Dell XPS13

Oct 5, 2012 | Mac, reviews, Technology, Windows | 4 comments

I gave the Mac book air a fair shot. I lasted two months but when with every update, problems weren’t fixed and bugs seemed to get worse, I decided enough was enough. So, two weeks ago I started looking around for alternatives. I’ve decided, I’m sticking with Windows for the foreseeable future but the size of the Mac book air was still really appealing because of its keyboard and its size. Comparable systems on the Windows platform are called Ultra books. There are a few good names in this area. Acer, Toshiba, Sony, Samson and Dell. In fairness to these companies, they are pretty much neck and neck with their offering. They are governed by the limitations of the hardware in the form factor of ultra-books so there aren’t major differences in the specifications. Weight, size, processor, RAM and storage is all very equal among these systems. It wasn’t easy to make a choice based on website specs.

Fortunately, I was very lucky to know several people who could let me spend some time trying out some of the ultra-books from the main providers. HP, Toshiba and Dell were definitely the winners of the bunch for what I wanted. Unfortunately, almost all of the ultra-books I tested felt very flimsy and cheap. Maybe it seems silly, but I want a laptop that’s going to feel and look great. It doesn’t matter that I can’t see it, when I walk into a meeting with this, I want people to know that I take computing seriously and I take care in what I choose. The feel of it is hugely important. A laptop with a spongy keyboard is uncomfortable and sloppy. If it has a big boxy body then it’s just not sexy. Let’s face it; I spend more time on a computer than most. It’s important that I’m happy with everything when I finally settle on buying a laptop.

I finally decided on the Dell XPS. The keyboard is incredibly comfortable, it is very light, the front has a lovely shape, my wrists don’t hit off the touch pad when I’m typing, it has just enough USB ports, the battery life is just about adequate, it’s very quiet and it performs well. Of course, it goes without saying that it has a solid state disk and four GB of RAM.

I put Dell through hell while buying this laptop. The machine I tried out was six months old and it had a number of annoying problems. The wireless adapter frequently dropped the connection and the fan would spin up for absolutely no reason and remain on at full throttle for ages. These were recognised defects in the first model of the XPS13 however from only a day of using this one; it would appear that they have been rectified. I certainly ensured that I got confirmation in writing that the issues had been resolved in the unit I was about to purchase before I made any decision. I was torn between the XPS13 and the XPS14. The extra inch allows Dell to cram a lot more power into the laptop but in the end I decided that portability was a little more important than power at the moment. Plus, although the XPS13 isn’t as powerful as the XPS14, it’s by no means weak. It easily handles Windows 7 and Windows 8, Office 2010, Visual studio, the VSphere client and a plethora of other applications. Also, for the past few years, I find that I spend most of my time on system administration so I don’t need a huge amount of power to get my job done.

So, there you have it, I’ve given up on the Mac. I don’t mind telling you, I’m relieved. If you like, I can go into all the reasons at another stage but for now, all I’ll say is, it’s nice to be more efficient while out and about again.

4 Comments

  1. Stuart

    Hi Darragh.
    I would be very intrested in hering your reasons for switching back to Windows, as I have A Mac myself and i am considering switching back as well.
    Regards.
    Stuart.

    Reply
    • digitaldarragh

      Stuart, Well, it kind of comes down to this. In Windows, your screen reader of choice will most likely automatically read out the part of the interface that is interesting. This with credit to screen reader developers is because they have spent considerable time in determining what needs to be spoken. On the Mac, there is no such automation. Everything you need to get from the interface must be found manually. I found this to be a very inefficient method of computer access. I should probably write about this in more detail. Feel free to remind me at some stage. I should have time over the next few weeks.

      Reply
  2. Jenny

    Sounds like a nice machine. And I thought Macs were supposed to be perfect.
    😀

    Reply
    • digitaldarragh

      Haha Jen, their far from perfect. The build quality is certainly nice but I get the same build quality if not better from the Dell XPS in my opinion. I wouldn’t advise anyone to go for a Mac if they depend on a screen reader. However, of course, that’s my opinion. I’m sure someppeople sware by them.

      Reply

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