Dell discontinues Pearl White on future XPS M1330 purchases
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.
