Dell Goes Tablet With the Latitude XT

Today, Dell took the wraps off of the Latitude XT, the only sub-four-pound 12.1-inch LED convertible tablet with capacitive touch technology that enables users to navigate the touchscreen with a finger -- there's no pressure required for the system to recognize input.

Hardware and Software
The 3.5-pound tablet (featuring a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution) offers a capacitive touchscreen for finger or digital pen input, a choice of ultra-low voltage processors (1-GHz Intel Core 2 Solo or 1.2-GHz Core 2 Duo), up to 3GB of RAM, ATI Radeon X1250 UMA graphics, an ExpressCard, and a hard drive capacity ranging from 40GB to 120GB (Dell also offers solid-state drives in 32GB and 64GB capacities). An optional 9-cell battery slice designed to provide all-day endurance (9.5 hours). Dell serves up Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate as the operating systems of choice.

Wireless Connectivity
Wireless capabilities include 802.11n Wi-Fi (featuring a revamped, more intuitive Wi-Fi Catcher), and a choice of integrated 3G mobile broadband from AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. A pull-out antenna is included for enhanced reception. Business users will be happy to learn that the tablet includes a biometric fingerprint reader and TPM.

Availability of the Latitude XT
Dell will begin taking orders for the Latitude XT by the end of the year, with prices starting at $2,499, but users can outfit the the system with a DLV screen specifically designed for outdoors use (400 nits brightness) for $100 more.