electronics Dell Latitude X1 opinions and reviews

Dell Latitude X1

Dell's Latitude X1 is among the rather sleek notebooks existing in the marketplace equipped with advanced mechanisms and a wide-screen display.

It is lightweight being just 2.5 pounds and has dimensions of 11.2 inches wide, 7.7 inches deep and 1.3 inches think.

Despite being small and stylish, this delivers powerful performance and is all the more handy for the entrepreneurs.

While the small size definitely enhances its portability, it comes at a cost. The keyboard is undersized having 18mm keys, which is not all that good for comfortable typing.

The touch pad feature has an astonishingly smooth surface enabling precise cursor movements. The absence of a scroll bar is disappointing even as the magnesium casing and the latch-less lid is good.

You will find one speaker beneath the case but it is not audible enough so better carry along your headphones along.

The X1 is built using Intel's new Centrino format featuring Intel's 915 integrated GPU which can use 128MB of system memory. The 1.1GHz Pentium M processor; a 60GB hard drive and 512MB of 400MHz DDR memory make up the other battery saving components of X1.

Impressively, X1 encloses the 12.1-inch WXGA wide-screen, which is lucid and of decent size for viewing two or three windows simultaneously and even DVD watching.

On the flipside, since the components can’t be detached easily, upgrading features will be highly tricky.

Due to the absence of a ventilator, the system gets heated up very quickly. While cooling fans might have come in handy, their absence does give users a couple of advantages.

Obviously, the noise levels are reduced but more importantly, the battery life gets further extended. Using the shipped battery, you get over 3 hours of usage time. To further extend the battery status, you are free to purchase Dell’s high-capacity battery pack.

In spite of being specifically designed for business users, there is no PC Card slot. Instead, you will find card slots compliant with Secure Digital, CompactFlash, and MicroDrive formats.

Connectivity options feature FireWire, two USB (one for the external optical drive) and VGA ports. Integrated communication features comprise a Gigabit Ethernet port, a V.92 modem, Bluetooth, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

Running on Microsoft Windows XP Pro, X1 comes with Dell's QuickSet configuration software and Sonic's CD-burning software. Absence of the fingerprint scanner and a smart-card reader will definitely be felt.

Security features include the aptly incorporated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip.

Latitude X1 offers an impressive 3-year warranty, 24/7 customer care and toll-free tech support among other user-friendly services.

The small keyboard size not withstanding, it is an excellent ultraportable for business-minded people.