If you're looking to purchase a powerful, portable and attractive laptop, the $799 (£849, AU$1,799) Dell XPS 13 is a top contender. The notebook features a sleek design, lightweight chassis and a revolutionary display that makes it the smallest 13-inch Ultrabook in its class. In terms of size, this little boxer is actually closer to an 11-inch ultraportable, but it's a powerhouse outfitted with an Intel Core i7 Skylake processor and a fast PCIe solid-state drive (SSD).The XPS 13 may have won the title of best laptop and Ultrabook last year, several worthy competitors have risen to challenge the claim. Lenovo has perfected its 2-in-1 laptop, the $1,199 (£1,449, AU$2,199) Lenovo Yoga 900, and equipped it with enough power to rival Dell's champion. Likewise, Apple has given the $999 (£849, AU$1,549) 13-inch MacBook Air a fresh set of internals and an even longer 12 hours of battery life.Any of these laptops would make for an excellent buy. However, the XPS's innovative display and master class design differentiates it from what is an already-exceptional Ultrabook market.DesignThe Dell XPS 13 truly is a revolutionary device, considering it packs a 13-inch screen into a much smaller frame. It looks deceptively small and, though it feels dense, the ultra-compact machine is light in the hand.Both the top and bottom of the notebook are built from sheets of machined aluminum with a silver anodized finish, similar to the MacBook Air, in sheen and durability. After weeks of tossing the machine about in my travels, it still doesn't show any signs of wear, let alone fingerprints, smudges or scratches.