Quicklook – Dell XPS M1330

After reading a thread on Flyertalk about the Dell XPS M1330 I decided to make a few photos of my own (recently purchased) M1330 to show off how impressive the design is.

The XPS1330 is the fourth generation XPS notebook. The Dell XPS line sits between their low(er) cost Inspiron line and the business oriented Latitude and Vostro machines.

XPS desktops and laptops have higher specifications, but most importantly; they are better quality. Of course, with better quality comes a higher price. Dell also has a better support department for XPS questions and includes some nice extras like noise isolating headphones. Unlike the cheap(er) machines, the XPS line is virtually free of bloatware.

The standard specifications on all XPS M1330 machines includes an HDMI video port, Firewire, 10/100 Ethernet, VGA out and several USB ports.

The XPS M1330 on display here has a 2.2GHz Core2Duo processor, 4Gb of memory, and a 320Gb HDD. Video is powered by a GeForce 8400M chip, there is Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11n WiFi and a Sprint EVDO Rev.A broadband card.

A handy feature is the Dell “WiFi Catcher”; an integrated WiFi finder that blinks green if WiFi is present without having to turn the machine on.

This is the XPS M1330 on display under my Dell XPS M1210 (their previous 12″ model). Despite a larger screen, the M1330 is actually quite a bit thinner.

When you order your XPS M1330 you have 2 choices of screen; a “normal” display with a 2 megapixel webcamera, or an LED backlit (thinner) screen with a VGA (0.3 megapixel) webcamera. The LED option adds $150. In my case I did not find the advantages of the LED backlight to make it worth the extra cost.

The bottom of the machine has 2 removable panels (I’ve blanked out a few numbers); one covers the memory and CPU, the other the WiFi and wireless broadband card.

It’s easy to remove both panels, and memory installation is a breeze. In theory it is even possible to replace the CPU for a different model, but this isn’t recommended for end users.

The matte black top of the unit is quite a fingerprint magnet, which explains the cleaning cloth Dell delivers with it.

Like most Li-Ion battery packs, this one has a power status bar. Previous machines had this on the back of the battery (inside the machine), but thankfully this one is on the outside. You press the button, and 5 LED’s indicate the charge level.

My device has a Sprint EVDO card, but other options include an ATT HSDPA card which requires a SIM card. The slot for the SIM card is hidden under the battery.

With lower power requirements comes a lighter power brick. If you plan to order a different power supply (like an iGo everywhere) be sure to check your video card; there are 2 versions of power supply for the M1330 and the correct one depends on which video card you have.

The version on display here cost $1299, but you can find a refurbished Dell XPS M1330 for as low as $800. It is available in black, white and red, but you’ll pay extra for the “luxury” of color. As always; be on the lookout for Dell coupons. In my case, a $4 coupon off Ebay saved me over $340.

All in all I’m very happy with my M1330; it’s a well built machine, the specifications are impressive and on the few trips I took it along I never had any reliability issues. Battery life is equally impressive, my 6 cell battery gets me around 3 hours when on medium performance, and my second battery (9 cell lasts another 2 hours more than that).

The only complaints I have about the M1330 are the lack of Gigabit ethernet, the quality of the 9 cell battery pack and an annoying system freeze for a few seconds when I insert or eject a CD.

Dell XPS M1330