All are below 95 degrees, the threshold we consider uncomfortable. The FastAccess Facial Recognition utility recognized our face and logged us into the system in about 5 seconds, which is nice, but no faster than entering a password.Īfter streaming a video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured a cool 79 degrees, the space between the G and H keys was 93, and the middle of the underside was just 90 degrees. The Dell Webcam Central utility let us add effects such as fun backgrounds and avatars, as well as adjust brightness and contrast. Everything was slightly fuzzy, and our hair was an amorphous brown blob. Images from the 1.3-MP webcam on the XPS 13 were warm, and highlighted our skintones well, but lacked detail. We don't see why that last feature could have been an SD card slot instead.
The right side has a mini Display Port, a USB 3.0 port, and a button and four LEDs that show the battery level. The left side of the XPS 13 has the power jack, a powered USB 2.0 port, and a combo headphone and mic jack. It's the easiest way to transfer photos from a digital camera, especially when you're on the go and don't feel like schlepping a USB cable. Not only is the touchpad a spacious 3.9 x 2.4 inches, but the Cypress TrackPad interpreted multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and three- and four-finger flicks quickly, smoothly, and correctly.Ĭlick to EnlargeAlthough we understand there are space considerations with a notebook this slim, we were disappointed by the lack of an SD Card slot on the XPS 13. It seems like Dell is one of the first Windows-based notebook makers to finally figure out how to get mouse buttons to work as part of a touchpad. While you can reverse the function in the BIOS menu (press F2 as the system is starting up to access these settings), it's high time that these were made the primary function by default. Like many notebooks, the XPS 13 requires you to use a function key combination in order to adjust settings such as screen and keyboard brightness as well as the volume.
It's also brighter than on the XPS 14, which makes the layout easier to see at oblique angles. We liked that the backlighting on the keyboard raises up gently, a small but nice touch.
Overall, this is one of the best designed Ultrabooks out there, even if it's missing a key feature (see below).Ĭlick to EnlargeOne of the better keyboards on an Ultrabook, the keys on the XPS 13 are large, nicely spaced and provide a nice amount of travel and snappiness.
Weighing 3 pounds, the XPS 13 isn't the lightest Ultrabook-that honor goes to the 2.4-pound Toshiba Portege Z835-but it's the same weight as the UX31. We especially like the soft touch rubber coating on the magnesium keyboard deck, which feels very comfortable when typing, and is also cool to the touch. On the inside, the edge-to edge Gorilla Glass display lends a degree of sophistication.
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