Dell is often ridiculed for embodying all the bad things about faceless PC makers: they produce an endless supply of boxy, unimaginative PCs that, while functional, are as exciting as rush-hour traffic. But with the help of its XPS brand it is it now arguably as funky as any PC maker.
We are big fans of the
XPS 710 H2C
, we love them
tremendous XPS M2010
, and now we're about to go doolally for the new XPS M1330. It's easy to see why: Dell says it's the world's thinnest 13.3-inch laptop. It's also lighter than Apple's comparables MacBooks and is arguably just as sexy.
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Dell considers the M1330 to be the world's thinnest 13.3-inch notebook. In a way, that's true - the thinnest edge of the wedge-shaped chassis measures just 25mm. Unfortunately, the fatter rear edge is a comparatively puffy 36mm. So, yes, it is thinnest in the world, but it's also probably the thickest.
Still, the wedge shape gives the M1330 a very sleek look - it's a far cry from the lard look
XPS M1210
The three color options (Tuxedo Black, Pearlescent White, and our favorite - Crimson Red) are a welcome change from the norm. The laptop's interior is predictably silver, but it's a slightly futuristic gunmetal silver that makes the laptop look somewhat more expensive.
The keyboard itself feels very nice to type on. Each key offers good feedback, so you'll always know exactly when keystrokes are registering. The mouse trackpad is a bit small, but that solves other problems it causes: it barely exists the likelihood of accidentally touching the pad while typing, and increasing trackpad sensitivity to avoid multiple finger strokes.
Dell has done a lot to make the M1330 look slimmer than its predecessor, the XPS M1210. Notably, the rotating webcam at the top of the screen has been replaced with a less obtrusive, non-rotating model. Resolution has also been dropped from 0 .3 megapixels upped to 2 megapixels, so it can be used for both legitimate self-portraits and web conferencing. The optical drive has been replaced with a beautiful slot-loading DVD drive, and the PC card slot houses a tiny remote control that lets you You can remotely access and control your music and video.
The M1330 is its first consumer laptop with a fingerprint reader. This sits to the right of the laptop below the keyboard and is primarily intended to allow secure logins. However, it has another trick up its sleeve - it can launch various Windows applications, depending depending on which finger you swipe with. This feature is so clever we wonder why nobody has thought of it before. Our only gripe is the fact that the laptop only has two USB ports. If you have a USB add a mouse and another device, you wish you bought a USB hub.
features
The XPS range is all about high performance, so it's no surprise that the XPS M1330 uses the fastest mobile Intel Core 2 Duo CPU available. Both cores in the T7700 run at an impressive 2.2GHz and are powered by 4MB Level 2 cache memory supported. Other CPU options are available including a 2.2GHz T7500, a 1.8GHz T7100 and a 1.5GHz T5250 that will set you £176, Save £387 and £517 respectively.
The M1330 comes with 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory as standard, but this can be upgraded to 2GB for an additional £111, or 4GB for an additional £581, although we suspect that would be excessive. We recommend saving some money, to upgrade from the standard Intel GMA X3100 graphics card to the faster Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M GS. It's by no means the fastest graphics card in the world, but it lets you play games - something many 13-inch laptops can only dream of.
There are two display types available - an LED backlit model and a traditional CCFL version. If you have an extra £82 to spare we recommend the LED version. Not only is it brighter than the CCFL version (300cd/m2 vs 220 cd/m2), but should theoretically also allow longer battery life and protect the environment. Both have an anative resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, which is natural for a screen of this size. The 2 megapixel webcam mentioned above is only available with the CCFL screen - the LED version only has a 0.3 megapixel camera for some reason.
