The hybrid's smooth curves and carbon-fibre body are reminiscent of the gorgeous Dell XPS 13 but its 12.5in screen can flip 180 degrees to become a ten-point touch tablet. This works in a different way to the Yoga's screen, which folds back on itself leaving the keyboard sitting on your palms: the XPS 12's display rotates on two pins inside its metal frame, leaving the soft-touch lid flush against the keyboard when using the hybrid in tablet mode.The screen itself is a real standout and may be the best part of the XPS 12.The Dell XPS 12 looks like a standard laptop, but the screen is able to rotate, then fold flat, turning into a chubby tablet. It does this in order to let you properly experience the touch-optimised Windows 8 software in tablet form, but provide a full-sized keyboard for getting on with proper work.It might seem a pretty bizarre way of doing things, but it works surprisingly well. It's easy to flip over and feels much more sturdy than it looks. If you're keen to experience Windows 8 on a touchscreen, but can't decide between a tablet or laptop, the XPS 12 is a great compromise.The XPS 12 is running the full-fat version of Windows, allowing you to install all the standard desktop software you would on any Windows machine. Windows 8 is easy to get to grips with, but it's sadly lacking in apps for the moment. If you love playing the latest mobile games, you'd be better suited with an iPad or a Nexus 10, but the XPS 12 gives you access to proper PC games from the likes of Steam.Physically, it's an attractive and well-built machine. The 12-inch display has a Full HD resolution and looks great, making it a good choice for media addicts. It's easily powerful enough to handle all your everyday tasks and has enough juice to tackle things like photo editing too. Protected by Gorilla Glass, it sports a 1920 x 1080 resolution and is exceptionally bright and vivid, excelling both as a traditional screen and a touchscreen.Performance was snappy, and I experienced no delays launching and running apps, watching videos and playing music. The speakers are adequate, with plenty of volume.The system comes with basic connections: two USB 3.0 ports (one with PowerShare, which lets you charge USB-connected devices even when the XPS is powered off or sleeping), a Mini DisplayPort for connecting to an external display and a headphone jack. There's no Ethernet jack nor is there a slot for an SD card.For those who want to check the battery power reserves, there's a nice feature: Press a small button on the right side of the system, and a series of tiny lights illuminates letting you know how much power is left.As an ultrabook, though, the XPS is heavy at 3.35 lb. A MacBook Air with a 13.3-in. screen, for example, weighs nearly a half a pound less at 2.96 lb., and the 13.3-in. Asus Zenbook UX31A Touch weighs in at 3.08 lb., despite its larger screen size.As far as the construction of the XPS 12, Dell has decided to use carbon fiber for its base as well as the top of the notebook. The frame is based on aluminum and the keyboard is using magnesium. Finally, the display is covered with the tough Gorilla Glass that is gaining more and more use in laptops as well as smartphones. All in all, this is not a flimsy notebook and should hold up well with a lot of use, which should make the owners, particularly those who travel a lot, quite happy. Dell says that its owners can expect the rotating hinge for the display to last 20,000 rotations and if that really turns out to be true that should be more than enough for most owners.The notebook itself has curved out its edges on its case; even the backlit keyboard buttons have a somewhat curved design. It gives the notebook more of a modern and slicker look than the normal laptop. Overall, typing on the keyboard is solid and comfortable and the backlit key feature is helpful when the notebook is used at night. The included touchpad is also well designed and easy to use for those folks who want to use the desktop UI and don't have a handy mouse around. The touchpad is a bit harder to use in the "Modern" UI of Windows. It's just not as responsive as we would like with the Windows 8 touch gestures. On the other hand, we suspect most XPS 12 owners will go ahead and simply touch the display itself in that mode, even when it is being used as a notebook.The bottom of the notebook has two horizontal ridges which give the XPS 12 a slight boost upward. The bottom of the case also contains a vent that pushes out the air from the XPS 12's fan. You likely won't hear the fan too much unless you are playing a "Modern" Windows 8 game.It’s expensive, but the price of the XPS 12 is justified by the fact that it’s a first-rate Ultrabook. It’s slim and light, with a powerful processor that will handle most day-to-day computing tasks. Its high-resolution screen is excellent for watching video, and the battery life is very good too.
Lets take a look at BenchMarks Results.....
- Nice Design.
- Nice and Bright Display.
- Excellent build Quality.
- Good Performance.
- Excellent all-in-one Touchpad.
- Poor Battery life.
- Pricey.