It appears that Apple is getting more and more cornered by new market release models in every technological field, including smartphones, tablets and now PCs. With Samsung Galaxy S2 being awarded the best smartphone of the year award and with latest iPad 3 release already being a disappointment for many fans, Apple seems to be losing more ground in the tech supremacy battle.

Now, a new threat comes from Dell with the release of their latest laptop, XPS 13 Ultrabook, which is most likely to beat Apple’s ultra slim MacBook Air.

The XPS Ultrabook is the first important release by Dell in 2012. It has a price tag of only $999 and looks set to beat Apple’s MacBook Air in both price and performance. The first ultra thin model released by a Windows-running laptop claims to have a 13-inch screen in a chassis more like an 11-inch model. In reality, the very slim and small Dell model is slightly smaller than average 13-inch display ultrabooks, and is a mid-range model falling exactly between Apple’s 11 inch MacBook Air and the 13 inch model.

The latest Dell release consists of a 12GB SSD and an Intel Core i5 with 2467M CPU. Still, for these specs, the $999 Dell XPS 13 is quite expensive, given the fact that manufacturers like HP and Toshiba ultrabooks with similar specs for $100 less. A definite plus for Dell’s model is the body mixture of aluminum, magnesium allow and carbon fiber which counts for a smaller footprint.

However, the most shocking drawback is the lack of a SD card slot which most 13-inch notebooks have, even Apple’s MacBook Air.