Dell Announces New Multi-Touch XT2 Tablet

Dell today announced the latest update to their convertible tablet notebook line with the Latitude XT2. This tablet PC with multi-touch screen offers up to 11 hours of battery life in a durable yet lightweight shell. Starting at $2,399, can the Latitude XT2 stimulate businesses to spends some extra cash?

Let's take a closer look at the specs and find out.

Dell prioneered multi-touch technology in tablets with the Latitude XT and we're happy to see the evolution of these multi-touch capabilities in the Latitude XT2. Users can use natural gestures like a pinch or tap for scrolling, panning, rotating and zooming ... and these gestures work with the productivity applications businesses use every day. Unlike notebooks with multi-touch touchpads, the Latitude XT2 allows you to use the full real estate of the display to control your computer.

What exactly does the $2,399 price tag get you? The outstanding features include:

• Up to 11 hours, 28 minutes of battery life with six cell battery and optional 6-cell battery slice
• Daylight Viewable display that has up to 100 percent more luminance than the HP EliteBook 2730p.
• Full-size keyboard, touchpad, point stick and battery-free pen give users input flexibility.
• Combines new processor performance with a highly accurate touch surface to allow you to control small icons on the screen without drops or hangs.
• Comprehensive services options with Dell ProSupport.

Other features include:

• Improved connectivity with new LCD-based wireless antenna design.
• Enhanced hinge design for improved panel stability.
• Comprehensive security features adding Dell ControlVault and ControlPoint Security Manager.
• DDR3 RAM allows better performance and up to 5GB RAM.3
• Manageability with integration of Intel vPro and DASH 1.0 compliance.

We will have a full review of the Dell Latitude XT2 coming soon, so be sure to visit NotebookReview.com and TabletPCReview.com on a regular basis for more updates.

Additional Information:

www.dell.com/latitude

www.direct2dell.com

Full Technical Specifications (Subject to Change):

Processors	Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU9300 (1.2GHz) or SU9400 (1.4GHz)
Graphics	Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Display	12.1" WXGA (1280X800) Standard LED Display or Daylight Viewable LED Display
Weight (Starting)	3.62lbs with 4-cell battery, 3.78lbs with 6-cell battery
Dimensions	1.0" x 11.7" x 8.6"
Battery/Power	4-cell 28W/Hr Li-Ion (standard) 6-cell 42W/Hr Li-Ion (optional) 9-cell 45W/Hr Li-Ion Battery Slice (optional) 45W AC Adapter 65W, 90W, Slim Auto/Air AC Adapters
Memory	1GB (1x1GB on board) DDR3 1066MHz 2GB (1x1GB on board, 1x1GB DIMM) DDR3 1066MHz 3GB (1x1GB on board, 1x2GB DIMM) DDR3 1066MHz 5GB (1x1GB on board, 1x4GB DIMM) DDR3 1066MHz
Hard Drives	80GB/120GB 5400RPM SATA HDD 64GB Ultra Performance SSD
Input	Multi-touch screen and battery-free pen Full-sized keyboard and dual-pointing devices
Operating Systems	Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate Genuine Windows Vista Business Genuine Windows Vista Business 64-bit Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with downgrade to Windows XP Tablet Edition Genuine Windows Vista Business with downgrade to Windows XP Tablet Edition
Connectivity	Dell Wireless 1397(802.11g) Dell Wireless 1510 (802.11 a/g/Draft n 2x2) Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11a/g/Draft n 1x2) Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/Draft n 3x3) Mobile Broadband: Dell Wireless 5720 EV-DOrA Mobile Broadband Minicard Dell Wireless 5530 HSUPA/HSDPA Mobile Broadband Minicard Dell 365 Bluetooth Module Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000)
Ports	1394, USB 2.0 (x2), USB 2.0/eSATA, VGA, RJ-45 , Audio
Media Bay	E-Family modular (external) media bay: 8X DVD-ROM, 24X CDRW/DVD, 8X DVD+/-RW, 2nd Hard Drive
Expansion Slots	54mm ExpressCard, SD card slot
Security Options	Finger Printer reader, Dell ControlVault, Dell ControlPoint Security Manager, TPM7 1.2, Optional Smart Card Reader (via Express Card slot through Dell S&P)
System Management	Intel vPro Technology’s advanced management features, DASH Dell ControlPoint System Manager
Environmental	ENERGY STAR, EPEAT Gold
Docking	Latitude XT2 Media Slice

 

This is a direct competitor to the Lenovo X200t....

Decisions decisions....

 

Though I agree there are certain business applications multi-touch *might* be beneficial for, I fail to see why Dell is pushing this feature hard in a business device and yet there's nothing on their consumer side. It's all a bit of a gee whiz feature until there are applications out there that take advantage of multi-touch, and as far as business apps, there aren't any.

That said, the specs on this machine look nice and the multi-touch feature is a cherry on top.

 

Dell seems to give such a over highly rate on battery life while my XT, claimed to have 4.5 hours on 6-cell, gets only 2 and a bit hours in practice. [lowest brightness + regular browsing]

So, it should be only 6 hour or so with 6-cell + 9-cell battery slice in practice on XT2 too, right? Also, I don't understand why 9-cell battery slice gives only 3Wh over 6-cell regular battery!! That's huge battery, but give only a bit more capacity than half-size one.

If you decide between XT2 & X200T, I will recommend to take X200T any day based on previous round--X61T vs XT--I have both, but always carry X61T and leave XT on the bed.

 

I think their aiming for more of a "Were gonna buy it to look progressive but not use the feature" mentality.

For example, a certain Un-named School district that I know of buys HP Buisness notebooks with a really nice display and fingerprint readers. These computers are then installed with XP and *shudders* Netware v4. The IT guys drop the screen res down to 1024x768, and disable the fingerprint reader for all the notebooks. To top it all off they tape the password and username to the palm-rest of the laptop.

I could see this un-named school district buying these tablets in a heartbeat. And then sticking xp on them.


(Yes, I am just slightly bitter at them.)

 

Seems just a bit pricey to me, despite all the features. Unless that's the $2400 with the SSD - surely they aren't charging that much and giving you a bottom-of-the-barrel hard drive? The memory soldering seems a bit odd, too - can't recall any recent notebooks that have that.

Sounds like the perfect tablet PC to try Windows 7 on, though. Too bad they can't just ship it with the Windows 7 Beta already since it naturally supports multi-touch. Maybe some we'll-send-you-a-license in the future arrangement?

 

XT had pretty crappy battery life, but hopefully they've improved with the XT2. The Latitude and Precisions have long battery life and although Dell still overestimates them, I expect that you should be able to get more than 4 hours on the 6-cell.

 

The new platform should hopefully improve things somewhat battery-wise - will be curious to hear how it does with the 6 cell and the slice.

Unfortunately they're not actually offering the AT&T/HSDPA connectivity yet - only EV-DO. Also, the SSD is an older style MLC model from Samsung, not the more robust and faster SLC drive - I'll be curious to see throughput tests.

 

Good luck to them finding the right XP drivers for such a complicated machine based on Vista. I hope this is a private school, that's pretty wasteful spending of public money if not.

 

Dude, if you've ever worked for any public entity, you know that wasteful spending is the order of the day.

I've personally been a party to spending probably a hundred million in public funds at prices and for services that would make you blush. Nothing will turn you into a libertarian faster than working in the government procurement process. If you have dollars in the bank, they won't be worth much for very long at the rate they're running the presses now.

 

Great find!

This looks very nice.

 

The thing that sucks joice most is screen. Mine is LED one and I don't think Dell has changed anything about N-Trig + screen. So my verdict is don't expect any huge improvement on battery life.

Darn, I still like XT design, only reason I keep it, although it has such a short battery life.

 

They wouldn't even try to find the drivers. And Yes, this is a public school system. That piggy-backs its IT purchases off of LAUSD.

 

its definitely the best looking tablet(i guess thats debatable though)

man how big has dell's lineup gotten?

 

Coolio! That's a nice looking tablet!
(And, a Dell) :yes: lol.


Cin

 

debatable? it looks like a turnaround latitude (=> rather bad). i prefer the 2710p/2730p design.

but it's still an interesting product.

 

I think I'll stick with purchasing the Lenovo X200t for now.

Though that may change once people start getting their hands on the XT2.

I just wish that the price for these tablets weren't so high.

 

'Starting' at $2,399 . . ..

Eeeps . . . .

An interesting product nonetheless . . . .

 

Overpriced and design really could have been better. Reminds me of the old latitude, blekhh.

 

Would be nice if they offered it with a better processor and better speaker(s)..

 

No need to complain about the price. They will offer tons of coupons like always, with very deep discounts once time comes. Last month, Dell Latitude XT (refurb) was offered at $600 with 3 yr warranty. The Latitude E6400 also had a high price tag when first launched.

 

Seconded, while the "new" price is admittedly a tad steep, you can get a First-Gen XT for a song in the outlet!

 

Compromises I am seeing:

1. 1GB DIMM is soldered to the mainboard (note 5GB max w/ 4GB DIMM).
2. Only ULV processors (max 1.4GHz) are offered
3. Only 1.8" drives are used (SSD or small 5400RPM HDD)
4. Battery life number is quoted with 12 or 15 cells [the specs conflict]! No weight is provided for this config (I assume 5+ pounds)
5. The screen sounds nice, but I am curious how it compares to my x200 Tablet w/ 285nit LED backlit AFFS+
6. The weight with 6 cell doesn't seem that great (especially considering the x200T with 8 cell, LV processor, and 2.5" drive is only 0.1 lbs. more)

The Multi-Touch sounds interesting, but I'll stick with what I have.

 

Dammit... I can't even think about machines like this after seeing the price tag.