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Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Major handicap: slow 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo

Comes with battery with very low battery life.
Most users would need to pay more to buy a battery with larger capacity.

Whole thing flexes if you type. Unlikely to last a long time.
Keyboard angle poor for ergonomics.

Default scrolling is "bad" requires a lot of "tweaking."
 

Gadgetman99

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 1, 2009
164
0
Major handicap: slow 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo

Comes with battery with very low battery life.
Most users would need to pay more to buy a battery with larger capacity.

Whole thing flexes if you type. Unlikely to last a long time.
Keyboard angle poor for ergonomics.

Default scrolling is "bad" requires a lot of "tweaking."

I completely understand some of the cons, but seeing the video really hits home how thin it is. All the pictures that have come up in the forum show it, but the video REALLY shows it. If they had made the hinge design the same as most laptops, this would really be a design to work with. This really shows what is in store over the next 2-3 years.
 

MacModMachine

macrumors 68020
Apr 3, 2009
2,476
392
Canada
the design looks like trash , what kind of brainless engineer's does michael dell employ....

not to mention it is fragile as hell....
 

Gadgetman99

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 1, 2009
164
0
the design looks like trash , what kind of brainless engineer's does michael dell employ....

not to mention it is fragile as hell....

I really don't understand that comment. If the hinge was normal, this would be a pretty nice design. Of course the rumor is it is fragile. Flexing does not mean fragile. All bridges built are made to flex. If they did not, they would crumble. It seems there are assumptions being made about the flexing. And if the hinge were normal, flexing would not be an issue because the base would be fully supported when used.

The latch system seems to be pretty innovative. The argument that "if the battery is dead, you can't open it" is pretty weak. If the battery is dead, you have no reason to open it. It is a gimmick, but a pretty cool one. If the battery is dead, just plug it in and it will open and boot. Simple.

All that aside, I do not plan to post on this thread anymore. It was not an opening to flame the thing, but simply to say it is REALLY thin, and the new video really exhibits this. Completion is a great thing, and I see this as raising the bar for others (like Apple) to contend with.
 

applesupergeek

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
879
0
Wow a laptop that can't actually be used on one's lap!!!!

What's next dell, a desktop that can't be used on a desk? A mini tower that has to be horizontal.

Who know where dell can go with such innovative thinking...

All that aside, I do not plan to post on this thread anymore. It was not an opening to flame the thing, but simply to say it is REALLY thin, and the new video really exhibits this. Completion is a great thing, and I see this as raising the bar for others (like Apple) to contend with.

Then don't post. Other's have the right to their opinion if they think this thing is fugly. And boy is it ugly. It brings new standards to ugliness. It looks like a lab experiment for an upcoming product in 1996 or something. What an abomination. It's good it runs windows 7, the two complement each other nicely.

They took away the thin-ness factor from apple and have run away with it.

A simple pointer dell: The air is designed to be thin but it's not designed to be crap.

If you make something thin, next time remember not to make it crap too. Remember Dell people, thin is no excuse for crap.

The only way this design could have possibly worked would be if this could be turned into a tablet, that would take advantage of the thin-ness, but to have hing like that to break your wrists, and an angle not opening enough to actually use the thing...well...

Plus let me point out to you that hot swappable batteries are only really required in consumer products if they are crap batteries and have to be swapped. So, another innovation here by dell, throw in a crap battery and make it swappable, wow really sets the bar way up high for apple.
 

mwpeters8182

macrumors 6502
Apr 16, 2003
411
0
Boston, MA
Wow a laptop that can't actually be used on one's lap!!!!

What's next dell, a desktop that can't be used on a desk? A mini tower that has to be horizontal.

Who know where dell can go with such innovative thinking...

IIRC, the manuals for apple notebooks state that they shouldn't be used on your lap. Also, the reviewer says he prefer using it in his lap in the video. So it can be. Though, regardless of the fact that he said he preferred using it that way, the ergonomics of this thing don't seem good, whether not he table or lap.

I don't really see the market for this - the MacBook air is cheaper, and performs better. Is it just Dell saying, "hey, we have engineers too! We don't just cram components into cases!" Especially with the horrid battery life - for something made for people on the go, you want as much battery life as possible. Even if I were to want to run windows 100% of the time, I'd choose the Air over this.
 

NoSmokingBandit

macrumors 68000
Apr 13, 2008
1,579
3
OP, you should have known better than to make a post saying a dell product is neat. Why not just go smack a lion in the face while you are at it, lol. A large amount of people here will bash anything that doesnt have an apple logo on it.

That being said i think the laptop looks a little awkward, but not having used it myself im not going to call it trash or a flawed design. It is incredibly thin though...
 

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
The "freak" in the subject text is very true. This thing is ugly as hell. Dell's designs don't tend to be that bad but this thing is just awful looking. If you show it to someone and say "look how thin it is" they'll say back "look how ugly it is".

I'm not saying Apple could do better at such thin levels but Dell really have gone for the "thin selling point" over general aesthetics.
 

applesupergeek

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
879
0
I'm not saying Apple could do better at such thin levels but Dell really have gone for the "thin selling point" over general aesthetics.

Exactly. Like I said they have really run away with it to the expense to pretty much everything else: battery, performance and aesthetics.

I respect and appreciate their efforts in coming up with something new but you can't help but cringe at how horrible the results. Instead of focusing on a tablet that will be the next evolutionary step in computing (a real effective tablet that is) they have created an ugly fusion of ultra thin and ultra unsightly.
 

zw-gator

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2005
698
5
Canada
thin, yes, but one of the most ugly laptops I've ever seen.

Dell should have just thrown an Atom in there instead of a 1.4ghz C2D, it would have been cooler, temp wise.
 

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
From the side open and closed, I think it looks very nice, but once I look at it from the front, I'm bewildered to how someone can design a computer so hideous.
 

ahfunaki

macrumors newbie
Mar 20, 2009
2
0
i like it.

nothing wrong with thinking outside the box when it comes to design, and i don't see how it's ugly at all?
 

andyOSX

macrumors member
Dec 6, 2008
95
0
Vancouver, BC
2 HOUR BATTERY LIFE!!! and that's advertised! I'd hate to see real world battery performance.

Sure, you could install the THICKER 5 hr batter, but then I guess that kind of kills the whole "thinness" argument, which is really the only thing the laptop has going for it...
 

pukifloyd

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2008
994
93
Scottsdale
it is nice and pretty thin

but the hinge?! what the hell?! it would be so uncomfortable...wont the end of the screen(which will touch our thighs...the thin round part) will hurt our thighs if we keep it on our lap for long hours?(sorry couldn't explain it better...hope you understand..)

and 2hours battery life?!:confused:
 
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