Dell XPS 13 launched, priced thru the roof!

Waiting is now finally over as Dell’s ultrabook brainchild has now officially unveiled in an event held at the Mind Museum BGC Taguig. The Dell XPS 13 is the American company’s first shot at the ultrabook fame and a very impressive attempt at that.

It’s only fitting to showcase the XPS 13’s sexy and well thought of design by equally gifted and sexy models who also featured the intricately designed clothes by Filipino designer Pablo Cabahug.

As for my hands-on experience, here’s what Iâ€™ve observed on the Ultrabook.

At its thinness, this razor-like Ultrabook only measures at 6.8mm and 18mm at its rear (weight starts at 2.99lbs).

The Dell XPS 13 sports a Carbon fiber base for an even lighter weight as compared with other Ultrabook without compromising its durability. The base also doubles as a heat inductor assuring that extended hours of usage of the ultrabook on your lap (or any part your body for that matter) shouldnâ€™t cause any mild burns due to the heat coming out of the system.

The XPS 13’s lid is also tailored with Precision-cut Aluminum that guards it against usual bumps and also adds a touch of sophistication the whole design of the Ultrabook. Protection to your valuable (and expensive) ultrabook doesnâ€™t stop on the outside as the 13â€ display is reinforced with Corning Gorilla Glass from edge-to-edge to shield it against scratches.

Typing in any lighting condition shouldnâ€™t be any concern as the XPS 13 features a backlit Chiclet keys.

As a trend for Ultrabooks, it’s a must that it should be able to wake up from a sleep state in a matter of seconds. Dell has upped the ante by making getting the XPS 13 to wake up in under a second, that’s definitely saying SOMETHING if you ask me. It can also boot up from off state in less than 10 seconds. At the heart of this beast is Intel’s latest processor paired with a SSD that guarantees faster boot up and resume on sleep state.

To keep you company on your long trips or time away without your charger, the XPS 13 is equipped with a battery which is exactly clocked to last at least 8-hours and 53-minutes (talk about precision measurement) on a single full charge. That translates to more productivity while on-the-go and less wasted time charging.

Protection seemed to be in the top priority of Dell engineers when they developed this well-crafted Ultrabook, for a very good and obvious reason; PRICE. As we all know by now Ultrabooks, with all of its sleek design and insane features, doesnâ€™t come cheap and the XPS 13 is no exception. Thus making sure that your Ultrabook will stand a chance against usual bumps and scratches by adding extra shield here and there (at a cost of extra grand or so) is the most rational thing to do. Youâ€™ve already spent a great deal of cash; why not spend a little more to secure your investment.

The XPS 13 line comes in three slightly altered configurations which also differ in pricing.

Dell XPS 13 (V560106PH)
13.3″ WLED display @ 720p
Gorilla Glass Display (edge-to-edge)
Intel Core i5 2467M 1.6GHz
Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.3GHz
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
128GB SSD storage
4GB DDR3 RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
1 3.MP camera
1 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0 with PowerShare
1 x mini DisplayPort
6-cell battery
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Price: Php59,590

Dell XPS 13 (V560107PH)
13.3″ WLED display @ 720p
Gorilla Glass Display (edge-to-edge)
Intel Core i5 2467M 1.6GHz
Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.3GHz
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
256GB SSD storage
4GB DDR3 RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
1 3.MP camera
1 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0 with PowerShare
1 x mini DisplayPort
6-cell battery
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Price: Php71,990

Dell XPS 13 (V560108PH)
13.3″ WLED display @ 720p
Gorilla Glass Display (edge-to-edge)
Intel Core i5 2637M 1.7GHz
Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.8GHz
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
256GB SSD storage
4GB DDR3 RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
1 3.MP camera
1 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0 with PowerShare
1 x mini DisplayPort
6-cell battery
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Price: Php79,990

(Editor’s Note: We had our first look of the Dell XPS 13 over a month ago here but was surprised with their pricing plans for the various variants – Yuga.)

What is the Dell XPS 13's thickness and weight?

The Dell XPS 13 measures 6.8mm at its thinnest and 18mm at the rear, with a starting weight of 2.99lbs.

What materials are used in the Dell XPS 13's construction?

The XPS 13 has a Carbon fiber base and a Precision-cut Aluminum lid, with Corning Gorilla Glass protecting the display.

Does the Dell XPS 13 have a backlit keyboard?

Yes, the Dell XPS 13 features backlit Chiclet keys for typing in any lighting condition.

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48 Comments

Just Click The Next · 13 years ago

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The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who
aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. All the time follow your heart.

Org.uk · 13 years ago

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mav · 14 years ago

i chose a dell xps over a macbook pro 3 years ago. thought i was getting a great deal bec. i was getting better specs on the xps for the same price as a basic macbook package. just shy of the 1 year warranty, the xps’ battery dies. 2 years after purchasing the xps, i needed a new motherboard and decided it was best to get a whole new laptop. ended up with a mavbook pro anyway :| (i wished i used the money on it earlier)
i really hope dell improved with this new xps. 2 years is WAAAY too short for a laptop to be used.
im not a mac fan. ipod yes. but iphone and mac? giving in to having one was like having teeth pulled out. but i learned my lesson, mac’s price gets bawi through the quality years of service.

ice · 14 years ago

Dell XPS 13 (V560108PH)
13.3â€³ WLED display @ 720p
Gorilla Glass Display (edge-to-edge)
Intel Core i5 2637M 1.7GHz – I think you need to correct this one. 2637M is for core i7 not core i5

Mark T · 14 years ago

Abe time for a comparo – HP Folio, Asus Zenbook, Dell XPS. This is going to be a nice one.

Which one has a better value for money vs its specs and overall functionality? Locally, which one has the better product support? Are there existing promos that could give discounts or additional peripherals for the money you paying for?

Some questions I hope you can answer in that article sir.

DON2003 · 14 years ago

at that price, they got it right to launch it at museum and kept in museum thereafter.

Michael · 14 years ago

how about hp folio 13?

bart · 14 years ago

I saw this unboxed in a Cebu City Dell shop last April 11. SRP is around 76k. I didn’t know that there are altered configurations.

Ron · 14 years ago

Are these the ones they’ve been using on Bandila?

Too expensive and Gorilla glass is unnecessary. What? you’d scratch it when you put it in your pocket with some change and keys? I prefer the Asus ultrabooks.

Roegan Taron · 14 years ago

Wanna play moderate to heavy GPU-hogging games using an Ultrabook? Then get the Asus UX32Vd. It has a dedicated GPU (Nvidia GeForce GT620M).

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2864599/asus-zenbook-ux32a-ux32vd-price-specs-ivy-bridge-ultrabook

Asus take my money now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joelan Delota · 14 years ago

Well this was ambitious move for DELL – attacking Phil consumer on that kind of Price range, though got hold of this here at the office -100% an eye candy for sure but I will lock up my cc and cash out of sight – not yet the time to get one not even on employee discount scheme i would say “weeehhhh”

Marc · 14 years ago

This is the best alternative to those power users that doesn’t want to get stuck to Apple’s Mac OS. Form factor wise this is on par with Mac Air.
A true ultrabook. HD3000 is enough for 13″ screen(just like MacAir), this is not intended for gaming obviously. About the pricing, its almost the same as MacAir.

>>IMO a general rule of thumb, a very logical way to properly compare laptop pricing is, first, their screen must be more or less the same in size.

showbiz · 14 years ago

Intel HD 3000 Graphics? It should be paired with a much better graphics card.

digitallysick · 14 years ago

They will never be able to sell it for that with the new macbook refresh on the way soon and sandy bridge chips rolling out at the end of this month. Also, intels road map shows a huge graphics boost soon over the standard intel hd 3000 graphics

Only time will tell. Keep in mind mas malaki parin ang market ng nasa PC/Windows industry kumpara sa Apple/Mac user.

ronsterrr · 14 years ago

sandy bridge? you were probably referring to ivy bridge…

pong · 14 years ago

Waaa kasing mahal ng motorsiklo

weng · 14 years ago

Intel HD 3000 graphics? Hmmm… I think better spec laptops are available for half the price (but twice the weight & size) hehehe

Dre · 14 years ago

and i thought the mid 2011 13″ macbook air was too expensive

Not really, Thats the gadget you’ll get for that premium back then. Plus its traditional Apple pricing.

triadwarfare · 14 years ago

If they are not going to add in a more powerful graphics card, how can there be any competition?

I believe that they should add in AMD or NVIDIA GPUs to make their ultrabooks more appealing.

Adding discrete GPUs(AMD/NVIDIA) will cost you battery life, and AFAIK the key idea behind ultrabooks is battery life aside from the small footprint. As of now, ultrabooks does not cater traditional gamers, so no need for discrete GPUs.