Dell defends Latitude XT

Dell has taken the unusual step of defending the cost of its new Latitude XT tablet. In a post to Dell's official PR blog, the senior manager for the Commercial Products Team, Glenn Keels, says that the $2,500-plus pricetag for the computer may be extremely high next to similar systems from competitors, but that it is worth it for certain feature enhancements, as well as Dell's three-year warranty.

Using HP's 2710p and Lenovo's X61t as examples, Keels notes that the XT is the only one of the three to support both pen and capacitive touch input, as well as use a dedicated graphics card in the form of a Radeon X1250. The machine is also slightly thinner and lighter than its rivals, with a brighter default screen, and the option of picking an even more powerful DLV lighting system (at extra cost).

Much is riding on the success of the XT, which is Dell's first-ever touchscreen PC. The wealth and wide retail distribution of Dell may also help to popularize tablets, which have traditionally been a niche product used mostly by businesses.

By Electronista Staff