Dell has been offering a developer edition ultrabook with Ubuntu Linux since 2012. Now the company has updated its Dell XPS 13 “Sputnik” developer edition with a new processor, a touchscreen, and a lower starting price.

The new Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition features an Intel Haswell processor, a full HD touchscreen display, and a starting price of $1249.

Dell Sputnik 3

The base model features a 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, an Intel Core i5-4200U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid state drive. The ultrabook weighs just over 3 pounds and comes with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with 1 year of pro support.

Dell also offers a $1549 model with a  Core i7-4500U processor and 256GB of storage.

Both models are available for purchase in the US, with estimated ship dates of mid-December. Dell plans to offer the developer edition ultrabook in additional countries in the coming months.

There are cheaper ways to run Ubuntu or other Linux-based software on an ultrabook. You could buy your own ultrabook and load an operating system yourself, but you wouldn’t get the same sort of professional support.

Or you could buy a thin and light laptop that comes preloaded with Linux from System76 or ZaReason. Both companies offer models with starting prices of $1000 or less. But Dell’s Sputnik ultrabooks are smaller, lighter, and carry the name of a major PC maker, if that’s the sort of thing that matters to you.

via PC World and Slashdot

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8 replies on “Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition ultrabook with Ubuntu gets Haswell, touchscreen”

  1. The XPS 13 is one of Dells more pleasantly designed notebooks. But they are obese when it comes to the weight. Why do they have to weigh one and a half times as much as Samsung’s S9 or Sony’s Vaio Pro 13…? With the Sony you could argue that the XPS 13 is more sturdy, but against Samsung’s S9, that argument just doesn’t fly.

    Lastly, for a developer laptop, they should either provide a nonreflective touch display or offer an option to let people avoid touch if they don’t want a cosmetics mirror for a display.

  2. Wish these would come to Australia. At the moment my available weapon of choice is a Samsung s3 ARM chromebook running Ubuntu through crouton. Not quite an i5 performer but not bad. C’mon Dell let down under have these

  3. Will I be able to update this to a newer version, or do I have to wait for 14.04, the next LTS version?

  4. A step in the right direction. I’m looking forward to a 15″ model with a a three buttons touchpad (it’s Linux, not a PC/Mac) and without the number pad.

  5. Do the XPS 13 notebooks let you set battery charge thresholds in Ubuntu? Also, any word of 11″ – 12″ Latitude versions with official Linux support?

Comments are closed.