Dell's new 13.3" XPS M1330 notebook was first covered by DailyTech in early June. The
notebook boasted a sleek new exterior and a larger screen than its predecessor:
the 12.1" XPS
M1210. Dell
officially launched the notebook in late June with a starting price of
$1,299 in Tuxedo Black, Pearl White and Crimson Red.
Since the launch of the XPS M1330, Dell has been having
troubles keeping up with customer demand. Parts shortages and quality problems
with the high-tech paint finish has contributed to customer delays.
Dell discussed the problems at length on the company's Direct2Dell blog site. "Right now, Tuxedo
Black is the only color that is consistently meeting our quality standards.
That's one reason why some customers are getting their orders before
others," said Alex Gruzen, Senior VP for Dell's Consumer Product Group.
"Crimson Red and the Pearl White colors require more coats of paint and
more touches to create the finished product -- that means there is more
opportunity for dust contamination."
Gruzen goes on to explain that it takes up to five coats of
paint to produce an acceptable finish for Pearl White. As a result, Dell had
discontinued the color from future XPS M1330 purchases. Customers who have
already placed an order for an XPS M1330 in Pearl White will still receive
their orders, however.
Gruzen also points to shortages of the LED-backlit display
for the customer shipment delays. "This relatively limited supply base
combined with stronger than anticipated demand-the number of orders has simply
exceeded our expectations --has contributed to the delays," continued
Gruzen. "Our vendors are ramping production as quickly as possible, but
these displays continue to be in short supply."
Customers are still likely to be waiting quite a while to
receive their XPS M1330 systems -- especially if they ordered Pearl White or
Crimson Red. According to Dell, they have only managed to work through roughly
10 percent of their backlog.