Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition
Specifications
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Average of 4 scores (from 5 reviews)
Reviews for the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition
Source: Wired Magazine Archive.org version
WIRED Linux without hardware issues. Blazing fast performance. A bunch of welcome developer extras. Decent enough battery life. TIRED Poor Wi-Fi performance. Only two USB ports. No way to upgrade the hardware. A little too rich for what you get.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/04/2013
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Tech Advisor Archive.org version
The XPS 13 Developer Edition has competition: Lenovo's ThinkPad, Apple's MacBook Retina or Air, or Google's Chromebook Pixel. These machines aren't customized for Linux work, but they're technically superior in construction and software certification, and it's nothing for developers to strip what's there and install any operating system they want. It will be interesting, however, to revisit this device once it's fully loaded with all the developer tools Dell has planned.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/06/2013
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: PC World Archive.org version
The XPS 13 Developer Edition has competition: Lenovo’s ThinkPad, Apple’s MacBook Retina or Air, or Google's Chromebook Pixel. These machines aren't customized for Linux work, but they're technically superior in construction and software certification, and it's nothing for developers to strip what's there and install any operating system they want. It will be interesting, however, to revisit this device once it's fully loaded with all the developer tools Dell has planned.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/02/2013
Foreign Reviews
Source: Computer Totaal NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 07/21/2013
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Dinside NO→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/19/2013
Rating: Total score: 83%
Comment
Series:
The Ultrabook concept was announced by Intel at Computex 2011. This new generation of notebooks would use low power Intel processors, have an extremely thin profile and could also include certain tablet functions. We’ve seen a huge number and variants of Ultrabooks by many manufacturers in the first wave of these ‘MacBook Air-killer’ devices. Dell seemed to take it slow and only released their first Ultrabook in the first quarter of 2012. While most manufacturers decided to brand their Ultrabooks under new names and with many variants and sizes, Dell used its already prominent ‘XPS’ range to market theirs with just one size.
The Dell XPS 13 certainly turns heads. Like its bigger brother, the Dell XPS 14Z, it has a curvaceous silver aluminium body with a reduced chassis size for its screen. This makes it real compact even for an Ultrabook. Dell had managed to squeeze a 13 inch display into what they say is an 11 inch body. In reality, it doesn’t really get to that but it is close enough and is definitely smaller than all the other 13 inch Ultrabooks. The XPS13 has a carbon fiber bottom covered with a thin rubberized coating making keeping the laptop firmly in its place when typing. The bonded Corning Gorilla Glass display gives the display a slightly more solid feel.
Dell offers the XPS 13 for 999 € onwards same as the Asus Zenbook UX31 which is its main competitor. However, its 1366 x 768 display resolution is noticeably lower than the when compared to the 1600 x 900 panel on the UX31. Advantages of the XPS 13 over the UX31 include its backlight keyboard, more responsive keys and a smaller size.
Intel HD Graphics 4000: Processor graphics card in the high end Ivy Bridge models. Offers a different clock speed in the different CPU models (ULV to desktop quad core) and therefore a different performance.
Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.
3537U: Fast Ivy-Bridge-based ULV-CPU in Q1 2013. Offers a core clock of 2.0 - 3.1 GHz and an HD 4000 GPU (350 - 1200 MHz). The TDP is rated at 17 W.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
13.30":
There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.
The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Dell: Dell is a U.S. manufacturer (based in Texas) of computer hardware founded in 1984 and is one of the largest international manufacturers in terms of both market share and notebook models. Its product line includes desktops, notebooks, storage systems, monitors, servers, printers, consumer electronics and peripherals. Dell offers laptops that are suitable for various applications, such as business laptops, gaming laptops, ultra portables and workstations. Dell's business laptops from the Latitude and Precision series are an option for professional users and businesses.
In 2023, Dell had an approximate 17% market share of global PC sales, ranking #3 after Lenovo and HP.
For gaming enthusiasts, Dell's Alienware brand is for gaming notebooks.
70.75%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.