Comments Dell Studio XPS 13 - 13.3in Notebook - Laptop - review

Comments

Please wait while we process your request

Please wait while we retrieve the user's information

Bio

Your bio is currently empty. Now is a great time to fill in your profile.

This profile is private.

This profile is only shared with friends.

This profile is under review.

We were unable to request friendship with this user.

We were unable to request friendship with this user. Are you logged in?

Your friendship request has been sent to this user.

We were unable to terminate friendship with this user.

We were unable to terminate friendship with this user. Are you logged in?

You are no longer friends with this user.

We were unable to ignore this user.

We were unable to ignore this user. Are you logged in?

This user is now ignored.

We were unable to stop ignoring this user.

We were unable to stop ignoring this user. Are you logged in?

This user is no longer ignored.

pluck_user_mp-abuse_too_long_err

Name withheld

Ohmz

1:06 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ohmz. Show Details Hide Details

I'm on a 13 inch screen right now and I am so sick and tired of manufacturers not offering higher resolutions on their notebooks. Specifically ones that are supposed to be "premium" like this particular notebook.

Score:

Name withheld

GoldenGuy

3:15 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore GoldenGuy. Show Details Hide Details

That design's nice - cool hinge. It basically says - okay we're obviously not competing on thinness, but are on style.

Score:

Name withheld

Steve

8:24 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Steve. Show Details Hide Details

@Ohmz

My Vaio Z series has a 13" screen and is 1600x900 (16:9). Lovely!

Score:

Name withheld

Ed

9:29 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ed. Show Details Hide Details

That is a rarity, Steve. Also, the Z series is mega expensive. What annoys it there seems little reason higher resolution screens can't be offered on more modestly priced notebooks.

That said, I find 1,280 x 800 is enough on a 13.3inch screen. I used a Sony Z for a while and found it difficult to use everyday because everything was too small.

What's really poor is when 15inch notebooks still have 1,280 x 800.

Score:

Name withheld

Steve

9:55 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Steve. Show Details Hide Details

Yes, it's rare admittedly. 1600x900 on a small screen has many benefits but a few negatives too.

I recently purchased a new 13" MacBook which is 1280x800 and I find it easier on the eyes when browsing the web. It seems to be the standard at the moment as most websites are optimised for it.

Score:

Name withheld

ramzez

11:33 AM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore ramzez. Show Details Hide Details

The biggest downside is that it cannot run OSX, of course macbook is overprised slightly, but people sometimes don't see how much effort Apple has put to make it easy to use. In Apple Store they offer Training and Seminars for free.

Dell is great thought, the service support is excellent, the Windows OS is outdated and spoils all the hardware fun.

Score:

Name withheld

Skobbolop

12:29 PM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Skobbolop. Show Details Hide Details

What a irrelevant comment...

Score:

Name withheld

Ohmz

12:56 PM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ohmz. Show Details Hide Details

@ Steve, I'm super jealous! The Z looks amazing, had a chance to play with one in a Sony Store and really liked what I saw, but the price as Ed mentioned...

Score:

Name withheld

ramzez

1:28 PM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore ramzez. Show Details Hide Details

I just wanted to point out that comparing apples to oranges is no point. and therefore comparing it to macbook is irrelevant.

Score:

Name withheld

Chris

5:43 PM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Chris. Show Details Hide Details

Is it just me or is the M1330 thinner? It seems like it's taken Dell a year just to take a step backwards.

Score:

Name withheld

Ohmz

6:07 PM on 25 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ohmz. Show Details Hide Details

@ Chris, the M1330 is also lighter. I don't know what Dell was thinking...

Score:

Name withheld

Kanu

4:40 PM on 26 February, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Kanu. Show Details Hide Details

I have the XPS M1330 and it is a great laptop. I dont see the value added in this one.

If Dell wants to up the ante on the 1330, then what they really need is to put in a 12" screen and better speakers. The keybaord is quite good as-is - I dont know why they messed with it all all.

Score:

Name withheld

Hedgeporker

2:56 PM on 8 March, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Hedgeporker. Show Details Hide Details

Shame about the over-the-top silver hinge fixings and utterly useless leather affectation. Otherwise I think it looks really nice. I think illuminated keyboards should be an option on all mid-range laptops and upwards. Touch-typing not withstanding, its nice to have the lights there when you're feeling lazy. Now if only they could do away with the heavy and heat conductive metal base plate and find a hinge design that DOES NOT obstruct the vents when the screen is open! Only then will it be a contender for stealing sales from MacBook. As it is I think its a bit rushed. Not quite half-baked, but definitely out of the oven before it is really ready.

Score:

Name withheld

vampyren

8:26 PM on 28 March, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore vampyren. Show Details Hide Details

more or less the same price as the newest Macbook (2.0GHz).

Only thing i like with Dell is the HDMI but not sure if that is enough to make me buy Dell.

Macbook has OSX and a sexy design (all aluminum).

If the price was about 30% lower on Dell or it offered build-in 3G modem or something to differentiate but as it is now its simply a nice laptop among many.

ps. yes of course it matters to compare. After all when you buy something you compare with other products on the market in the same segment. And i agree that Sony laptops are very nice too but at least in Sweden they are 3 time more expensive then other laptops. Even Apple is cheap compared to Sony :)

Score:

Name withheld

phred

11:13 PM on 23 April, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore phred. Show Details Hide Details

Dell service is terrible.you speak to someone in the Phillipnes whose accent is hard for a U.S. citizen to understand.And there seems to be a delay in the phone line.And you have to wait before you speak to them.They spend a lot on ads,but as little as possible on service.Phillipinos work for less$.While Apple may have its faults they do give good service.That is worth paying more for-something few if any reviewers mention.

Score:

Name withheld

cmthomas68

10:11 AM on 2 June, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore cmthomas68. Show Details Hide Details

I am currently looking at getting this notebook, and would like to know whether it is possible to run two external monitors from it, using both the VGA port and the HDMI port. Apparently the existing M1330 XPS could do this, but I haven't been able to find out anywhere if this notebook can do it.

Thanks in advance.

Score:

Name withheld

John53

6:05 PM on 24 November, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore John53. Show Details Hide Details

I had the Sony Z series and sent it back and ordered this instead... heres why:

The Z series and the SR series now have removed the dedicated Page Up/Page Down/Home and End keys and combined them with the up/down/left/right keys meaning you have to use two hands to press the function key for it to work. It also makes moving around spreadsheets and web pages much more difficult. I spent over £2000 upgrading it and then had to send it back from frustration. I really don't understand why manufacturers mess about with keyboard layouts - the same happened when ASUS and a few others decided to swap the fn and ctrl keys over - that drove me mad and i bought my Sony SZ4 which was great. But the backward step of sony just cost them my business (and me £72 to send it back to Holland!!) Anyway the screen resolution of 1600x900 on it also was way too small for comfortable viewing. The Dell seems to have everything in the right place and now has £1000 of my money! Thanks Sony! Don't buy Sony!!

Score:

Name withheld

JT

9:57 PM on 27 December, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore JT. Show Details Hide Details

I think what makes this an interesting choice is the avalible options for the price. However I'm not in love with the design which I find ott and tacky. I also see that the review points to probably the main reason it is cheaper than both the Sony and Macbook pro it's so desperate to beat, build quality. Some people still don't seem to be able to come to grips with the fact that you just can't get build quality, attention to detail or true innovation on the cheap. However, the major problem and deal breaker for me is it doesn't run Mac OSX or any of Apples brilliant apps. Thats the real reason to buy a Macbook Pro over the Dell or Sony or Asus or any of the others. Even if Dell ever did sort out all it's quality control issues or come up with a design to compare with the likes of Apple it could never run the Mac os. Where as a mac user can run Windows any time they want if need be and just as well as this machine.

Score:

Please wait while we file your abuse report.

We're sorry. We were unable to report abuse at this time.

We limit the number of reactions an individual user can submit over a given period for quality reasons. You have currently reached that limit. Please try resubmitting your abuse report again later.

Comment is too long. Enter 500 characters or less.

Type Comment
(optional)

Please wait while we send the email.

You may send this to 5 e-mail addresses. Please separate each address with a space.

We're sorry, but the item you are sending has been removed from the site.

We're sorry. We were unable to send the email at this time.

Please specify a recipient.

You can only send messages to 5 addresses at a time.

The address "" is not valid.

Subject

Please specify a subject.

Comment
(optional) Send Cancel

Score
vote upvotes up
vote downvotes down

More Photos

In the Studio XPS 13, Dell marries many of the right characteristics to make an excellent MacBook alternative that offers excellent value for a premium product. Unfortunately, it's let down by poor quality control and build, as well as a mediocre keyboard. It's worth thinking seriously about these issues before handing over your card details.

Overall

8/10

Write your own review

Reviewed by Andy Vandervell

25 February 2009

Price as reviewed

£849.99

Comments on Dell Studio XPS 13 - 13.3in Notebook

Overall

Price as reviewed

Comments

Comments

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Awards

Scores in detail

Price as reviewed

Manufacturer

Laptop round-ups

TrustedReviews newsletter

Three of the best Mid to high end Laptops