Dell XPS One review

Mention the all-in-one desktop PC concept to an Apple fan and they'll laugh in your face, such is the dominance of the iMac in this market.

In the PC world, the whole computer-crammed-in-a-monitor idea hasn't proved so popular, despite attempts by giants such as Sony. Can Dell's new XPS One change that?

First impressions were certainly positive. Our test unit was the pricier red model - the entry level variant comes in black - and as soon as we sneaked it into the lab and started unpacking it we drew a cooing crowd of colleagues, all trying to stroke its angular back and paw at its glass base. (They're like that in the lab.) There's no denying that it's a beautiful piece of industrial design, even with a pair of speakers extending out from the sides of the screen, a feature with obvious stereo-related motivations but one that always seems to end up looking cumbersome. The silver stand is minimalist both in form and function - it doesn't do height adjustment or rotating to portrait mode - but it's sturdy, and most people will find the screen sits at a nice height for everyday use.

As with the iMac, the XPS' power cord has a specially designed plug that sits flush with the rear panel and is colour-matched to it, which makes the choice of light grey cabling a bit odd. On either side of it you'll find a plethora of useful ports. There's Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire;S/PDIF and 2.1 audio connectors for analogue or digital speakers; and inputs for the installed TV tuner. Unfortunately this is only a single hybrid tuner, so you can choose either analogue or digital reception but you can't record one channel and watch another. Sony made the same mistake with its TP1E entertainment PC; for the sake of a very small number of quid, the appeal of the machine as an entertainment centre, and especially as a living room PC, is needlessly limited.

The screen itself is a 20 incher with the usual 1680x1050 resolution, and sailed through all of our tests with ease. Colours were accurate and clear, gradients were smooth, and motion was handled without any blurring, even in fast moving scenes. It was bright in light scenes and dark when necessary, making it a very good telly in its own right.

Glazed expression

But Dell hasn't stopped there. At first glance, the surrounding glass is blank (no plastic bezels here, the front is one solid glass sheet), but when you wave a hand within six inches of the bottom corner, a sensor illuminates a beautiful array of blue-lit controls. They're all touch-sensitive, with just a little buzz of feedback to let you know you've activated one. After ten seconds the lights dim back again, so as not to distract from the screen.

It's a beautiful control scheme, and you get the same touch-sensitive buttons (this time without blue lights) on the media keyboard. It connects via radio - you don't have to worry about 'pairing' it with the PC, like with Bluetooth - and we found it very responsive. A small but surprisingly usable touchpad gives you limited freedom to surf from the sofa, and there's a standard mouse for use on a desk as well. When not in use, the keyboard is thin and light enough to stow away with ease.

We played a few movies and found it an impressive experience. The 5 watt speakers produce a sound closer to good TV speakers than those usually found on a monitor, with plenty of bass and enough volume to fill a living room. We'd have loved to have played some HD movies, but here's another bizarre omission: Dell isn't offering a Blu-ray drive, even as an option. You can get one in the States, and Dell told us it'll be available in the UK 'this year', but for the moment it's another reason why the XPS doesn't quite feel like the ultimate media PC.