Out of the box, the colour and make of the body immediately gives me a macbook sort of feel that’s not quite there. That said, I really like the ash-gray interior that Dell decided to use. It reminds me of a mug that Starbucks was trying to roll out many years ago at selected stores but failed when people started stealing them (yes, they were that pretty).

For some reason the weight of the device surprised me because I was expecting it to be lighter than it looked. That said, it really isn’t heavy and I’ve never been bothered by weight considering I’ve been living with my own personal 3+kg device for the past 4 or 5 years.

Just scanning the exterior, it’s got a really smooth finish with most of the ports on the left side – 1 x HDMI, 2 x USB, 1 x SD card reader, 1 x mini display port, 1 x USB/eSATA with PowerShare and also a battery indicator. On the back is the ethernet port and power input while on the right is the cd drive and also audio ports.

Turning on the device, I’m greeted with the standard Windows log-in screen but this time there’s a facial recognition app that attempts to identify who I am. Of course, since it’s the first time I powered up the machine, it doesn’t recognise me so I have to do a manual log-in. But logging out and logging back in is pretty awesome because once the system is able to recognise you, it automatically signs you into your profile. I’m not sure if there are possibilities of fooling the camera just by using a photo of me but if you’re not so security conscious then it’s a really convenient feature to have.

Putting my hand on the keyboard, I quickly realise how nice it is to be able to type on a backlit keyboard in a dim room. The problem with doing laptop reviews is that you’re switching between laptops often and each one has a slightly different layout and feel to it so touch typing doesn’t always work so I sometimes have to look at where the buttons are. But that’s really difficult when some laptops have no way to light the keyboard area. Some like the Lenovo Thinkpads have the light from the top of the monitor that shines onto the keyboard area but backlit keyboards are the best because it doesn’t depend on the angle of a lightsource.

The one thing that strikes me as a possible problem though is the design of the hinge area between the keyboard and the monitor. I keep thinking it makes for a very good dust repository (which isn’t a good thing).

Perhaps it would make for a good motivation to constantly keep the laptop clean ;p

But let’s see how things go…

• Dell XPS 15z – A work machine you can carry around
• [Pictures] Dell XPS 15z
• 24 Hours with the Dell XPS 15z
• A week with the Dell XPS 15z
• [The Review] Dell XPS 15z
• [Making the Cut] Dell XPS 15z

Ridzuan Ashim
Starting and maintaining Ridz.sg aside, Ridzuan is Co-Founder of Senseless Labs – A software solutions company currently focused on building mobile-based Marketing and CRM solutions. He has been dabbling in both web and mobile development since 2003. His interests include how technology can be used to improve the human condition, poverty alleviation through sustainable development, education and microfinancing.