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Dell’s latest XPS effort is a Windows 8 powered hybrid ultrabook which transforms from laptop to tablet, and back again, with ease. As a convertible ultrabook, the Dell XPS 12 utilises the same flip-and-fold design – the display can be flipped around, and then folded flat to the base – as last seen on the Dell Inspiron Duo. Dell has dropped the Duo name, which is actually now used by Sony for its own convertible ultrabook, the Sony Vaio Duo 11.
The name change is understandable, as the XPS 12 has little in common with the Dell Inspiron Duo, save for the screen which flips around within a securely framed lid. Looking at the specifications, it's clear that the XPS 12 is in a different category to the Dell with battery like dell CR174 battery, Dell Inspiron E1501 Battery, Dell UY628 Battery, Dell Latitude XT Battery, Dell Latitude XT2 Battery, Dell 312-0650 Battery, Dell MR316 Battery, Dell PU499 Battery, Dell UM178 Battery, Dell WR015 Battery, Dell PU536 Battery, Dell FW273 Battery Inspiron Duo, with our top-end (£1,299) review model boasting an ultrabook-class Intel Core i7-3517U processor instead of a netbook-class Atom, and a 256GB solid-state drive offering significant performance gains over the slower hard drives used in netbooks.
Weighing 1.5kg and measuring 317 x 218 x 24mm (WxDxH), the XPS 12 meets Intel's standard for convertible ultrabooks, although it is just a bit on the heavy side among ultrabooks (convertible or otherwise) that we've seen.
It also has a design more aligned with laptop sensibilities than tablet, with a slightly tapered chassis. This works well on a notebook, but with a tablet the lack of uniform thickness is a little awkward. Unlike the Sony Duo 11, however, it is comfortable to hold, with rounded edges and soft-touch panels across the underside. When using it as a tablet for watching movies or browsing the web, it's comfortable enough, but you'll probably keep it in landscape mode, as the wedge profile puts the screen at a slant when in portrait mode.
The display also has more to offer than just a nifty backflip. The 12.5in screen boasts a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, along with 400-nits of brightness and automatic ambient light sensing – and it's also a touchscreen, tracking ten touch points at once. Covered with Gorilla Glass, it should resist scratching even when kept with the screen out. The audio – which gets some software enhancement with Waves Maxx Audio 4.0 – is solid, but not great, producing a slightly muddied sound.
The physical keyboard is superb. The chiclet keys have the same soft-touch, matte-finish coating used on the rest of the palmrest. There's also more spring to them than is usually found on ultrabooks, and the result is an excellent typing feel. The onscreen keyboard is no better or worse than those on other tablets, but you'll definitely benefit from having the physical keyboard should you want to write anything longer than a tweet. The touchpad also features the soft-touch coating, making it fairly comfortable to use. It's a clickpad, with right and left buttons integrated into the surface of the pad.
Dell has included a rather limited selection of ports and connectivity options with the XPS 12. On the right edge of the tablet are two USB 3.0 ports (one with Sleep and Charge), a power connector, and a button that lets you check the battery power level on an adjacent indicator. On the left, you'll find a headset jack, volume up and down buttons, a screen rotation lock button, and a sliding power switch.
Notably absent, however, is an Ethernet port, meaning that the 802.11n WLAN connection is your only option for getting online, and Bluetooth 3.0 adding wireless pairing for peripherals. You'll also be missing a memory card slot, and any ports for video output. Without any sort of VGA or HDMI output, the only way to pipe content through to a TV is via either a mini DisplayPort (which requires an adapter for HDMI) or via Wi-Di, which will require either a Wi-Di equipped TV or an adapter. This model is aimed at consumers, but an enterprise-focused configuration will be available with Windows 8 Professional, and it will include BitLocker Encryption with Trusted-Platform Module (TPM).
The top-end XPS 12 is also outfitted with a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD). As of now, 256GB is probably the highest capacity SSD you'll see offered in consumer systems, so it's hard to complain about that. Spinning hard drives offer a larger capacity, but are prone to damage when dealing with vibration and movement, both of which are abundant when using a tablet. The XPS 12 has no optical drive, but in this form-factor, it won't be missed.