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Ivy Bridge-based Dell XPS 14 ultrabook debuts on Amazon

The Ivy Bridge-based Dell XPS 14 ultrabook is plenty thin and is one of the first to use Intel's power-efficient Ivy Bridge CPUs.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
2 min read
The XPS 13 ultrabook -- the smaller cousin of the XPS 14 leaked by Amazon -- was announced in January.
The XPS 13 ultrabook -- the smaller cousin of the XPS 14 leaked by Amazon -- was announced in January. CNET

Amazon appears to have, in effect, preannounced a Dell 14-inch Ivy Bridge-based ultrabook.

The new XPS 14, which Amazon just listed on its site ("temporarily out of stock," it says), looks pretty enticing, including a thickness of only 0.7 inches, 12 hours of claimed battery life, and the latest version of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors: the most power-efficient U series. Let's check out the specs of the two models.

Dell XPS XPS14-10909sLV:

  • Processor: Intel Core i7 3517U (low-power, 17 watts), 1.90GHz
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Storage: 500GB (possibly hybrid drive with large solid-state cache)
  • OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • Display: up to 1,600-by-900 pixels
  • Thickness: 0.7 inches
  • Weight: three pounds
  • Price: $1,299


Dell XPS XPS14-9092sLV:

  • Processor: Intel Core i5 3317U (low-power, 17 watts), 1.70GHz
  • Memory: 4GB
  • Storage: 500GB (possibly hybrid drive with large solid-state cache)
  • OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • Thickness: 0.7-inches
  • Weight: three pounds
  • Price: $1,199


Additional Amazon product descriptions, via Deron Kershaw of market research firm Gap Intelligence, include 12-hour battery life, Nvidia graphics, machined aluminum with edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass, and a backlit keyboard.

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"It makes sense for Dell to expand its XPS Ultrabook line to include larger displays. Dell has referred to its XPS 14z and 15z line as 'thin and powerful' but the existing lines really weren't that thin compared to newer Ultrabooks," Kershaw said.

Pricing may be a problem for consumers, though. "Goodbye consumers. Prices will remain out of reach for mainstream shoppers as Dell continues its shift toward becoming an enterprise-first company," he added.

That said, the smaller XPS 13 ultrabook is selling well above expectations, a Dell executive told CNET last month. "We can't build enough of them at the moment," said Sam Burd, vice president of Dell's Consumer and SMB (small and medium business) product group, said at the time.

And there are more XPS laptops waiting in the wings. Amazon is also showing a 15-inch XPS laptop.

Dell declined to comment.