Dell XPS M1330 review

Average user rating

4.6

mediocre

Average user rating from 10 users

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Dell XPS M1330 user reviews

September 25, 2007

Posted by: J

"Pricey but worth every penny"

What I like:

Cheaper and better than equivalent Sony. Looks just as good.

What I don't like:

Silver keyboard (quibble) 13 inches. My daughter continually taking it. Waiting for build and deliver.

Review:

This is fast, it runs games, it has a nice bright screen, it's portable it has the raw grunt and disk space to run virtual machines.

I'm probably the perfect customer profile for this machine - IT Consultant needing to show professional attitude, visit customer sites and travel a lot with my laptop so don't want excess weight, yet occasionally need very large amounts of desktop sized grunt and storage when I get there.

That's probably a pretty good description of what the machine's good for. If you bought one just to run office or mobile games it would go darn fast but I can't help thinking you are missing a cheaper option somewhere else that woudl pass the minimum specificaton.

The clear competitor is the equivalent Sony, currently the SZ4. Thing is... The Dell is so much cheaper you can stack its base specification well beyond the stock SZ4 on memory, disk etc. within Dell's system builder and still have change. Want 4GB? Want a brighter screen? Want the fastest dual core? Want it all? Play with the configurator at Dell and see what you could put on board for Sony money. (Correct at Aug 2007).

One very big downside here of course - while you can go to Dabs excellent site and see if they have your SZ4 right here right now, you really are going to have to wait a while for the Dell, especially if you tweaked it up from standard.

One important thing you may not pick up elsewhere: The lid is that sort of clingy rubberised feel so it is actually safe to go for the crimson option knowing it will be matt rather than gloss when you receive it; distinctive yet remaining distinctly elegant and business suitable rather than flashy. (Ferrari and Lamborghini laptop owners eat your heart out).

I can't help saying though, that I was a little dissapointed with the keyboard. Not it's feel or anything as that was fine. It's just that the word "anti-climax" can't help springing into your mind as after that gorgeous crimson lid the inside is well - adequate verging on bog standard. I can see what the designers had in mind but whether it's the grain of the aluminium brushing being too coarse or whatever I couldn't say but it just doesn't "wow" the same at that point and here I am quiet sure the Sony will beat it. ...A machine to point lid first across the table at anyone you want to impress!

I am also finding that I'm still using my 15" Acer 803LMi very heavily still. I have it propped up on a notebook stand in the office with an extra keyboard and at home base the extra screen space (non widescreen!) really does make it my preferred machine at that locale. The Dell remains strictly for carrying out to client locations whatever its benefits over the 2/3 year old Travelmate (which to be fair was and is an astoundingly thin and heavily stacked machine for it's age).

I think that's about it. I've pretty much covered what it's good for at the price, why you would want one and what's likely to disappoint - though that is mostly the inevitable form factor compromise of 13 inch widescreen and the delivery wait