Dell Inc. has officially unveiled the Latitude XT Tablet PC, the company’s first convertible notebook. This sub-four-pound system features a 12.1-inch display with capacitive touch technology and support for future multi-touch functionality.
Contrary to tablets relying on the older resistive touch technology, the Dell Latitude XT’s capacitive technology senses the touch of a finger or with no pressure required for the system to recognize input. The resistive technology can be less accurate and durable than capacitive touch and may not support multi-touch, according to the PC maker’s press release.
Dell also said the Latitude XT provides hardware support for its upcoming multi-touch capabilities. This technology will allow the use of more than one finger for tasks such as zoom and drawing lines.
The display will be also available with optional daylight viewing capability. The previous reports say there will be CCFL or LED backlight options and that the resolution is 1280-by-800 pixels in both cases.
The Dell Latitude XT will come with Intel Core 2 Solo or Core 2 Duo ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor, and with up to 120GB hard drive or 64GB solid state drive, depending on customer’s choice. The system uses ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics. Regarding communications, the XT supports 802.11n draft wireless standard, and wireless broadband 3G (HSDPA, EV-DO Rev. A) connectivity, according to the previously leaked specifications.
With an optional battery slice, the Tablet PC will provide up to 9.5 hours of run time, the company says.
The basic Latitude XT configuration will cost $2,499 and will start shipping by the end of the year.
