The Studio XPS 13 isn’t quite as rugged as the Dell Latitude or Precision business notebooks but it should survive a drop from your desk without significant damage. Construction is mostly magnesium alloy and some plastic with brushed aluminum accents around the hinges and the outer edge of the notebook. In terms of overall chassis construction the Studio XPS 13 is extremely solid and suffers from virtually no flex or creaks when squeezed and twisted between your hands. We aren’t certain how well the leather will hold up over time, but it was durable enough to resist scratches during our testing period. Since many people carry their laptops in their hand with the hinges pointed down this leather area provides a soft, textured surface for you to hold and keep a tight grip on your notebook. We’ve seen leather-wrapped notebooks before, but this subtle use of leather looks a little more appealing and might even be practical. One nice design touch is the use of leather on the lid over the hinge area. That said, the new Studio XPS 13 is thicker and heavier than the older 13-inch notebook.

As mentioned above, the Studio XPS 13 takes several design elements from the XPS M1330: the wedge-shaped profile, drop hinge, slot-loading optical drive, and touch-sensitive media buttons are all hallmarks of the XPS M1330. The Studio XPS 13 does a surprisingly good job balancing mobility with solid design and construction. Unlike the larger 16-inch Studio XPS 16, the Studio XPS 13 is designed for people who need to keep their laptop with them at all times … but need the same high performance found in larger notebooks. They’ve taken the sleek lines and brushed aluminum accents from the XPS line and combined it with the multimedia features and a few chassis design elements from the Studio line to create a solid mobile notebook. The Studio XPS 13 proves that Dell has come a long way since the boring gray laptops from previous years.

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