Dell has staged its first foray into the Tablet PC jungle with the Latitude XT – a convertible that combines lightweight form with heavyweight power. While it might be Dell’s first attempt, it has already proven popular and successful since its launch at the beginning of the year.
For those of you wondering, a convertible tablet PC is one that can be used like a standard laptop with vertical screen or it can be twisted so that the screen lies flat like a tablet PC. Where the Latitude XT does differ from many models is that offers the choice of stylus or touch input making it a versatile offering.
As is the Dell way, there are many options available to you when purchasing but you can enjoy 2GB of memory, a 1.2GHz ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor and a 120GB hard drive. All of this hardware is designed primarily to help keep the weight of the system down and it does this particularly well without sacrificing power or usability.
Connectivity is a major part of the Latitude XT and you get pretty much every available connection going. HSDPA Modem, Wi-Fi, and bluetooth are all standard although the vnunet Latitude XT review did report some problems attempting to connect to the Internet using HSDPA – apparently, it’s all good in London but can be shaky (to say the least) anywhere else.
A fingerprint scanner offers biometric security options while an addition Media Unit costing £169 adds DVD-RW and serial and DVI video ports.
All in all, the Latitude XT is still a powerful tablet convertible that remains one of the better options even after several months of having been released. Connectivity is a major factor in its success, and Dell has done a great job of keeping the weight down without sacrificing vital features.
