DELL XPS 13

Dell has created an incredibly sexy looking notebook with the XPS 13. It doesn’t matter from which angle you look at it; it is definitely a head turner. This is mainly due tothe choice of materials in the chassis. The lid and most of the base is crafted from machined aluminium and the base is protected by carbon fire. This makes it extremely sturdy and durable, while still maintaining a very slim profile. The notebook measures about 18 mm in depth at its thickest point and weighs around 1.36 kg.Connectivity is the best among ultrabooks. While it’s nice to see USB 3.0, there are just two ports when we normally have three. DisplayPort is a nice addition, but it would have been better if we had HDMI, since the cables are easier to find and are cheaper as well. There’s no card reader present, which is a shame. Other ports include a headphone jack and a battery status indicator.
Inside, we’re greeted by a 13.3-inch display with Corning’s Gorilla Glass for protection. The edge-to-edge glass gives the screen a seamless look and also allows Dell to fit a larger screen into a smaller chassis. Along with the 1.3 MP webcam, there’s an ambient light sensor as well that automatically dims and brightens the display based on the amount of light in the room. The keyboard area has a nice rubber finish and the same extends to the trackpad too.Dell is offering the XPS 13 in three pre-set flavors. We got the base model, which packs in a Core i5-2467M CPU from Intel’s ULV range. The other components  include a 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD.Software-wise, you get some utilities from Dell, like DataSafe Online backup and a webcam utility.
The XPS 13 is certainly quick, but then again, it should be considering the OS resides on an SSD. Typing on the notebook is relatively stress-free and the keys offer a good tactile response. As far as performance goes, it’s very similar to the Lenovo U300s. It manages slightly better performance in PCMark Vantage, but when it comes to video encoding or rendering, the Asus pulls ahead. The audio is quite loud if you’re listening to lounge music, but music that makes heavy use of bass doesn’t sound great.Dell throws in a 47 WHr 6-cell battery that’s non-removable. If you use the ultrabook carefully with a little word processing and browsing, it will easily last you for about 4 to 5 hours. However, if you’re going to watch a lot of videos, then it will drain out a lot quicker. The XPS 13 lasted just 2 hrs in Battery Eater Pro, which is a lot less when compared to the Asus UX31, which lasted for 3 hrs 20 min, and it had a Core i7 CPU.
The Dell XPS 13 range starts from Rs 79,900, which is just too expensive for what’s on offer. Granted, it’s a very well put together ultrabook and it has looks to die for. If thin and light is your main concern, then Acer’s TimeLine X series offers very good, value-for-money notebooks.

SPECIFICATIONS
price  $999

Dimensions (WxHxD):316 x 18 x 205 mm;
Weight:1.36 Kg;CPU:Intel Core i5-2467M, 1.6 GHz;
RAM:4 GB;Display:13.3-inch;GPU:Integrated Intel HD
3000;Storage:128 GB SSD;Optical drive:None;
OS:Windows 7 Home Premium