Advantages:
This Dell XPS 18 Tablet combines
an all-in-one PC with a lightweight 18-inch tablet, making it a flexible
system for at-home entertainment and productivity. It's
the best of the small handful of current tablet/all-in-one hybrids,
with a subtle, sophisticated design and good Dell XPS 18 Tablet battery life.
Disadvantages:
You're paying a premium for a relatively small screen. Less expensive configurations cut too many corners to be a good deal.
Unlike a large all-in-one desktop screen-stand combo that needs to be
lugged from room to room, the 18-inch touch-screen display on the XPS 18
is easy enough to pick up and carry around. It even has two flip-out
feet for standing up on its own, although I wouldn't count on them as
stable enough for permanent use.
The second major use for a system such as this is as a tabletop PC. That
top-down view still smacks of retro-futurism, an idea most at home in
'80s sci-fi movies or else reminiscent of cocktail table arcade cabinets.
In anecdotal use, we had some fun with the XPS 18 lying flat on its
back, facilitating some basic two-player touch-friendly games --
although the Microsoft app store doesn't make games of this ilk easy to
find, and the screen's top coating had too much finger drag to really
work for fast-packed air hockey/Pong-style games.
The
Dell XPS 18 Tablet, at least in its too-expensive higher-end configuration,
is the best (and best-looking) of the current crop of big-screen
tablet/all-in-one PCs, though keep in mind Lenovo and other PC makers
have new versions on the way. Its practical applications are debatable,
and will be more obvious to some (families and students, perhaps) than
others, but it's certainly fun to play around with.
The XPS 18 looks like a smaller all-in-one desktop at first glance.
Sitting on a hefty industrial-looking stand is a featureless black
screen, with only a Dell logo in the upper left corner and a Windows 8
flag logo below the screen. From the side, it's as thin as or thinner
than most non-tablet all-in-one systems, and feels designed to fade
nicely into the background. An 18-inch screen is on the small side for
an all-in-one, but conversely it's large for a tablet, making this
either bigger or smaller than you might expect, depending on whether
you're viewing it primarily as a desktop or portable device.
That leaves the XPS 18 as the tablet/all-in-one that best represents both sides of its dual nature. Upcoming systems, such as
Lenovo's 27-inch Horizon 27
, will challenge it, but we'll have to wait and see if consumers prefer a large lap-size tablet or a giant tabletop-style one.
That stand is weighted for stability, and has a rotating cradle to hold
the actual PC, allowing you to adjust the angle. The system's power cord
can snake into the dock's hinge and connect, providing power via a
connector built into the cradle. Much like the connector on
Microsoft's Surface Pro
, it's a line of raised copper dots that matches up
with its counterpart on the bottom edge of the tablet. When it's
connected, a lighted strip on the dock activates, letting you know a
connection has been made, which is important, as a little nudging back
and forth was often required to seat the tablet on the stand properly.
Dell XPS 18 Tablet battery:
