Dell Unveils New High-End Ubuntu Linux Laptop

If you’re a developer and like Ubuntu Linux, your coffee may taste sweeter this morning. Dell has unveiled a new Precision M3800 laptop preloaded with the open source operating system and tailored for programmers and high-end applications.

The device is the latest offering to issue from Dell’s Project Sputnik, an initiative to create Ubuntu-powered laptops and additional software tools designed for developers. Project Sputnik launched in 2012 and rolled out its first device, based on the XPS 13 laptop, that December in the United States market. Dell extended the offering to Europe in early 2013.

Project Sputnik had been mostly quiet since that time. That changed this week with the announcement of the Precision M3800 Ubuntu laptop, which boasts even more hardware power than its XPS 13 predecessor. The device sports an Intel fourth-generation i7 CPU, NVIDIA Quadro K1100M graphics, up to 16GB of memory and a 4K Ultra HD screen option, featuring 3840×2160 resolution. (The default resolution is 1920×1080.)

My trusty i5, 4GB laptop is tired just thinking about this latest Linux laptop from Dell.

Of course, specs like these don’t come cheap. Pricing for the newest Project Sputnik laptop, which runs Ubuntu version 14.04, the latest long-term support release of Canonical‘s operating system, starts at $1,533.50. (Opponents of the “Windows Tax” will be happy to know that that’s $101.50 less than the Windows model with the same hardware configuration.) The laptop will be available worldwide, according to Dell.

For a high-end laptop that is also very portable, that’s not a bad price. And given that this is one of the only Linux-based laptops available from a major PC and laptop manufacturer, it will come as a welcome offering for many open source fans.