it should not disappoint either. It is pretty near the top of similarly equipped ultra-portables, and battery life on the standard 6-cell battery pack lasts for about 2.5 hours. If you are going on a long flight with this notebook, a 9-cell battery pack is advised, and carrying a spare battery would not hurt either.