Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

[alphadog00]

I completely agree. Why wasn't this laptop thoroughly tested and fixed *before* releasing it to the public?

(and I've owned, used and recommended more Dell laptops, desktops and all-in-ones than you can shake a stick at)

I disagree.... I think the laptop works wonderfully... the biggest bugs - that are minor - have to do with the trackpad and the battery meter.

Everyone uses these things differently - period. And EVERY consumer product has little issues that appear after the fact because testers have bias. Take the trackpad - it does what i want it to do. Most of the time it works fine. How long should a tester test it? At some point they may move to a mouse to test other features.

Some things that people had problems with, I don't use - the 2 finger scroll - and somethings are the responsibility of other product vendors to debug. Product testing may even have been done with an earlier driver, then the vendor may switch in a new one - it doesn't blue screen and seems to work, so it ships.

No products ship without some bugs - things are just to complex. The good companies fix the bugs in a timely manner.

I wish more users on forums could spend time in a software environment and see the iterations of Dev and QA that go on. Testing is extensive, but things still slip through. People make mistakes.

[Dell-Bill_B]

Battery meter issue being worked as we speak. Will update when I have some new information.

Your "no charge light while in S3 state" issue I just sent over. Same goes for that one.

[nipun_jain]

There ya go. Let me know how it goes. I can ask them for a status check if you don't hear back. You can retweet your tweet to me (@BillatDell) if you want to.

Done. Bill, do you have an idea if the systems got shipped out with different style keyboards? Though not-an-issue, but having an Indian Currency symbol was a driving factor for me (I come from India and routinely use this in documents, everytime having to copy paste - thought I'd bid goodbye to that with the XPS 13 keyboard)

[nipun_jain]

Some companies may tell you "you're holding it wrong," or refuse to acknowledge a problem. We don't. Sorry if I'm blowing our own horn, but that ain't us. We're here. We're listening, and for all our short comings, we're acting on customer feedback as quickly as we can.

Of course in a perfect world, the product would suit every customers need. But in the real world, its nice to have the next-best thing, a company listening to it's customers. I appreciate Bill and Dell putting up this much effort.

[Dell-Bill_B]

Done. Bill, do you have an idea if the systems got shipped out with different style keyboards? Though not-an-issue, but having an Indian Currency symbol was a driving factor for me (I come from India and routinely use this in documents, everytime having to copy paste - thought I'd bid goodbye to that with the XPS 13 keyboard)

Just checked. They said they are "just a few tweets away from" yours. Someone should be replying shortly. I also looked for an international keyboard from the US parts list. I only see US English, French, Spanish. Don't see any others. You may have to request one from India tech support if/when you go over for a visit, or from India spare parts and have a friend ship it over. I don't even know if that's accurate advice. Sorry, but that's about all I know about keyboards from regions outside North America.

Edit:
Thanks for the kind words. And that keyboard is not easily customer replaceable, so it looks like my advice here is indeed pretty much useless. Sorry again.

[nipun_jain]

Just checked. They said they are "just a few tweets away from" yours. Someone should be replying shortly. I also looked for an international keyboard from the US parts list. I only see US English, French, Spanish. Don't see any others. You may have to request one from India tech support if/when you go over for a visit, or from India spare parts and have a friend ship it over. I don't even know if that's accurate advice. Sorry, but that's about all I know about keyboards from regions outside North America.

Edit:
Thanks for the kind words. And that keyboard is not easily customer replaceable, so it looks like my advice here is indeed pretty much useless. Sorry again.

Techradar, engadget, CNET, BusinessInsider, Slashgear - all show the international keyboard. All of these reviews are from first page google results for XPS 13 review.

[WebBull]

This is a great thread. It has been extremely helpful. I have a couple basic questions that seem simple but for whatever reason I can't figure out.

1) Is there a way to change the duration that the keyboard stays lit? I wish it would stay lit longer.

2) I am using the Targus 3.0 docking station and I wouldn't recommend it. FYI the model recommend on the Dell website doesn't power the laptop. Also, the first one that came with the order was completely dead. Just received the new one. Anyway, I want to fully close my laptop when hooked up to the docking station however when I close the cover it shuts down or sleeps (depending on setting). How can I fully close the laptop but have it still turned on when hooked up to a docking station?

Thanks!

[alphadog00]

Battery meter issue being worked as we speak. Will update when I have some new information.

Your "no charge light while in S3 state" issue I just sent over. Same goes for that one.

Remind them that the Quickset icon in task tray does not launch quickset.exe - it would be great if it did as that is what brings up all the mobility settings.

[Dustin88]

This is a great thread. It has been extremely helpful. I have a couple basic questions that seem simple but for whatever reason I can't figure out.

1) Is there a way to change the duration that the keyboard stays lit? I wish it would stay lit longer.

2) I am using the Targus 3.0 docking station and I wouldn't recommend it. FYI the model recommend on the Dell website doesn't power the laptop. Also, the first one that came with the order was completely dead. Just received the new one. Anyway, I want to fully close my laptop when hooked up to the docking station however when I close the cover it shuts down or sleeps (depending on setting). How can I fully close the laptop but have it still turned on when hooked up to a docking station?

Thanks!

1) Open the Windows Mobility Center and click on the icon next to Keyboard Brightness. I think the default is 1 minute. I changed it to 30 seconds. This is also where you can turn off the ambient light sensor.

2) You should be able to change it by going to Power Options and clicking "Choose what closing the lid does" and change it to "Do Nothing".

[Dell-Bill_B]

Remind them that the Quickset icon in task tray does not launch quickset.exe - it would be great if it did as that is what brings up all the mobility settings.

I usually just use Windows key + X, but I'll ask about Quickset.