Ultrabook, Ultrafast

Editor’s comments

Editorial staff Editor-in-chief and publisher Tom Kolnowski Managing editor Debra McDonald Features editor Kathryn White Senior editors Dawn Davidson, James Hurd, Catherine Luo, and Terrence O’Donnell Art director and cover designer David Chan Designer and illustrator Cynthia Webb Ultrabook, Circulation and logistics Sharon Mendoza Staff writers Romy Bauer, Jeanne Feldkamp, Greg Thomas, and Chris Young ultrafast Contributing writers Natasha Bohorquez, Jeremy Bolen, Justin Braun, Christian Childs, Rafael Colorado, Rahul Deshmukh, Jennifer Erickson, Marty J. Glaser, Brian Johnson, Deepak Kanwar, John Karabaic, Bob Laliberte, Reed Martin, Mike Matthews, Lisa Onstot, Muffadal Quettawala, David Schweighofer, Renny Shen, Timothy Sherbak, Maggie Smith, Stanley L. Stevens, Marc Stitt, Patrick Sweeney, Nicholas Sweere, Jack Todd, Tad Walsh, and Sarah Williams

Contributing photographers Tony Bolding, Lee Kirgan, Bryan Kuntz, and Adran Matte

t was a freeze-frame moment. Our cover illustration for this issue was designed to Advertising and sponsorship sales Sales director Kyle Walkenhorst (626-396-9400) evoke the sense of conducting business-centric computing at speed—in fact, very Sales manager/Western U.S. and South/Central America sales Shaun Mehr (949-923-1660) high speed. As we progressed through the cover concept stage with art director Eastern U.S. and Canada sales Steve Branda (201-483-7871) David Chan, his renderings of a railway passenger at work with the Dell™ XPS™ 13 EMEA and APJ sales Mark Makinney (805-709-4745) Advertising sales assistant Cindy Elhaj (626-396-9400) I Ad coordinator Catherine Luo Ultrabook laptop reminded me of past journeys through a blurred French countryside aboard the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), the country’s high-speed rail service. Sleek, Reader services Subscriptions are complimentary to qualified readers aerodynamic speed demons—a test version of the TGV has laid claim to the record for who complete the online subscription form. To subscribe to the regular quarterly edition of Dell Power Solutions Magazine, the fastest wheeled train at 357.2 mph. visit the Subscription Center at dell.com/powersolutions. Once there, you can sign up for a new subscription, Conducted in less exotic venues, my recent experiences traveling through an array of change your mailing address for a current subscription, or unsubscribe. Going mobile? Visit the digital edition Austin coffee shops, eateries, and office spaces toting Dell’s first Ultrabook nevertheless online at zinio.com/powersolutions. For other subscription services, please e-mail our Reader Services team via revealed some unexpected brushes with sheer speed. Constructed of machined [email protected].

aluminum and carbon fiber, the XPS checks in as expected: ultraportable, ultrathin, About Dell and lightweight—striking a nice balance between traditional notebooks and tablet form Dell Inc., headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, near Austin, listens to its customers and delivers innovative technology and factors, measuring a mere 6–18 mm thin and weighing less than three pounds. services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services This particular XPS 13, equipped with an Intel® Core™ i7 processor running at company and No. 44 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, visit our Web site at dell.com. 1.7 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB solid-state drive, felt purpose-built for speed as Dell cannot be responsible for errors in typography my seat-of-the-pants usage tests quickly demonstrated. With a 64-bit version of or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, Dell KACE, Dell OpenManage, Alienware, AppAssure, Aventail, Aventail End Windows® 7 installed, the XPS awakened from sleep nearly instantly, in something Point Control, Clean VPN, Clean Wireless, Compellent, Data Instant Replay, Data Progression, Dynamic Capacity, less than a second (essentially, less time than it took to fully raise the lid). Lightweight EPC, EqualLogic, ExpressCharge, Fluid Data, Inspiron, Latitude, Mobile Connect, OptiPlex, PowerConnect, browsers and heavyweight image-editing apps came to life at breakneck speed, with PowerEdge, PowerVault, Precision, Remote Instant Replay, the Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 9 browser loading to a fully rendered home page in Replay Manager, SonicWALL, Storage Center, Tri-Metal, and XPS are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other trademarks and trade less than 2 seconds, and Adobe® Photoshop® CS5.1 software launching in less than names may be used in this publication to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. 5 seconds. When it was time to close the clamshell, the XPS went to sleep instantly. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. And a cold boot of Windows 7 took less than 15 seconds to a ready desktop. Dell Power Solutions is published quarterly by Dell Inc., Dell Beyond its build quality and speed, for the always-mobile worker there’s more Power Solutions, One Dell Way, Mail Stop RR3-68, Round Rock, TX 78682, U.S.A. No part of this publication may be to like about the XPS 13, including availability of Dell ProSupport services, a bright, reprinted or otherwise reproduced without permission from the editor-in-chief. Dell does not provide any warranty as edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass 13.3-inch screen, a glass touchpad with gesture to the accuracy of any information provided through Dell Power Solutions. Opinions expressed in this magazine may support, and a compact power adapter. For my next trip aboard the TGV, I plan to not be those of Dell. The information in this publication tuck an XPS into my bag. is subject to change without notice. Any reliance by the end user on the information contained herein is at the end user’s risk. Dell will not be liable for information in any way, including but not limited to its accuracy or completeness. Dell does not accept responsibility for the advertising content of the magazine or for any claims, actions, or losses arising therefrom. Goods, services, and/or advertisements within this publication other than those of Dell are not endorsed by or in any way connected with Dell Inc.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Cover illustration by David Chan

2012 Issue 2