Still, it's usable, and it beats waiting for Windows 7's native support. [Dell]

The sorta interesting claim about the price itself is that it's only "a slight premium to our competition (emphasis on the word 'slight')," which is based on the math its "non-standard features" only carry a 13 percent premium over the competition. If you're still not convinced it's worth it, they're going to be following it up with more posts explaining why you're wrong.

The problem is that however much it surpasses other tablets, when you come down to it, $2500 is still two-and-a-half grand, and that's just for the base model. You bump the processor to dual core, the RAM to 2GB and expand the hard drive to 80GB, you're talking closer to $3,000 for what's really the acceptable spec configuration. And that kind of money makes most consumers antsy, however fancy your wares. We know we'll be waiting for it to plunge to more plebian prices, though we do appreciate the tech inside, Dell. [Direct2Dell]

Dell Adds New Touch to Tablet PCs Round Rock, Texas, December 10, 2007

* Dell LatitudeTM XT system is the only sub-four-pound 12.1-inch convertible tablet with ground-breaking capacitive touch technology
* System is the thinnest and one of the lightest convertibles available
* Optional daylight viewing display offers the brightest display in its category
* Hardware supports future multi-touch functionality

Dell is setting new benchmarks for tablet PCs with the addition of the Latitude XT, the thinnest and one of the lightest 12.1-inch convertible tablets available. It is also the brightest in its category with an optional daylight viewing panel. The system starts at $2,499 and Dell will begin to take orders and ship the Latitude XT by the end of the year.

The Latitude XT is also the industry's only sub-four-pound convertible tablet with pen and capacitive touch capability. Capacitive technology senses the touch of a finger with no pressure required for the system to recognize input. It is also the forerunner to emerging multi-touch capabilities that allow the use of more than one finger for tasks such as zoom and repositioning a picture, to name a few. Other touch features available on the Latitude XT include:

* Accuracy and speed - touch response times on the Latitude XT are faster than the Lenovo X61T1
* Advanced digital palm rejection technology, helping prevent inadvertent contact that disrupts pen input
* The digitizer technology on the Latitude XT is rated up to 10 times more durable than competing resistive touch digitizer technology
* Maintenance-free, no-battery pen with eraser and "right" mouse click functionality

"We are listening and aim to exceed customers' expectations," said Margaret Franco, director, Dell Product Group. "Until now, customers have been forced to make tradeoffs in tablet functionality to have usable systems. With Capacitive touch technology, the Latitude XT will revolutionize the way customers interact with their systems, allow customers to take full advantage of tablet technology and enables customers to get more done with greater speed and precision."

Most competitive tablets on the market today rely on resistive touch that requires the application of force for the system to recognize user interaction. The older technology can be less accurate and durable than capacitive touch and may not support multi-touch. In addition, many customers who use resistive tablets that support both pen and touch functionality may disable the latter because the palm rejection technology is subpar.

Market Impact of Dell Tablet PC
"Dell's plan to enter the tablet PC market will help promote the platform among its large number of customers and help facilitate the product category to go mainstream," said Doug Bell at industry analyst firm IDC.

The Latitude XT is designed with the future in mind with the capability to support multi-touch. As the technology matures, the system can serve as a premiere development platform for applications that can take advantage of multi-touch.

"By integrating our DuoSense technology into the Latitude XT, Dell creates the ultimate machine destined to lead the tablet PC market," said Amihai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig. "Customers using the new Latitude XT will find that the zero pressure touch combined with the accurate stylus changes the usability of tablet PCs. Once they try it, they won't want to go back."

As part of Dell's ongoing goal to be the "greenest technology company on the planet," Energy Star 4.0-compliant configurations of the Latitude XT will be available in January 2008.

Other features of the Latitude XT include:

* Optional media base for docking and optical media
* Full-size keyboard with dual pointing
* Up to 64 GB2 solid state drive; up to 120 GB2 hard drive
* Optional battery slice designed to provide up to 9.5 hours of battery life3
* Intel® Core 2TM Solo and Duo ULV processors
* ATITM RadeonTM X1250 UMA integrated graphics

[Dell, Dell Blog via I4U]

- Single or dual-core Intel ULV CPUs (with integrated graphics)
- LED-backlit WXGA 1280 x 800 display option - Outdoor viewing WXGA 1280 x 800 display option
- Pen and touch support (digitizer and touchscreen)
- (3) USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet (duh), 1394, VGA out
- Wi-Fi options up to 802.11n, optional Bluetooth
- Optional 3G (HSDPA, EV-DO Rev. A)
- ExpressCard slot, optional Smart Card slot, fingerprint reader

The internal document shows the XT will have a 1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage processor, 1 Gig of RAM (expandable to 3), Bluetooth 2.0 and built-in mobile broadband. Other cool features include a biometric reader, ambient light sensor, digital array microphone, and a score of quick control macros along the screen bezel. The media bay can also support a dual-layer DVD burner, or an additional 80 GB HDD.

Another point of interest is that the document had the XT lined up for release last month. I'm curious as to what caused the delay on this, seeing as it would have been popular this holiday season. [istartedsomething]

- Single or dual-core Intel ULV CPUs (with integrated graphics) - LED-backlit WXGA 1280 x 800 display option - Outdoor viewing WXGA 1280 x 800 display option - Pen and touch support (digitizer and touchscreen) - (3) USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet (duh), 1394, VGA out - Wi-Fi options up to 802.11n, optional Bluetooth - Optional 3G (HSDPA, EV-DO Rev. A) - ExpressCard slot, optional Smart Card slot, fingerprint reader