Loren
01-04-2008, 12:05 AM
Nathan Novak gives his impressions of the Dell Latitude XT (http://nathan.thenovaks.net/2008/01/02/dell-latitude-xt-the-verdict/). Overall it looks like a mixed bag, but not terrible. Personally, performance would be my biggest concern, but for a general purpose machine it probably wouldn’t be too bad. Still, I keep wondering why Dell went with such a slow processor. It’s 2008 after all. http://www.lorenheiny.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif Nathan points out that the Latitude is missing an up-to-date SATA drive too. Hmm. He also points out that the Latitude pen is missing an eraser button–something that I noticed before and have been quite surprised at.
His overall verdict?
Overall I think Dell did pretty good for their first foray into the tablet world.* Sure they need to make some upgrades (SATA hard drive anyone?) but it’s not bad.* I wish Dell would make ALL latitudes compatible with the standard docking stations (Lat D430 and XT have to use a custom media bay).
Pricing is a heafty premium compared to the Latitude D430, it’s closest relative.* With our corporate discounts our fully loaded D630’s run around $1600.* This Latitude XT cost our organization about $2400 (3GB RAM, U7600 dual core processor, pre-N WiFi, Vista Ultimate, 3 year Gold support with CompleteCare).
Am I going to use it as my primary machine?* Not right now.* We forgot to put the media base and the Bluetooth card on the order (we walked through the specs on the phone with our rep before it was on Dell’s website).* I’d also want the slim battery base for travel.
Should you buy one?* Maybe.* That’s a pretty personal decision.* Worst case is you get it, hate it, and return it for a refund (check with Dell on their policies for that).* While a tablet is pretty cool to have, for me personally I’ve found that I’m not so sure how often I’d actually use it in tablet mode.* But that’s just me.
Thanks for the great review Nathan and great feeedback for Dell.
More... (http://www.lorenheiny.com/2008/01/03/nathan-novaks-first-impressions-of-dell-latitude-xt/)
His overall verdict?
Overall I think Dell did pretty good for their first foray into the tablet world.* Sure they need to make some upgrades (SATA hard drive anyone?) but it’s not bad.* I wish Dell would make ALL latitudes compatible with the standard docking stations (Lat D430 and XT have to use a custom media bay).
Pricing is a heafty premium compared to the Latitude D430, it’s closest relative.* With our corporate discounts our fully loaded D630’s run around $1600.* This Latitude XT cost our organization about $2400 (3GB RAM, U7600 dual core processor, pre-N WiFi, Vista Ultimate, 3 year Gold support with CompleteCare).
Am I going to use it as my primary machine?* Not right now.* We forgot to put the media base and the Bluetooth card on the order (we walked through the specs on the phone with our rep before it was on Dell’s website).* I’d also want the slim battery base for travel.
Should you buy one?* Maybe.* That’s a pretty personal decision.* Worst case is you get it, hate it, and return it for a refund (check with Dell on their policies for that).* While a tablet is pretty cool to have, for me personally I’ve found that I’m not so sure how often I’d actually use it in tablet mode.* But that’s just me.
Thanks for the great review Nathan and great feeedback for Dell.
More... (http://www.lorenheiny.com/2008/01/03/nathan-novaks-first-impressions-of-dell-latitude-xt/)