Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC

I recently purchased this of e-bay and was surprised to see it has a complete care warranty until late 2011. My reasons for purchasing were to have reasonable portable laptop for class with the ability to take notes if I wish.

First and foremost I purchased a Runcore 32GB ZIF SSD for under $130. I also upgraded the memory to its maximum capacity of 3GB. Last I put on Windows 7 RTM (Release to Media).

This machine is extremely fast and since Runcore supports trim the SSD does not suffer from the typical SSD slowdown. Interestingly enough this boots faster than my Raid WD black hard drives in my desktop. I was extremely impressed with the SSD option and with all of my programs installed I still have 18GB free.

Windows 7 Scores
CPU 3.9
Ram 4.2
Graphics 4.1
Gaming Graphics 3.4
Hard Disk 5.9 ( I believe the only reason this is semi low for an SSD is the 32GB module has slower write speeds due to fewer channels, however, the 4K read writes are what this thing excels at beating my raid 0 drives in my desktop handily.)

The build quality is excellent although the hinge in my opinion doesn't cut it. It is definitely strong enough, but the screen is not as sturdy as I would have liked.

The tablet features with One Note and Windows 7 are flawless.

Battery life is sub par and I only manage to achieve 2 hours and 45 min. I plan on buying the slice as I really need close to 4 hours of battery life.

Comparing this to my friends XT2.
Battery Life: He gets about 15 more min (uses a Samsung SSD)
Hinge: Has been improved
CPU: A little bit faster (not noticeable outside of benchmarks)
Graphics: The XT actually scores higher, however, I honestly believe after the benchmarks that they are basically the same. (Can Play older games, and watch HD content)

Honestly I could not justify the price although the hinge and SATA 1.8" SSD options are nice. The hinge really is a tiny nit pick and not noticeable. It is sturdy, and the same design as the XT2 although they brought the screen in closer so it cannot wobble.

All in all this is an amazing ultra portable machine this handily out performs netbooks (ATOM, Geode, ETC) and runs great.

I highly highly recommend an SSD as a 5400rpm 1.8" Drive is significantly slower. In fact I plan on switching my desktop to SSD after what I saw. Also Windows 7 is a must if you plan on using an SSD. The trim feature is awesome.

Pros:
Small form factor, touch screen allows for pen and finger inputs. I really like the palm cancelling technology which many multi-input screen PCs do not have. Very thin, I have two, one with the original screen, and another with a screen 1/2 the thickness. It's very quiet, screen is brite, loads of options to include multiple connectivty points like cellular. Dual-core processor makes it quick enough to handle most needs. Pen tucks neatly inside case and does not require batteries, and has a right-click and eraser button located ergonomically for your index finger.

Cons:
The 1.8" ZIF drive format limits upgrade options. Very expensive to upgrade, and can only upgrade to a finite HD size. I've been able to get up to 120GB for the price of a 750gb 2.5" regular laptop HD. The little thing also runs a little hot if you have it on long enough. RAM can only be upgraded to 3GB DDR2. 1GB is hardwired into the unit, so you have a choice of using nothing, a 1GB or 2GB DIMM module. Glad it has a dual core processor, but something more than 1.2GHz speed would be nice, but still quick enough to run everything.

Conclusion:
I could not tell if it has multi-input function since Windows does not offer the best platform for testing touch features. I loaded Windows 7 on both machines and it loaded flawlessly. One of the features that went away was the atomatic switch to portrait when flipping the screen around. Not a big deal. The laptop also does not have an accelerometer. I think this is a good platform for a Windows 8 install. So far, not nearly as fast as a Fujitsu Lifebook or Toshiba Portage, but much smaller and lighter making it WAY more portable. Also, having the abilty to use your finger is a bonus for something this size and with this functionality unlike the Toshiba and Fujitsu. The small form factor means you'll need a USB optical drive to load an OS, or you can boot from a thumb drive.

Honestly, any student looking for something portable and practical, a must have. I would choose this anyday and all day over an iPAD or Android tablet. I can't really reccommend it to anyone else due to it's initial price point (New, Used, and Refurbished), the price of accessories like extra battery, stylus, and lack of upgrade options (HD and RAM). By now, I'm sure they have something with a faster processor and better battery life. Asus has a Win 7 tablet out with an Intel Core i5 - but expensive, but it's the natural upgrade to this machine. If you can find one around the $200-$250 price point, comes with a stylus, and has at least an 80GB HD, don't think about it.....GET IT!!!!!

First off, it is a well built laptop, Dell took it's time and used nice materials.

I paid $625 for mine, it is worth every penny.

It is fast, core 2 duo takes care of anything in a flash, never really had any slow downs.

I have the 32 GB SSD, which is perfect.

The touchscreen and stylus aren't the best, sometimes they aren't perfect, but you get used to it.

The screen is very bright, mine is the LED not the Outdoor, and it was brighter than my thinkpad.

It is a revolutionary laptop, I recommend it.

I like the hand-touch function of the computer. I think that the hand-touch of the dell xt is much better than the one of thinkpad x220 tablet!

Great Product and the XT 2 is a great inprovement over this modle so i would reccomend it although on a budget this is a score on Ebay. No complaints and it comes with a dock standard which is awsome! Bought it for my wifes photo biz and it tops our HP TC4400