spiffy rave: Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook: IT-friendly, 128GB SSD and backlit keyboard standard, arrives in February for $999

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook: IT-friendly, 128GB SSD and backlit keyboard standard, arrives in February for $999

You didn't think Dell was going to sit out the Ultrabook fad, did you? We'll never know exactly what the hold-up was, but whatever the company's excuse it finally has something to compete with the likes of the MacBook Air and ASUS Zenbook UX31. The company just announced the XPS 13, which weighs in at a shade less than three pounds (2.99, to be exact) and has a wedge profile that tapers from .71 inches to .24 (18 to 6mm). With a starting price of $1,000, it sports an aluminum lid and carbon fiber chassis -- a material we wish more Ultrabook makers would incorporate. Though it has a 13-inch screen, it's the kind of panel with bezels so narrow that Dell was able to build a chassis small enough for a 12-inch system. Put bluntly, expect this to be one of the most compact Ultrabooks around (though not the lightest).

What's that? You want technical details too? At the entry level, it'll come with a Core i3 i5 processor, 128GB SSD, 4GB of RAM and backlit keyboard, though you'll also be able to upgrade to a 256SSD and either a Core i5 or i7 CPU (Sandy Bridge at launch, with Ivy Bridge to follow in a refresh later this year). Other specs include a 300-nit, 1366 x 768, Gorilla Glass display; Intel HD 3000 graphics; a 47Wh battery rated for up to eight hours; Bluetooth 3.0; and Intel's Smart Connect and Rapid Start technologies. As HP is doing with the Folio 13, Dell plans to sell this in both its consumer and business channels; accordingly, the machine will be offered with TPM, asset tagging, corporate images and custom BIOS to keep the IT guys happy. It'll be available at the end of February, but if you need to know as much as you can now, we've got hands-on photos below, along with impressions after the break.

Gallery: Dell XPS 13 hands-on