So today I took delivery of my shiny new XPS M1330, here is my thoughts so far [end of day 1]

Background:

For years (and years…) I have been using a Dell Inspiron 1100.  I think of it as the little laptop that could.  I had a P4 and 1Gb of RAM but it didn’t take much to bring it to a halt.  It also generated enough heat that I had global warming protesters picketed outside for a month… I tried Vista on it and it had a WEI of 1, and to top it off I cannot live in 1024x768 for one more day!

So trying to run the latest hotness like Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 betas was completely out of the question.

It would also blue screen switching between screen and VGA out.  OK, enough space spent on the old, bring on the new!

The new hotness

So I bit the bullet and went in for a new laptop.  After much research I chose the Dell XPS M1330.  In red.  Pillar box red.  Sexy lingerie red.  Very very red.

While the 64Gb Solid State hard drive would have been an awesome inclusion, for the extra $1000 I just couldn’t do it.

Out of Box experience.

It comes in an XPS sleeve that is actually pretty good quality, down to magnetic fasteners and neoprene sides.

Further investigation revealed a folder to keep the CDs and manuals.  It looked something like an executive folder you might take to a meeting.  A nice surprise in there was an XPS microfibre cloth.

The first thing I noticed was the weight.  This is one very light machine.  Thin, small and light. 

Upon plugging it in, the screen struck me as being exactly what the doctor ordered for the 1024x768 blues.  It is clear, bright and crisp.  Also very thin!

Design, design, design

It’s the details. 

If you search for pictures of the M1330 you will always come up with a side profile but the coolness of the hinge design for the lid didn’t dawn on me until I saw it – no, until I felt it.

At the top of the keyboard are a set of controls to eject the CD/DVD, control the audio & playback etc.  These are not buttons per se, but little touch sensitive spots that glow when you touch them.  Very cool.

The XPS M1330 comes with Creative EP-630 Noise Isolation earphones that compare quite favourably to my standard work wear – Philips SHP805.  They have 3 sizes of rubber seal for your ear, dunno how they feel when used for extended periods yet.  This was a nice surprise.

...and there are other little supprises all throughout this machine.  Someone, somewhere put thought into the design of this machine and it shows.

Now, to uninstall the crapware…

Having had a bit to do with Dell over the years, first thing I always do is open Control Panel and uninstall the bloat.  I was pleased to see so little preinstalled on my machine.

I removed:

• Google Desktop
• Google IE Toolbar
• Microsoft Works  (I have Office and didn’t want to pay for a redundant CAL, so Works is the only choice when ordering)

Things that may go if they show me the first sign of trouble, but can stay for now:

• Dell Browser Address Error Redirection (whatever that is!)
• Roxio Creator Home

So, what’s not to like:

There are a couple of minor things – so minor I only list them for completeness.  None of these are an obstacle to being very happy with this machine:

1. When you eject a CD the sound is like strangling a pigeon. Don’t ask me how I know what that sounds like, it just does.
2. Chipset does not support Intel VT.  I use Virtual PC a lot, but VMs run fine without it.
3. The system comes with a 10Gb recovery partition.  This isn’t a worry to me with 250Gb but if I had gone for the 64Gb Solid State drive for the extra thou’ I would be nuking this straight away
4. The battery in the media remote is tricky to seat properly. 

The Essential Stats:

Dell XPS M1330

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo @ T7500 2.2Ghz

OS: Windows Vista Business 32 Bit

RAM: 4Gb RAM installed – 3.5Gb Visible to 32bit OS

WEI:  4.0, broken down as follows

• processor: 5.1
• RAM: 4.8
• Graphics: 4.0
• Gaming Graphics: 4.5
• Primary Hard Disk: 5.2
  

Video: NVidia 8400M GS w/ 128Mb RAM – 1280 x 800 x 32 on 13.3”

HDD: 250Gb WD SATA

Overall

Since it is only day 1 I can't be definitive, but this machine shows every sign of being a great developer PC.  Recommended.