Supply a better screen and keyboard on the XPS 15 L521X

August 28, 2012

Posted By:  LaughingJohn

5 Votes

Status: Under Review

Promote

I recently spent a lot of money on a top of the range XPS 15 L521X. Whilst there's a lot to love about this laptop the screen is of very bad quality and has a horrible blue tint. It's almost impossible to get a good color balance and is really not acceptable on a Laptop of this costs and (in other areas) quality.

Secondly the keyboard is pretty poor, especially having to use a function key to get to Home/End and Pg Up/Pg Down. There's lots of wasted space around the keyboard and I see no reason why it couldn't be much better. Chiclet keyboards whilst all the rage are also not very good for serious typing.

I think an otherwise great product has been let down by a couple of very important low quality component.


User-added image

Status update:  Please see Bill_B's comment for further details and understand that we will be limited in what we can share during this process.

5 Votes | 7 Comments | Report Abuse

Please login to IdeaStorm to post a comment.

    Comments :
     

  • Sep 11, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: LaughingJohn

    bill_b,

    Thanks for replying, appreciate it!

    Glad to hear you guys will be looking at the screen next time. It would seem to me that the points of interaction, i.e. the screen, keyboard and trackpad are the most fundamental things to get right as that's how we use the laptop.

    Being a "lucky" UK resident I had to pay about £1700 for this laptop (according to XE that's about $2700) so you can appreciate my expectations at that price point.

    I upgraded because my old XPS (M1530) died (and that had a pretty terrible screen as well). Typically I seem to have missed the good screen in the middle everyone talks about :)

    I appreciate that the gorilla glass constrained the design but it seems pretty daft to go to all that effort to protect what IMHO is a rather poor screen, I'd rather have a decent screen and just have to be a bit careful (or take out insurance).

    It is a shame because in most other other respects (i.e. ignoring the slightly annoying keyboard and the wifi issues) this is a fast, stylish bit of kit. Almost perfect. It's just the attention to detail, which one of your fruit-related competitors seems to get so right, that lets it down.

    It's great you guys are listening, but like the poster below said "fixed in the next £1700/$2700 laptop", isn't quite what I hoped to hear.

    I have considered returning it, but I work for my own very small company and having the laptop is vital. Being without one is a real PIA and costs me even more money (just setting up a new laptop with all the tools I use takes a day), so this time around I'm going to have to live with it. I have to say I may be less likely to buy that shiny new XPS next time around though...

    LJ
    •  

  • Aug 31, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: ameddin73

    bill_b and Cy_J,

    I've had a terrible experience with my XPS 15 L521x for the same reason as LaughingJohn. That is, the screen on my model was terrible. So, I called dell and got it replaced. And it was still terrible. So then I got it replaced again, and it was still terrible.

    Now I come to this forum and bill_b assures me that

    "When selecting the screen for this platform, we were a bit constrained by the field of choices... When we do get the next gen XPS out the door, I think you will be very impressed with the screen we ship."

    Well thanks for charging me 23 hundred dollars for a laptop which you knew had a screen with sub-par quality. But, as you promise that the next generation will improve upon this disservice to customers, am I correct to assume that you will be offering a screen replacement with the new technology or a new laptop to those of us you've really hurt?

    Thanks so much for your help!
    •  

  • Aug 29, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: bill_b

    Thank you for your idea submission. We are planning the next gen XPS now, and we're focusing a lot of attention to the screen. At this point, we're mostly looking at resolution improvements, but color accuracy and viewing angles will be considered. Feedback like this is exactly what we need to look at when thinking through the display issues.

    On the current gen, there is not a whole lot you can do with the color, specifically the blue hue you see. While some may find it too much to deal with, others prefer the hue dispostition as-is. When selecting the screen for this platform, we were a bit constrained by the field of choices. This is because we were dead set on using Corning Gorilla Glass for a lot of customer beneficial reasons. We definitely did not decide to stick with Gorilla Glass based on cost or weight, as it adds to both. We just feel the structural and scratch resistance factors to outweigh the cost and weight detractions. 

    As we see Gorilla Glass maturing in the consumer and procurement markets, we will have more choices and the ability to set and stick to higher specifications for panel selection on future platforms. When we do get the next gen XPS out the door, I think you will be very impressed with the screen we ship.

    If you want to ask other owners how they've dealt with color settings to see if there is an acceptable balance you can strike, I'd suggest you try posting your issue description and steps taken so far on a good community site like our own forums or the Owners' Lounge thread on Notebook Review Forums. 
    •  

  • Aug 29, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: LaughingJohn

    Thanks StigtriX,  I added some comments to the end of the post you suggested!
    •  

  • Aug 29, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: LaughingJohn

    Hi Cy_J,

    Thanks for you comment.

    I haven't contacted Dell support because I assumed that it was just a poor quality screen and that the most support would do was come and replace it with another screen of the same model/quality?

    Thanks,
    LJ.
    •  

  • Aug 29, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By:
    StigtriX

    You might want to look at this idea and add to it: http://www.ideastorm.com/idea2ReadIdea?v=1346234421533&Id=087700000008j0bAAA :)
    •  

  • Aug 28, 2012     Comment Link

    Report Abuse

    Posted By: IdeaStorm Moderator Cy_J

    Thank you for posting your experience and suggestions LaughingJohn.  Did you contact support in your region about the screen issues?