Dell XPS M2010 review

Twenty odd years ago, there was no such thing as a laptop and the only portable computers you could buy were called 'luggables'.

The size and shape of a suitcase and with a handle on top, these beige behemoths could, with suitable army training, be carried around - or, as the name suggests, lugged. When you reached your destination, you simply dropped them on the desk, folded open the keyboard and typed away using the tiny monochrome screen.

So when we first unpacked the Dell XPS M2010, we thought we'd entered a parallel universe. Dell describes this PC as something that "redefines mobile entertainment", but at first glance, it looks more like a luggable of old redefined for the 21st Century.

Portable PC?

Despite its enormous dimensions, the M2010 is, technically, a portable PC - it has the handle to prove it. It isn't, however, designed to be carried to and from the office each day. Instead, the intention is that you treat is as a desktop PC and only fold it up and carry it around occasionally - when you need some extra desk space, for example, or need to work in a different location for a time. It still has a battery, but since this only lasts for around 1 and a half hours (which is actually not that bad, all things considered), you're better off treating this as an emergency supply in the event of a power cut rather than a portable power source.

Enormous screen

The first of the M2010's standout features is its screen, which is a massive 20 inches from corner to corner - far bigger than any laptop screen we've ever seen. What's more, when you open the M2010, the hinges push the screen up to roughly eye level. This is much better than a normal laptop, which requires you to hunch over its screen. This also makes the display more visible when you want to sit further back and watch a film. The quality of the screen was excellent too - colours were bright and vivid with deep blacks and a clean crisp image quality. The screen's response time is 12ms, not the fastest we've seen, but there was no noticeable blurring in our games tests. Our only misgiving was with the screen's glossy coating. Yes, on the one hand, you get sharp details and rich colours, but on the other, it means the screen is very reflective. You'll have to make sure you position the M2010 carefully, otherwise it will end up doubling up as a mirror. The screen also had some difficulty distinguishing between different shades at the very bright end of the colour scale, but this will only bother amateur photographers with a keen eye for colour accuracy. On the whole we were pleased with the image quality.

It's all very well for a game or a DVD to look good, but if you can't hear it, you still won't enjoy it that much. Fortunately, Dell has thought of this too. Rather than the puny stereo speakers that are built into most laptops, the M2010 has eight satellite speakers and a subwoofer built into into its case. These certainly aren't tinny - with the sound cranked up, they're deafening. Disappointingly though, bass was still a bit underwhelming, subwoofer notwithstanding. This is fairly normal for PC with built-in speakers, but for two and half grand, we had hoped for something better.

How much?

The keyboard is far easier to use than that of a typical desktop replacement laptop too. It is, in fact, a full size desktop keyboard, complete with numeric keypad and once detached from the main PC, communicates via Bluetooth. As with the stand-up screen, this means that you won't have to hunch over the M2010. The responsive trackpad lets you control the system from quite a distance - we kept control at over 5m. Typing, either from the sofa or with the keyboard docked and recharging, is much better than on most laptops too. The keys have a full amount of travel and are a league apart from the Scrabble tile-like keys found on most portable PCs. In all, the M2010 showcases technology as it should be - simple, powerful and elegant.