Dell Explains XPS M1330 Production Delay

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/08/03/23340.aspx#comments' target='_blank'>http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/08/03/23340.aspx#comments</a><br /><br /></div><i>"As Lionel mentioned in an earlier post, we have found the production ramp more difficult than we expected—let me take a few minutes to explain the process...One example of this is the painting process. Right now, Tuxedo Black is the only color that is consistently meeting our quality standards. That's one reason why some customers are getting their orders before others. The finish on the XPS M1330 is similar to a custom paint job on a car, but with one additional complexity—on a car, typical viewing occurs from several feet away. With a notebook, the typical viewing range is much closer... sometimes a foot or less. This requires a different level of attention to detail. Why do I bring that up? There was no problem painting hundreds at a time. But as we increased the volume, otherwise manageable factors like dust contamination caused our successful yields to decrease. Adding to the complexity, the Crimson Red and the Pearl White colors require more coats of paint and more touches to create the finished product—that means there is more opportunity for dust contamination."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/sad-dell-sad.jpg" /><br /><br />Well damn. I'm still sitting here waiting for my XPS M1330, and the estimated ship date is still pegged at September 10th, a little under a month away. My Futjisu P7010D has developed a strange hinge problem, so I feel like it's ready to give up at any time...and I don't have a laptop to replace it with! I haven't been charged for the Dell laptop yet, so it's not like Dell is holding onto my money, but I haven't found any other laptop on the market today that matches the XPS M1330 in terms of performance, size, and functionality. So I continue to wait. &lt;grumble>

[Outlaw94]

Thats good to know. I've been looking at getting one for a few weeks now. I wanted the Pearl White but it is no longer available. Do you think this painting problem could be why?

For all their faults I absolutely love Dell. I have had three Dell laptops, one Samsung and one IBm Thinkpad. The Thinkpad had problem after problem. The Samsung's battery was worthless after 8 or 9 months. I have an HP for work and it dies at least twice a year. Their motherboards are horrible. I knew a couple people with Toshibas and they all had issues, some minor some major. The only other brand I had dealth with with no problems is a Sony, but they are pricey in my opinion.

Jason, be patient, I would be hard pressed to buy anything besides a Dell. They are not always on the cutting edge of technology or style but they are sturdy and you can rely on them.

[Macguy59]

Figures. This is the only Windows laptop I've seen in the last 3 years I would consider buying . . . in Crimson Red of course. Based on my limited experience helping a family member, Dell's support is awful and borderline incompetent.

[Jason Dunn]

Thats good to know. I've been looking at getting one for a few weeks now. I wanted the Pearl White but it is no longer available. Do you think this painting problem could be why?

That's 100% the reason why - the Pearl version was taking five coats of paint, so they pulled it until they can figure out a better method.

They are not always on the cutting edge of technology or style but they are sturdy and you can rely on them.

That's what's funny, this is the first Dell laptop I will have bought for myself, and it's mostly for the reasons that it *IS* cutting edge and stylish...! :lol:

[DFurey]

Jason,

You're going to hate me, got mine several weeks ago (black). :D One of my staff ordered a crimson red unit and is still waiting for it to be built, originally ordered July 13. Probaly another two weeks before he'll get it, Dell is receiving new stock of backordered parts this week and next.

We used the Sony Vaio SZ48 previously as our offical notebook for staff. Great screen (led), lightweight, good video and decent battery life. The only problems were horrible corporate support, 2GB RAM limit, older video card (new SZ6 series has new video card), 5400RPM drive standard and extremely poor driver support.

The 1330 is, so far, a great machine. In Australia they don't ship with a Mobile Broadband card (why? I don't know). This was easy to fix by purchasing one from a local retailer and just plugging it in and loading their drivers (Dell drivers didn't work). The 4GB of RAM and 7200RPM drive is great, SSD is still too small for the likes of my IT Department. We use over 80GB on average, virtual servers etc. The video card runs great under Vista and XP. I haven't fiddled with HDMI output yet.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

[gdoerr56]

I'm supposed to receive mine tomorrow, in black of course.

IMHO, all vendor support these days is just this side of useless. The credit I give to Dell is that once you finally convince them that something is broken, they're onsite the next day to fix it.

I've had Toshiba, Dell, IBM and Sony and have had the best experience BY FAR with the Dell. I do like the Sony hardware but they have to write the crappiest drivers known to man to support their unique hardware. Besides, they're Sony and I haven't been a big fan for some time.

The IBMs are OK but always felt flimsy and Toshiba is just awful with bad mobo's and other items.

I'll post my initial impressions when I've had a chance to play with the unit.

[Macguy59]

IMHO, all vendor support these days is just this side of useless. The credit I give to Dell is that once you finally convince them that something is broken, they're onsite the next day to fix it.



My only real experience was a couple of days ago. A family member bought the Inspiron 531S w/19" Samsung widescreen LCD. The screen had 2 clusters of dead/stuck pixels and a verticle line 2" from the right edge. Before we could even discuss the actual problem with them we spent an hour arguing back and forth over the damn serial # on the monitor. Nevermind the # on the monitor, the box and packing slip were the same, the rep insisted it couldn't be correct because it didn't start with a certain letter. Then we got to spend another 30 minutes jumping through the hoops the rep insisted on. Nevermind that I told him from the start that I hooked up another LCD to the 531S and it didn't exhibit the problems (of course I already knew it wouldn't). He kept insisting that it was still possible to be a videocard problem. I finally got a supposed supervisor on the line and told them to send a replacement monitor or we were going to return this system and buy from somebody else. The new monitor should be here tomorrow.

[DFurey]

Dell tried farming our business offshore (India or Malaysia) and it didn't take long before I complained to Customer Service. While there was an issue with communication, English language skills and understanding tech language in English. My main issue was product knowledge, when I asked a question about a rack the rep asked me what a rack was. The last thing I have time for is to have this type of discussion.

We ended up with an Aussie rep and have had zero problems since then. Well, until the XPS 1330 problems.

[Phronetix]

but I haven't found any other laptop on the market today that matches the XPS M1330 in terms of performance, size, and functionality.

Have you looked at the MacBook Pro? Yes, this is a serious suggestion. The 15 inch MBP would make an excellent notebook, even if one decided to use it to run Windows. ;-)





Oh, and yes, I know you knew I'd suggest this. :D

[Jason Dunn]

Have you looked at the MacBook Pro? Yes, this is a serious suggestion. The 15 inch MBP would make an excellent notebook, even if one decided to use it to run Windows. ;-)

Heh. Nope. 15" is too big - I really want something small-ish since this is replacing my 10.6" notebook. The Macbook is better in size at 13", but Apple has hobbled it with sub-par hardware: their 200 GB hard drive option is only 4200 RPM, which would be painful...the Dell offers at 7200 RPM 200 GB drive. They don't even mention the video card, which means it will suck. It's not the Santa Rosa platform, so the CPU is previous generation. Not too sure about the battery life either. Performance matters to me a great deal on this laptop because I'll be throwing RAW files at it.

I will, however, admit to being impressed and tempted by the new iMacs and iLife 08 suite...there's some nice stuff there! :D

[Jason Dunn]

Wow. Lucky guy! :D

The 4GB of RAM and 7200RPM drive is great...Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Are you running 64-bit Vista? I didn't bother going for 4 GB of RAM because 99.99% of all laptops and desktops running 32-bit versions of Vista top out at around 3300 MB of RAM. How much RAM can your M1330 access?

[DFurey]

Not at the moment, running x86 version. We have plans to run x64 in the future as drivers are available (unlike Sony), but we are waiting for x64 printer drivers to be released for our printers (Toshiba 3510c units with Fiery) before doing so (printing being somewhat important).

Just powered up unit to check memory...

Welcome Center reports 3.50GB (3582MB).

Experience Index: 4.0
Processor = 5.1
Memory = 4.8
Graphics = 4.0
Gaming Graphics = 4.6
Primary Hard Disk = 5.2

CPU is a T7500 (2.2GHz)
RAM 4.0GB
160Gb 7200RPM drive
Vista Business

[Jason Dunn]

Just powered up unit to check memory...Welcome Center reports 3.50GB (3582MB).

Thanks for confirming that...the bump to 4 GB of RAM is $600 CAD and I'd be missing 500 MB of RAM...grr.

This should work in the XPS M1330, right?:

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SODIMM for Notebooks

I can get that locally for $129 per 2 GB stick.

[Jason Dunn]

Huh. Just checked the Dell site again and it's $400 CAD for the bump to 4 GB. I think I'll leave my order alone with 2 GB, then slap in the 4 GB myself for $260 CAD and have two 1 GB pieces of memory left over.

It's *really* stupid how much Dell charges for their memory upgrades. :evil:

[DFurey]

It's *really* stupid how much Dell charges for their memory upgrades. :evil:

We source memory from a local supplier (carries all the brands) vs. Dell as well. We get guaranteed compatibility and lifetime warranty on memory, sometimes for less than half the price.

[Janak Parekh]

Heh. Nope. 15" is too big - I really want something small-ish since this is replacing my 10.6" notebook. The Macbook is better in size at 13", but Apple has hobbled it with sub-par hardware...

I think the Macbooks use Intel GMA chipsets, which is likely not for you. The MBP does have GeForce 8600M GTs and the Santa Rosa platform, but it is certainly physically larger. Besides, it'd probably be an expensive solution for someone who'd spend (presumably) 90% of their time in Vista...

--janak

***long quote trimmed by mod JD***

[gdoerr56]

My initial impression after a few days of use is very positive. It is slightly larger that my previous (XPS M1210) but a little lighter. The screen is just beautiful and I really don't see the impact from the VGA camera since I usually use it in Office Communicator.

After removing all the Dell bloatware and installing Avast!, the system is very responsive. Battery life seems reasonable at around 5 hours using email and OneNote, nothing heavy with the 9 cell battery.

I'll likely flatten it next week to make sure all of the bloatware is gone....

2.0 GHz CPU, 2 GB Ram, Intel N WiFi, AT&amp;T Wireless card, LED screen with webcam, Vista Ultimate, 9 cell battery

[Jason Dunn]

Battery life seems reasonable at around 5 hours using email and OneNote, nothing heavy with the 9 cell battery.

5 hours? Not bad. That's going to be one of the two big changes I'll need to get used to: my Fujitsu P7020D would go for a good 10 hours with both batteries, so 5 hours is "bad" compared to what I'm used to. I'll have to force myself to remember that a laptop that powerful lasting 5 hours is a good thing. ;-) The other change I'll need to adapt to is the greater size if the M1330. But I'm still SUPER excited about getting it...

...Vista Ultimate...

I'm a bit surprised you went for Ultimate - I have it on my systems and it's not really worth anything more than Home Premium, unless there's a particular feature you really need (like the ability to change languages).

[Jason Dunn]

Ok, I think Dell is TAUNTING ME. I got home tonight and there was a voice mail from Dell's order verification department, which a phone number to call them back at...but no indication of WHAT they were calling about. And they're now closed. AUGH!! Just ship me my damn laptop Dell!! :evil:

[Phronetix]

Ok, I think Dell is TAUNTING ME. I got home tonight and there was a voice mail from Dell's order verification department, which a phone number to call them back at...but no indication of WHAT they were calling about. And they're now closed. AUGH!! Just ship me my damn laptop Dell!! :evil:

Hmmm. they wanted to offer you a RAM upgrade at half-price? :roll: