Dell XPS M1530 Review
Dell made a serious effort to listen to customer feedback criticizing Dell’s older, thick and heavy laptops. The result was the amazingly thin and light XPS M1330, one of the sexiest looking notebooks. The new Dell XPS M1530 is an impressive 15.4″ screen notebook designed similar to (just larger than) the very successful 13-inch XPS M1330.
Our pre-production XPS M1530 is equipped with the following specs:
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4 GHz, 3MB Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
- Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium SP1 32 bit Edition (English)
- 4GB (1x2G+1x2G) Dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM
- 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 8600M GT
- 320GB SATA Hard Drive
- Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities
- 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
- Tuxedo Black LCD display with Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam
- 15.4″ Widescreen WXGA (1280×800) TFT Display with TrueLife(TM)
- 1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover
- Palmrest with Fingerprint Reader
- Intel(R) 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-Card
- Dell(TM) Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module
- Dell(TM) Travel Remote Control
- Dell(TM) Media Direct
- Dell(TM) PC-Restore
Inside, the situation is thankfully much the same as on the outside. The aluminum extends to the entire palm rest and gives the XPS a quality feel: there’s no creaking or other signs of a weak frame. The hinge is extremely sturdy and doesn’t wobble the display even with frequent typing. Dell keeps the use of bright blue LEDs (often a problem with gaming notebooks) to a minimum and, like Apple, tucks the two-megapixel webcam neatly away at the top of the lid.
All the same, the design isn’t as slim as it could be. In 15-inch form, the new-look XPS is big — almost too big. The weight is reasonable (5.9 pounds), but at 14 inches wide and as thick as 1.4 inches, the system isn’t nearly as totable as the MacBook Pro or some other systems with a similar-size screen. It does, however, bring a slot-load optical drive; this is a rare treat in an industry which often relies on flimsy and often unsightly tray loaders.
The keyboard and trackpad are, for the most part, surprisingly capable. While the keys are made of plastic, all of them are genuinely comfortable and a pleasure to type on for extended periods. The trackpad is not quite so ideal: while the scroll strips are comfortable enough to use and the pad has a nice feel, the surface area is unusually small for a 15-inch system and (at least in our review unit) sometimes suffers from short-term unresponsiveness after boot-up or coming out of sleep mode.
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