Nearly seven months after the Latitude XT was first shown to the world, Dell is finally making its first Tablet PC available to consumers. Dell says that its new 3.53-pound Latitude XT is a ground-breaking device and is among the thinnest and lightest in its class.
The 12.1" Latitude XT has both pen and capacitive touch technology. Capacitive touch allows users to manipulate items on the screen without the need to apply pressure directly to the display.
"Until now, customers have been forced to make tradeoffs in tablet functionality to have usable systems," said Dell Product Group Director Margaret Franco. "With Capacitive touch technology, the Latitude XT will revolutionize the way customers interact with their systems, allow customers to take full advantage of tablet technology and enables customers to get more done with greater speed and precision."
Dell is taking direct aim at the leaders in the Tablet PC arena and claims that touch response times for its new Latitude are better than the competing Lenovo X61T. The Latitude XT also features advanced digital palm rejection technology for those that regularly write on the screen and uses a digitizer that is ten times more durable than competing solutions.
The Latitude XT is built around Intel's Core 2 Solo and Core 2 Duo ULV processor and comes equipped with a Radeon X1250 graphics core. The Tablet PC also incorporates a full-size keyboard with dual pointers and can accommodate a 64GB solid-state drive or up to a 120GB hard drive.
As previously reported, the display will be available with a traditional CCFL or LED-backlit WXGA display. As is the case with most high-end notebooks and Tablet PCs, the Energy Star 4.0-compliant Latitude XT comes equipped with 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, HSDPA or EVDO Rev A WAN options, biometric fingerprint reader and three USB 2.0 ports. Dell also gives users the option of a 4-cell, 6-cell or 9-cell battery back (the batteries feature a touch-sensitive power meter to report battery life at any given time).
All of the Latitude XT's Tablet PC goodness comes at a price -- the system features a base price of $2,499. Dell will take orders for the system and begin shipments before year's end.
DailyTech first brought you news of the device in late May when Dell announced to the world that it would enter the Tablet PC market. In October, LesDeLLiens.com leaked the specs of the device along with detailed pictures of the device from multiple angles.
