SPECS GENERAL
Notebook type Ultrabook ManufacturerDell, Inc.
STORAGE
TypeSolid state
RAM
Memory Speed1333 MHz
TechnologyDDR3 SDRAM
Installed Size4 GB
HARD DRIVE
Type SSD
Capacity128 GB
COMMUNICATIONS
Wireless Protocol802.11a/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
PROCESSOR
CPU Type3rd Gen Core i5
Processor Number3317U
Manufacturer Intel
Clock Speed2.6 GHz
Hard Drive Capacity128 GB
MONITOR
Diagonal Size12.5 in
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
Width12.48 in
Depth8.46 in
Height0.79 in
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Weight3.35 lbs
VIDEO OUTPUT
Graphics ProcessorIntel HD 4000
SUSTAINABILITY
Greenpeace policy rating (Nov 2011)5.1
Made of black carbon fiber and lined with precision-cut aluminum, the Dell XPS 12 is a joy to hold and behold. The lid, deck and bottom sport a soft-touch finish, making it easy to grip. A subtle weave pattern on the lid adds a unique aesthetic.
As with last year's model, the XPS 12's screen rotates within its aluminum frame, so it can be used either as a tablet or a traditional clamshell laptop. Two catches on the top and bottom of the frame hold the screen firmly in place. The frame is sturdy enough that it doesn't flex, even when the screen is in midrotation.
We still find Dell's approach to laptop-tablet hybrids to be the most elegant.
The new XPS 12 weighs 3.2 lbs. -- 3.2 ounces lighter than its predecessor.
Keyboard and Touchpad
t was a joy to type on the Dell XPS 12's backlit island-style keyboard. Keys are generously spaced and provide a satisfying and snappy response, with slight indentations to help keep your fingers on the keys.
As with last year's model, we would have liked it better if the Function-row keys were reversed or if there were a second Fn key on the right to make it easier to use the Function keys.
The 3.9 x 2.4-inch Dell touchpad is spacious and responsive, carrying out Windows 8 gestures like a charm. You can even configure four-finger gestures, thanks to Dell's onboard touchpad management software.
Display
You'll enjoy watching videos on the Dell XPS 12's 12.5-inch Gorilla Glass touch screen. We watched a 1080p trailer for "Elysium" and saw vivid colors and rich details -- such as the grime around Matt Damon's neck tattoos -- on the 1920 x 1080 display. Though we could still clearly see what was on the screen from angles of up to 170 degrees, images got darker once we moved beyond 45-degree viewing angles.
Supporting 10-finger touch, the XPS 12's capacitive touch screen responded accurately to our gestures. We easily switched apps, pinched to zoom in on photos and scrolled through documents and websites. Touching to close browser tabs was a little tricky, as the high resolution of the 12-inch screen made icons very small.
At 259 lux, the XPS 12's display was brighter than the ultraportable average of 238 lux and the VAIO Pro 11's 1080p screen (237 lux). However, the IdeaPad Yoga 11s (1366 x 768) notched a brighter 320 lux.
Audio
The two side-mounted Realtek speakers on the XPS 12 were loud enough to fill a small bedroom with music. We played Justin Timberlake's "Take Back the Night" and found the volume and clarity satisfying, but the music sounded flat and canned, with underwhelming bass.
The Dell XPS 12 comes with Dell Audio (powered by Waves MAXX) to enhance speaker performance. When we played the same song on the MaxxSense preset mode, we experienced a more rounded sound with somewhat stronger bass, but the music still had an overall tinny quality. We got a significant volume boost when we changed the mode to Movie.
Heat
After streaming a full-screen video from Hulu for 15 minutes, the XPS 12 remained relatively cool, with the touchpad measuring 78 degrees Fahrenheit, the space between the G and H keys hitting 88 degrees F and the bottom getting to 83 degrees. We consider temperatures higher than 95 degrees to be uncomfortable.
Webcam
The Dell XPS 12's 1.3-MP camera took sharp 1024p pictures with vibrant colors. We saw bright colors and crisp detail on pictures we snapped both indoors and outdoors, with the red and white stripes on our clothes popping, despite a slight blue overtone.
Ports
For a notebook of its size, the XPS 12 offers a fair number of connectivity options. The left side houses a screen-rotation button, headphone/mic combo jack, power slider, volume rocker and Noble lock slot, while the right side has a power port, miniDisplay port, two USB 3.0 ports and a button that launches a power gauge of five LEDs. There's no SD Card slot, which some may miss.
The 128GB Samsung SSD in our XPS 12 took a mere 10 seconds to boot Windows .
Graphics
With Intel's integrated HD 4400 GPU, the XPS 12 has suitable graphics muscle for playing mainstream games. On 3DMark11, the XPS 12 scored a strong 927 against the category average (749) and beat the VAIO Pro 11 (647) and the Yoga 11s (501).
When we played "World of Warcraft" on autodetect settings at a 1366 x 768 resolution, the XPS 12 delivered a playable 41 frames per second, about the same as the category average (40 fps).
With anything much more than that, though, the XPS 12 had trouble. When we increased the graphics to Max, the frame rate dropped to an unplayable 22 fps. At its native 1920 x 1080 resolution, the XPS 12 delivered a barely playable frame rate of 29 fps on autodetect.
NFC
Dell added near-field communication (NFC) capability to the new XPS 12 in order to facilitate tap-to-pair and tap-to-share between NFC-enabled devices. Although sharing files is limited to Windows 8 devices for now, we were able to quickly send pictures to our Nokia Lumia 1020 via Bluetooth by tapping the two devices together.