The ppa-kernel actually helped me on a Panasonic CF-18 which had the same problem under Precise. There were two interfaces under /sys/class/brightness: intel_backlight and panasonic. I think the XF86BrightnessUp only tried to adjust the intel_backlight, which did nothing.
Writing directly to panasonic worked, so I assume it's the same problem. Anyway, running the DellXPS-Kernel -> working backlight hotkeys.
The ppa-kernel actually helped me on a Panasonic CF-18 which had the same problem under Precise. There were two interfaces under /sys/class/ brightness: intel_backlight and panasonic. I think the XF86BrightnessUp only tried to adjust the intel_backlight, which did nothing.
Writing directly to panasonic worked, so I assume it's the same problem. Anyway, running the DellXPS-Kernel -> working backlight hotkeys.
Thanks Kamal!