Hands On With Dell's Next-Generation Tablet PC

Claiming to be the industry's first tablet PC with multitouch technology, Dell's Latitude XT2 laptop has a 12.1-inch WXGA (1,280 x 800) LED touch-screen display that allows the user to control things like scrolling, panning, rotating and zooming, with simple gestures.

Like other tablets, the screen is attached to the base by a single hinge in the center. A simple 180-degree clockwise swivel allows the display to be folded down over the keyboard.







Although the touch-screen is always active, in laptop mode the cursor can be controlled via either an easy-to-use "eraser tip" controller or the standard touch pad.

Swiveling the screen clockwise allows the notebook to be closed with the display facing outward. At this point, the XT2 is in tablet mode and, by default, the display rotates into the portrait orientation. There is also a button that rotates the display an additional 90 degrees clockwise at each push. This makes it a breeze for left-handed users to be comfortable while holding the device. Other buttons include a quick launch button for Dell's ControlPoint system panel, and power and CRTL buttons.

With a small form factor, overall dimensions of the XT2 are 11.7 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches and it weighs approximately 3.62 pounds with standard four-cell battery (3.78 pounds with the optional six-cell battery).









As with most things Dell, the XT2 can be fully customized from a choice of various components. Our evaluation unit had a 1.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9400 processor, running Windows Vista Business on a 120-GB hard drive. The model comes with 1 GB of RAM on board and a slot for an additional DIMM; ours had 3 GB of RAM.

Although not the fastest unit we've tested, the Latitude XT2 has a lot to offer for a tablet in its price class. With a starting MSRP of $2,299, it's a reasonably priced tablet notebook that is a capable computer and comfortable to use.