XPS 12 9Q33 Observations and Questions

I have an XPS 12 9Q23 for work, which I got earlier this year and liked it enough to buy one for home use. I noticed that the 9Q33 had become available since I got the 9Q23, so I went for the 9Q33 with a larger SSD, which I received earlier this week.

I like the XPS 12, but I've experienced some issues with the newer 9Q33.

I placed the new 9Q33 on top of the 9Q23, left it to charge all day and then after work, tried to switch it on. Nothing happened. I tried several times, and each time the only thing which happened was that the power switch lit up for a couple of seconds then went off. I thought straight away that it was broken, but lifted it up, flipped the screen and turned it into tablet mode, then flicked the  power switch and bingo - it started up, so I flipped the screen back, put the laptop down and carried on working.

Having read other threads about the 9Q33 not starting after sleep, I thought my issue might be in some way related, so I followed the instructions to install the latest firmware (I'd already installed all the recommended updates from the Dell support site) from reading the thread http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19517524.aspx and following the guidelines at http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&docid=616684.

Having done all that, I shut down the computer and then tried to switch it on again. I was back to my initial problem - it wouldn't start. By this stage, I was unimpressed that a new piece of pretty expensive kit didn't work, and so I called support, who duly sent an engineer around yesterday with spare parts. Before he arrived, I moved my 9Q33 to a different table so he'd have space to work on it. I'd already filmed a clip of the problem I was having in case it was an intermittent fault and (knowing the law of sod) the laptop just worked when he arrived.

So, having moved it, I tried to start it again and, as you'd expect, it just started. I shut down and powered back on several times and each time it worked. I then put the laptop back on my other XPS-12 and tried again; it wouldn't start.

When the engineer arrived, I explained what was happening and demonstrated both scenarios, at which point he told me that he'd heard such a thing from another engineer, but hadn't really believed it. I found that a piece of thick card was sufficient 'insulation' between the two for the top laptop to boot.

So... Why is this happening? Is there a sensor in the motherboard which, because the lid of the bottom laptop is closed, thinks its own lid is closed?

That brings me on to my second gripe...

The older XPS 12 9Q23 starts quite happily with the lid closed, which is actually how I use it 99% of the time. But regardless of the power setting choices I make on the 9Q33, it will not start with the lid closed. It's a big annoyance for those of us who use laptops in place of desktop or tower PCs to have to open the screen to boot. What changed between the 9Q23 and 9Q33 to remove this feature? I would request that this ability is restored in a future software/BIOS update, depending on how it's controlled.

Otherwise, I'm happy with the XPS 12 spec and size. Perfect for my needs as a desktop replacement (the lid opening hassle aside).