At first glance, the Dell XPS 11 has it all. It’s sleek, convertible, and has a 2k screen! It’s one of the thinnest and, dare I say, sexiest, Ultrabooks ever released. But will a novel keyboard design be its Achilles’ heel?

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The last time Dell updated their XPS 13 Ultrabook it got a full HD display. Now the Ultrabook has been updated again with Intel’s Haswell CPU, and coming  along for the ride is the XPS 15 which also gets Haswell upgrades but adds in an extra special option: a 3,200 x 1,800 resolution display.

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At Computex 2013, Dell is showing off their new XPS 11 Ultrabook — it’s an impressive combination of many of the latest technologies. First is Haswell / 4th-gen Core, Intel’s latest processor, then there’s a high density 11-inch screen. On top of that, we’re looking at a convertible Ultrabook that flips just like the Lenovo Yoga. Impressive as it may be, we see some early red flags.

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Dell’s XPS 13 has been available for a while and has been well received but a couple of features were not as well liked as others. Next week an updated version of the Ultrabook will be available which addresses one of the major  perceived shortcomings and adds a few other related improvements as well.

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The Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook was well regarded as a first generation Ultrabook when it launched back in early 2012. Unfortunately Dell has done little to keep the XPS 13 competitive with second-generation Ultrabooks. Despite finally upgrading the internals to the latest Ivy Bridge processors from Intel, Dell left the 13.3-inch display with the same measly 1366×768 resolution — not unusable by any means, but not what you expect on a premium device. Now Dell is finally giving the XPS 13 a full 1080p display.

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Dell is now offering the XPS 13 Developer Edition Ultrabook with Ubuntu Pre-installed. The release is the culmination of ‘Project Sputnik‘, an initiative to create a fully supported build of Ubuntu for developers that would work with the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook. The project started back in May when Dell asked the developer community what they wanted in a laptop. The company also passed out some of its Sandy Bridge XPS 13 Ultrabooks to collaborate with the community to port and test drivers and other software. The fruit of Project Sputnik, the XPS 13 Developer Edition, is now available for purchase from Dell.

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After marketing the product as ‘new’ for many months after it had become outdated, Dell has now quietly refreshed its original Ultrabook, the XPS 13, with the latest processors from Intel. You can now find the Dell XPS 13 Starting at $999 on Dell’s site.

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We’re big supporters of what Dell and Canonical are doing with project Sputnik. It’s not just another Ubuntu-based Linux distro, it’s a Linux distro with funding and a defined hardware target and the fact that the hardware target is an Ultrabook makes it even better. If you’re a Linux fan, check out our first post on the subject and then, read-on here…

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Print advert from Dell showing the ‘New’ XPS 13 based on Sandy Bridge next to the New XPS 14 based on Ivy Bridge

At the beginning of June, Computex revealed to the world a flood of new Ultrabooks based on Intel’s third-generation Ivy Bridge platform. These new Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks, which must meet certain criteria to be called an Ultrabook, represent the second generation of Intel’s Ultrabook specification. Dell’s XPS 13 Ultrabook, while well received, is a first generation Ultrabook based on the previous generation Sandy Bridge platform, but this hasn’t stopped the company from branding it as ‘New’ in online and print advertisements.

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The Dell XPS 13, Toshiba Z830, Lenovo U300s and Samsung Series 5 were with me towards the end of week so in addition to the live webcast, I took the opportunity to try and do a round-up video.

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We had some quality time with the Dell XPS 13 and the Lenovo U300s in a side-by-side test during the recent Ultrabooknews Webcast. Here are some notes that might help you choose between these two gorgeous Ultrabooks.

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The Dell XPS 13 is finally in our hands, just in time for the live webcast this evening. Late yesterday evening I managed to get an overview video made and it’s embedded below. It’s a fantastic looking device which a punchy screen and a great keyboard but there’s also an issue of ports. For photographers and videographers, one of the target ‘creative’ markets for the Ultrabook, you’ll miss any form of SD card slot. For those using VGA and HDMI screens, you’ll be annoyed at having to buy one or two adaptors and even more annoyed when you forget to bring them to that presentation! The XPS 13 is certainly not the cheapest Ultrabook, it’s not the lightest either. Will the style be enough for you?

Reminder: Live Webcast starts at 2100hrs (Berlin time)

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