Dell have begun shipping their first Ultrabook, and for just $999, the Dell XPS 13 does look delicious. XPS 13 has been called one of Dell's best notebook designs to date, and is cheaper than it's Apple counterpart: the MacBook Air. Dell's XPS 13 also has a smaller footprint than competing 13-inch Ultrabooks.

At $999, the base configuration sports a 2nd-generation Intel Core i5-2467M processor at 1.6GHz (up to 2GHz with Turbo Boost), Intel HD Graphics 3000, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive, and a 6-cell battery that is unfortunately, not removable. On top of this, the XPS 13 features a backlit keyboard, 1.3-megapixel webcam, Intel Centrino Advanced-N wireless, all backed up by Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The chassis itself is impressive, constructed from machined aluminum with a carbon fiber composite base and magnesium palm rest with soft touch paint. XPS 13 measures in at just 0.24-inches at its thinnest point, and just 0.71-inches at its thickest. The default configuration weighs in at just 2.99 pounds.

If you'd like a bump in speed and storage, for $500 you can upgrade to the Core i7-2637M processor clocked at 1.7GHz and a 256GB SSD.