Dell XPS 12 convertible Ultrabook 

Dell's XPS 12 convertible Ultrabook is an attempt to be all things to all people. By day, it can function as a standard office ultrabook, running Windows 8 in desktop mode and the usual range of productivity applications, with the added benefit of a touchscreen. By night, it can transform into a tablet-style device running the Windows Metro interface — and of course there's nothing stop you using it in tablet mode in the office, to deliver presentations or perform other business functions.

That's the idea, anyway. But does the combination really work? For the price of even the entry-level version of the XPS 12, you can buy a tablet and a laptop, so it really does have to meet both sets of needs well enough to justify the expense.

Hardware and design
Dell XPS 12 is unarguably one of the most beautifully designed laptops in recent times. The attention to detail given to the design of this ultrabook is evident as the device shows class from every corner. The 12.5-inch full HD display of the tablet slides back at the lightest touch, while the magnesium alloy frame that surrounds it seems sturdy and durable. The display of XPS 12 is a treat for movie buffs, as watching videos on this full HD screen is a great experience.

The back cover (lid) of the screen looks good too, and the backlit, chiclet keyboard quite easy to use. The only issue we had with the device was its weight, as it seems rather uncomfortable to be used as a tablet at over 1.5kg.

Features

There are various iterations of the XPS 12 available, with three standard models available off the page (in the UK, where this review was conducted). The entry-level model runs on a 1.8GHz (up to 2.7GHz with Turbo Boost) Core i5-3337U and costs £999 (including VAT), and a 2.0/3.1GHzCore i7-3537U variant is the most expensive, at £1,299 (including VAT). In the US, there are four pre-configured models, with prices ranging from $1,199 to $1,699.

The entry-level XPS12 comes with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, while the most expensive model doubles both of these to 8GB and 256GB, respectively. Our review unit had a 1.9/3.0GHz Core i7-3517U, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

All XPS 12 variants are equipped with Intel's integrated HD Graphics 4000 GPU, dual-band (2.4/5GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n wi-fi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

Performance and battery life

The XPS 12's Windows Experience Index WEI) score of 5.4 (out of 9.9) corresponds to the lowest component score, which went to Graphics (desktop graphics performance). The other scores were 6.4 for Gaming graphics (3D business and gaming graphics performance), 7.1 for Processor (calculations per second), 7.4 for Memory (RAM memory operations per second), and 8.1 to Primary hard disk (disk data transfer rate).