Dell has just released their much anticipated 15.4-inch XPS notebook, the M1530. After receiving stellar reviews for their 13.3-inch M1330, many have been waiting for an XPS laptop that would give the MacBook Pro 15.4-inch a run for its money.

Well, the day has come, and the M1530 is now for sale. But, gleaning specs from Dell’s website, it is obvious that this laptop will not please everyone.

Dell’s XPS M1530 comes in a stylish package reminiscent of its 13.3-inch brother. Its innards consist of the same optional components found in just about any laptop these days, with the notable exceptions of a standard HDMI port, slot-loading optical drive and 2-megapixel camera. Starting at $999, you can upgrade the M1530 to your heart’s content, even adding a 64GB solid state drive.

Unfortunately, there’s one component that can’t be changed, and will likely cause many folks to think twice about buying this notebook. Rather surprisingly, the M1530 has been outfitted with a non-upgradable 1280 x 800 display. Yes–you heard that right–Dell has slapped together their latest XPS with the lowest resolution screen in its class. In addition, the display is not LED-backlit, which is bound to upset those hoping for such an option.

I can forgive Dell trying to keep cost down, but removing the option for at least a 1440 x 900 display really begs the question as to whether the M1550 belongs in the XPS lineup. Should we not expect the stylish XPS design to be coupled with equally pleasing core components?

It looks as though Dell has created a budget-conscious laptop that is slightly ahead of the curve in features and design, but, aside from that, is definitely not the higher-end laptop most were anticipating. This is more of the plain and same coming from Dell–not one of their cool new tech gadgets to spike our interest. In addition to its disappointing display, the M1530 does not appear extraordinarily slim or light, and probably features the same run-of-the-mill build quality found in the M1330. The M1530 is a mix-bag of offerings that is priced to snare casual users that will not scrutinize its low resolution LCD. Power users wanting to upgrade the M1530 to its higher spec options are better off looking elsewhere.

I realize that most of these criticisms stem from the expectation that the M1530 would share the same delightful surprises as the M1330, mainly, a great LCD housed in a razor thin (and light) design. But at $999 it isn’t really fair to compare the M1530 to laptops costing twice as much, such as the MacBook Pro. Clearly, Dell isn’t going after the high-end market with the M1530. However, with standard nVidia graphics, HDMI output and a head-turning design, it is still an exciting option for around a thousand bucks.