It's absolutely no secret that Dell's been working on a tablet PC -- we've been hearing about the damn thing since as far back as mid 2004 (no joke!) and the company did
promise it in 2007, which it's almost not. What took them so long to get it out the door we've no idea, but it's hard to deny the appeal of this little ThinkPad-esque bugger. Here are
those specs which you've
absolutely never seen before:
- 12.1-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) in CCFL ("outdoor display," up to 400cd/m2) and LED backlight options
- Capacitive touchscreen(!!) with palm detection (this, if anything, could enable that supposed multi-touch), and active digitizer.
- Intel Core 2 Solo or Duo ULV at 1.06 and 1.2GHz, respectively
- ATI Radeon X1250 UMA Graphics
- Up to 3GB memory, runs Vista Ultimate or Business
- 40GB or 80GB 4200 RPM drive, 120GB 5400 RPM drive, or 32GB or 64GB SSD
- HSDPA or EVDO rev A., 802.11a/b/g/n options, Bluetooth 2.0, and gigabit Ethernet connectivity
- ExpressCard54 and SD slots, 1394, VGA, (3) USB 2.0
- Scroll wheel, biometric reader, TPM 1.2, super low profile power adapter
- Up to 5 hours battery life with standard 43WH pack, up to 9 hours with extended 45WH pack; Energy Star 4.0 compliant
- 3.57 pounds (presumably without battery), 1-inch thick
- Starts at $2500
Okay, we'll hand it to these guys, alongside the
M1330 the
Latitude XT is the sexiest machine Dell's ever produced -- and the addition of a capacitive touchscreen totally blew our minds. But $2500 for the most stripped down option? Dell just priced itself right out of the game, if you ask us.
Hands-on coming right up.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bhoff @ Dec 11th 2007 12:05AM
thats sexy?
Johnny @ Dec 11th 2007 11:20AM
Yeah, it's not ugly or anything, but certainly too ordinary to be called sexy.
zebrum @ Dec 11th 2007 2:23PM
About as sexy as my sack. I thought those ugly swivel tablets died off ages ago.
Chino B @ Dec 11th 2007 12:06AM
HP TX1000 FTW!! DELL sells expensive crap. TX1000 is only $1000, and u you add a 30off coupon = $720+.
ark_v2 @ Dec 11th 2007 1:13AM
It isn't even a tablet. It depends on pressure to work. It's fun to play with but it doesn't work as a tablet.
andy @ Dec 11th 2007 12:08AM
OK, look. This thing is pretty sweet. The MacBook Pro's were 2500 clams when they first came out and this has significantly better spec's short the ULV processors, which I have no idea if those are up to par. If Apple just announced this product, it would be on the cover of Business Week next week and all the world would be ooohing and aaaahing over it. I give Dell some props for getting this out the door. I just wish I had a use for it....
Austin @ Dec 11th 2007 12:27AM
The macbook pro started at 2GHz, I think. Why is Apple being brought into this? They don't even make a touchscreen laptop.
Chuckles McGee @ Dec 11th 2007 1:39AM
Eh, I went with Lenovo's X61 tablet after I got sick of waiting for the XT and don't regret it. 1.8 ghz LV, 7 hour battery, 4 gigs of ram, 160 gig 7200 rpm drive, pressure sensitive screen with active digitizer- fully configured at a fraction of what Dell's offering for the base price of this thing (actually, $1400 after all the sales and offers were applied). The extra .23 pounds and added two-tenths of an inch of thickness are worth the added power/battery/hd/price.
naveenjohn @ Dec 11th 2007 12:33AM
design and spec-wise for a dell: color me impressed!
If I saw this thing and an x61t side-by-side at a store i'd almost
pick up this dell instead of lenovo's offering
but at $2500 for a base config its easily a 1000 more than i'm willing to pay
Shyam D @ Dec 11th 2007 12:43AM
Lets hope Dell puts out a $1500 off $2500 or more Coupon or something like that.
If it was priced more reasonably, i would sell my X60 Tablet ,and buy this. Especially since Capacitative Touch screens are much nicer then Resistive ones.
It is a very nice alternative for someone who was looking at a slate too.
Joe User @ Dec 11th 2007 12:41AM
To everyone (including Engadget) regarding the starting price tag...
Is this your first time around Dell product introductions? Being a mail-order company, they usually launch new products at a higher price to keep demand low while they ramp up production. Then, as they ramp up production, they lower the price. I'm sure the XPS One will eventually drop. That sexy XPS M1330 originally launched at $1,499 (remember?) and is now available for $999. Even the XPS M2010 launched about $500 higher than it is selling today. While I have no inside information to confirm this, I am sure that the Latitude XT will be available for less before very long.
Good things come to those that wait. And cheaper things come to those that wait longer.
Antimatter @ Dec 11th 2007 12:45AM
Dell is also famous for their department store pricing models, that is, mark everything up 30% and have it on sale for 30% year round.
unsigned @ Dec 11th 2007 12:59AM
$2500?!?!?!? My company was waiting on this to choose a platform, its HP or Dell. HP fully configured is $2000 tops. When this hits the site at $2500 + options the decision will be made.
Resolution @ Dec 11th 2007 2:14AM
$3,399.00 Is what an X61T will cost me in New Zealand, with a $1k rebate at the base configuration.
If the Dell even comes close to the NZ$3,195 converted price it'll be worth it for me.
ark_v2 @ Dec 11th 2007 1:14AM
It's awesome! More than I expected. Man, 9 hours?! on a tablet with those specs?! And the design is nice even if it's not XPS.
Brandon L @ Dec 11th 2007 1:15AM
Why isn't it on Dell's site yet? HELLO? Official to whom, Pass the tech sampler platter to the left.. um k?
Kasona @ Dec 11th 2007 1:28AM
OOhh suddenly the HP tc4200 that I am writing this on seems due for an upgrade :D
...on second thought, at that price this one can probably last a while longer, I suppose.
noise @ Dec 11th 2007 1:36AM
Oh WHY oh WHY can't tablet manufacturers get their act together and make a tablet with DVI out or at a bare minimum SELL A DOCK WITH DVI out. None of them do. And, until they do, no tablet for me.
Who wants a max res of 1280 x 800 and NO DVI out? For $2500?
Not me.
ben @ Dec 11th 2007 3:23AM
Tablets are not meant to be primary computational devices. They are meant for portability, presentations and user interation (conveniantly also acronymed UI). I have a small (not tablet unfortunatly) laptop and a quad core desktop, which I purchased for $600.
What I am trying to say, is that laptops in this category are definitly not the first PC one purchases, but do make a lot of sense if they are part of a computing family to which one has access.
Come to think of it, my computing family extends from the HTC Shadow at 200 mhz, to a 1.5 ghz m1330, to the 2.4 ghz quad core, to UC Berkeley and UCSD's supercomputer network. No, none of these devices fill all of my needs, but each one fills the right need at the right size and at the right price.
Resolution @ Dec 11th 2007 2:06AM
The Dell dock does have DVI out...
noise @ Dec 11th 2007 3:31AM
"Tablets are not meant to be primary computational devices. They are meant for portability, presentations and user interation (conveniantly also acronymed UI)."
For some of us, our "primary computational device" IS meant for portability and presentations. I need a computer in the field about 50% of the time. I hook it up to projectors and take notes on it. The rest of the time I want use it with a nice full sized keyboard and a big monitor. As a result, I'm willing to skimp on things like processing power, crazy video capabilities, etc.
But a reasonably mobile computer should also be dockable into a reasonably decent desktop computer (for working on those presentations). Note, I'm not complaining that one of these tablets isn't good for gaming. I'm complaining that when I'm working on a an endless stream of presentations, or documents, I want to have a nice, crisp, huge display. For me, that means a 23" monitor with a DVI connection. It's almost 2008. I don't understand why this is so hard to get right.
One commenter said that the Dell tablet can be docked to a dock with DVI out. I didn't see that a couple of weeks ago when I was specing out a replacement for my current setup. I know for a fact that the IBM doesn't even MAKE tablet docks - all you can get is a glorified port replicator with a spare bay. Likewise with all of the other brands I checked out.
Pablo @ Dec 11th 2007 4:38AM
IF you want a tablet, buy a Motion.
Martin Trautmann @ Dec 11th 2007 5:29AM
Want!
.. for half the price...
Michael LaFramboise @ Dec 11th 2007 5:46AM
Again these bullshit battery life specs...
9 hours of WHAT? just standing there w/ the screen off and the hd in standby? I honestly hope no-one will fall for this crap - atleast when other companies lie more realistically.. 4, 5 at most 6 hours... but 9? you gotta be kidding me!
Brandon L @ Dec 11th 2007 6:03AM
Hey Michael LaFramboise-
You should take a closer look before you jump to judgement on the battery life. Sure everyone else lies on their specs, and they should all rot in hell. But didn't seeing 9 HOURS throw a flag?
Dell has moved to the Dual Core LV processor with this tablet, removed the optical drive, they offer a wedge battery that adds significant secondary power, and the graphics are on the lighter side (but enough to satisfy most every need except high end gaming).
If it doesn't do it then it doesn't do it, but THIS PARTICULAR UNIT has really been worked.
You know whats worse than a company that lies about specs? A person who thinks that EVERYTHING is a fraud.
Brandon L @ Dec 11th 2007 8:18AM
2 more things Dell did to stretch the battery life on this (healthcare industry) tablet:
-They only included 1 speaker
-There is an optional LED backlit screen.
ark_v2 @ Dec 11th 2007 12:06PM
My XPS can withstand up to hours with the 9 cell battery even with the GeForce Go. The LED screen helps a lot. If I can get that with the optional GPU I have no doubts the base system with the 9-cell battery can do the 7 hours Dell claims for it.
ark_v2 @ Dec 11th 2007 12:07PM
Six, sorry XD
Michael LaFramboise @ Dec 11th 2007 5:50PM
Brandon, what makes you think that I think everything's a fraud?
I own a 17" MacBook Pro and I get almost all the battery life Apple promised (get about 3 hours of WORK) - while Apple promised like 4 or something...
ark_v2, again I ask, your XPS -- 9 hours of doing WHAT? If its 9 hours of standing still with the screen turned off and the hd paused, with no programs running, then yeah, its perfectly believable - my MBP can easily do that too... but... call me crazy, but something tells me that if you actually start WORKING on your computer, ie running Adobe Creative Suite apps/Final Cut (or in your case Adobe Premiere) -- you'll barely be able to get 2-3 hours of life, even WITH the additional battery. Of course Vista's piss poor power management doesn't really help you either :/
balu @ Dec 11th 2007 7:23AM
just remove that damned touchpad if you have a nipple on the keyboard, no need for both.
Brandon L @ Dec 11th 2007 8:04AM
Why bitch about options? Some people like the touch pad, some people like the nipple. Having both doesn't create a negative, other than your bitching.
balu @ Dec 11th 2007 8:24AM
@Brandon: it does, because while typing you accidentally touch the pad, and voila you're somewhere else. which is particularly annoying if you use a focus-on-hover window manager.
Sam Cayze @ Dec 11th 2007 12:28PM
And that's why you go into the Control Panel and Disable which one you don't use...
Majortom1981 @ Dec 11th 2007 8:20AM
also this includes a better gpu then the others do also.
Hansi @ Dec 11th 2007 8:41AM
How can it run Vista with such low specs?
Brandon L @ Dec 11th 2007 9:10AM
That's fair (if you have crap hanging from your wrists) but I've put several thousand Dell Latitudes into production as an IT consultant and am typing on one currently and I've never accidentally touched it when typing (nor have I heard that complaint from someone who has used one).
The one button that is used more than anything is the left mouse (they do wear out). Having a backup so you can still use it until you get it replaced gets my vote.
balu @ Dec 11th 2007 11:35AM
if Dell can't construct a mouse button that can function reliably then the solution is not to put two of them on the laptop, but to improve the technology.
You consultants should listen to the customers request, or they will end up losing them. at least i won't buy Dell tablet any soon, will stick to the ThinkPads, because of these usability design considerations.
Douglas Brace @ Dec 11th 2007 9:56AM
So Dell is claiming that it costs $1,000 for multi-touch. Check out this YouTube video. Only +/- $40 bucks for a Wii remote and +/- $20 for a bluetooth USB adapter if you don't have it already and you have 4 point multi-touch.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ
Chris Thompson @ Dec 11th 2007 10:56AM
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but everything I'm reading says this thing has PATA, which I interpret to parallel ATA, why on earth would you do that when SATA is sooo much faster and Dell is already doing it on their notebooks...latitudes no less... am I missing something?
Sam Cayze @ Dec 11th 2007 12:33PM
And for that matter, 7200 RPM drives as an option?
Ben @ Dec 14th 2007 10:22PM
Eek, this laptop could look at me if it wanted.