Dell launches 12", full-featured sub-notebook

Dell on Thursday introduced two new portable systems: the ultra-mobile Latitude D430 notebook and Dell Precision M4300 mobile workstation --both of which comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest Energy Star 4.0 standard. In addition, Dell said that it has added the Dell Precision 390, 490 and 690 to its list of industry-leading line of compliant systems. Confirming details in the early leak, 12-inch widescreen Latitude D430 weighs only three pounds; it features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor up to 1.2GHz, WXGA display resolution (1280x800), an integrated 802.11n network card, and a durable magnesium alloy construction without any moving parts.

An optional solid state drive, the company said, can improve Latitude D430 performance up to 23 percent and can reduce boot time by up to 34 percent. The base Latitude D430 starts at $1,509 and is available today.

The machine offers integrated 1GB of memory with an optional expansion slot for up to 2GB of memory. It features an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 that offers up to 224MB of shared memory and a password protection on the drive, requiring a password before the drive can be accessed and the system boots.

The notebook offers a single Type I or Type II expansion slot with support for 34mm ExpressCard via a USB interface through PCMCIA adapter. Other ports include a serial port, docking connector, three USB ports, a single FireWire port, VGA out, headphone/speaker out, Ethernet (RJ-11) connectivity, and a built-in modem (RJ-45) port. The system also features an integrated microphone and a SD card slot for direct flash memory access.

Other modular options include a combo CD-RW drive (CDRW/DVD) or a 8X DVD +/-RW SuperDrive. Users can also add a second 24X CD-ROM, 8X DVD +/-RW4 SuperDrive, 24X CDRW/DVD Combo drive or a standard floppy disk drive.