Dell Latitude XT review

Dell Latitude XT Review

Reviewed by: Sandra Vogel

Reviewed on: 1 July 2008

There's also a fingerprint sensor in the screen frame, along with a scroll wheel and back button on the upper right edge. These are for use in tablet mode only; with the XT in clamshell mode they are hidden under the keyboard facing edge of the screen.

The screen's swivel hinge feels solid and robust and if we have a complaint on this front, it's the locking system. This amounts to two small protrusions to the left and right of the keyboard section, which slot into recesses on the screen section when the laptop is closed and when it's in tablet mode. They make a stab at holding the screen in position, but are rather half-hearted and no substitute for a proper locking system.

Features
Our review sample of the Latitude XT was powered by Intel's 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo U7600 processor and came with 1GB of DDR2 RAM, expandable to 3GB. The operating system is Windows Vista Business, with Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition optionally available.

Graphics are handled by the discrete ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 chipset, while for storage there's a 40GB hard drive spinning at 4,200rpm. You can opt for hard drive capacities up to 120GB or choose solid-state storage in either 32GB or 64GB capacities. This is one of the pricier upgrades, with the 64GB option adding £561 to the overall price, with prices correct at the time of writing.

The Latitude XT comes without an optical drive. If you want one, you can add a MediaBase. This is essentially a slice that fits to the underside of the laptop, adding a DVD +/- RW drive and a number of additional ports and connectors. It will set you back £98.

Our review model had Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g), but not Bluetooth. There is also optional support for 3G/HSDPA connectivity: Vodafone is Dell's network partner and the internal HSDPA card will add £102 to the price (your Vodafone contract is extra).

If the HSDPA module is built in, there's pop-out antenna on the back left edge of the casing. This is on a rotating hinge so you can move it around to get the best signal. The antenna feels flimsy and is easily pulled right out of its socket, so it could easily get lost.

There are plenty of ports and connectors. On the left edge is a single USB 2.0 port and a 4-pin FireWire port. The right edge offers another USB 2.0 port, an ExpressCard slot, an SD card card reader and a pair of audio jacks. This side also has a mechanical switch for the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios and, right next to this, a button that runs an application called Wi-Fi Catcher. This shows all available wireless networks, their security status (locked or open) and signal strength. It's a quick step from here to the Wireless Manager to make a connection.

The back edge carries the mains power connector, VGA out, Ethernet and a third USB 2.0 port. There's also a small power connector for an external optical drive here.

Performance
With its 1.2GHz processor, the Latitude XT is not at the top of the performance league. Its Windows Experience Index (WEI) was 3.5 out of 5.9, which is well down our table of top performers. The WEI corresponds to the lowest component score, which went to Gaming Graphics (3D business and gaming graphics performance).

Other scores were more respectable, with 4.1 for RAM (Memory operations per second) and Graphics (desktop performance for Windows Aero); 4.4 for Processor (calculations per second); and 4.5 for Primary hard disk (Disk data transfer rate).

Battery life could be better, too. We got solid half-day's work out of the Latitude XT, but it needed a power boost during the day to keep it going and a charge at night to ensure that it was ready for work the next day. This is disappointing: the 6-cell primary battery or a second battery may be needed if mobile uptime is critical for you.

Dell offers a three-year basic warranty on the Latitude XT, which is welcome for business users.

Conclusion
The Latitude XT is an extremely handsome Tablet PC and a very usable one, thanks to its excellent screen and keyboard. However, battery life and performance are both disappointing. If you need an optical drive, HSDPA, Bluetooth, a bigger hard drive or (particularly) solid-state storage, you'll find that the price soon mounts up.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday