When you need an ultra small laptop, you need an ultra small laptop. Pricing for them is much higher and you get less grunty hardware. But what you pay for in brute power (and cash), you gain lightweight and longer lasting battery life. Or at least that's the theory.

My company purchased a Dell Latitude X1, the only Latitude ultra portable line from Dell, for a traveling employee. I had the joy of installing our standard set of applications.

Here is the specification of the particular machine I was working on:

Pentium M 733 1.1 GHz
12" WXGA (widescreen) 1280 x 768, 16.8 million colors
512 MB of DDR2 RAM
30 GB HD
DVD/CD-RW combo drive (8X/24X/24X/24X)
Intel PRO Wireless 2200 WLAN (802.11b/g)
SD & CF card reader
1x Firewire
2x USB 2.0
WinXP Pro SP 2
Gigabit LAN
Integrated 56K, v.92 modem
Intel 915 Chipset
6-cell & 3-cell Li-Ion batteries

So where is everything? Here they are:

Left side:

VGA, media bay/USB 2.0, Firewire, mic, and headphone jacks

Front:
SD Card reader, indicator lights for caps, num lock, scroll lock, HD, Bluetooth, battery charge, and power

Right Side:
CF, USB 2.0,, Ethernet, 56k modem, and power button

Rear:
Battery (no ports back there)


Unlike other Dell laptops, there isn't very much you can change with the Latitude X1. There is only one screen type, and the Pentium M 1.1 GHz (ultra low voltage) CPU is the only CPU you can choose. And at a minimum, you get 256 MB, since it is integrated on the motherboard. There is currently only 2 hard drive choices: the standard 30 GB, or an upgraded 60 GB.

Features
The memory is actually 256 MB integrated onto motherboard, while another 256 MB DDR2 DIMM is augmented in the one and only DIMM slot available. If you need to upgrade, you will need to discard the 256 MB DDR2 DIMM. According to Dell, the maximum amount it can handle is 1.2 GB (1 GB DIMM 256 MB integrated).

The integrated video is a part of Intel's i915 chipset, which is the Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA 900), which shares up to 128MB from the laptop's main memory. From the factory, it was set to 8 MB, which leaves 504 MB of system RAM for us. This is fine for office work, as well as supporting the WXGA screen resolution of 1280 x 768 and 16.8 million colors.

The built-in card readers is perfect for the road warrior, as most PDAs and digital cameras have standardized on SD Cards. CF is not as popular anymore, and other cards (such as Sony's MS Pro, MS Duo, and xD) are also in wide use. It's a wonder why they were not integrated in place of CF.

The non-powered Firewire 400 was a good touch, but not sure who would use this as a road warrior. This is not a laptop to capture and edit video (though capturing for transfer to a desktop editing station is a valid use), nor would a large external high-speed Firewire hard drive is on the mind of a road warrior. Then again, everyone is different, and having a built-in Firewire is definitely nice to have no matter what.

2 USB 2.0 ports is kind of skimpy, especially when you realize that one of the ports is used for the external optical drive/media bay. The USB port for the media bay also have an extra power connector above the standard USB connector, making this the only connector to connect the media bay into (which is on the left side of the laptop).

The 12" WXGA widescreen is very pleasant to look at, even when it is dimmed for battery-saving sips. The native 1280 x 768 resolution doesn't pose much of a problem. This was surprising since I was expecting fonts to be uncomfortably small. Though not as crisp as Sony's X-Bright screens (or others who have copied the glossy route), it is actually better this way because a traveler would not be too happy with looking at his or her spreadsheet and the rear passenger at the same time during a flight. Glare and reflection are good reasons to have a standard non-glare and matted LCD surface.

The Gigabit LAN is nice to have when you run into a boardroom that happens to have Gigabit network ports. Also nice to be future-proof as well. Always required in the Centrino trio (CPU, chipset, and...) the Intel Wireless Pro 2200 makes it's way here on the X1. It is a standard 802.11b/g without any enhanced G technologies, supports both WEP and WPA, and despite being integrated, has a very impressive range in the Latitude X1 chassis.

Battery Life is impressive as well, lasting anywhere from 2 hours to 3 hours depending on usage with the 3-cell, and 5 to 6 hours with the 6-cell. Charging the 3-cell battery only takes an hour, while the 6-cell is about double that. When running on battery power, the Latitude X1 automatically disables NIC chipset to save power when it is not connected to a wired network AND you pulled the outlet plug. If you were on a wired network when you pulled the AC power, the Latitude is smart enough not to disable the wired LAN. Disabling the NIC saves about 20 minutes overall with the 3-cell battery.

The battery seems to be sensitive to power draw. With the 3-cell, it lasts about 3:30 hours with no optical drive, the NIC disabled, and screen dimmed all the way down. 2 hours is reached with heavy HD access, NIC disabled, and screen brightness mid way. With the 6-cell, you can expect the times to be doubled, as all the 6-cell battery is just 2 3-cell batteries in one package (which creates an inch buldge on the back of the laptop).

The combo drive is external, and has a strange proprietary-looking USB connector that looks supplies a little more power than what the standard USB is capable of. The external drive (actually a media bay) cannot be used with other computers, but the socket on the Latitude X1 will allow both standard USB cables and devices and this strange USB/power port to connect to it.

The combo drive is actually a Latitude standard form factor, which allows you to swap with other full-sized Latitudes. The external enclosure is actually the standard media bay all Latitudes uses, so a floppy drive can be swapped in there, as well as another hard drive. This saves quite a bit of weight, and is also versatile if your companies standardized on the Latitude line as their fleet of laptops.

Overall impression
The overall feel is light, small, and a great feeling full-sized keyboard is possible because of the wide screen configuration. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on. With finger travel feeling as if you were on a desktop keyboard, firm tactile feel, fast touch typist would feel confident with the Latitude X1. The touchpad is not as sensitive as most laptops, even when set at the driver's most sensitive settings. This is good for fast typists, as there is a less of a chance that accidentally clicking the mouse would pose a problem. However, I would like it to be adjusted to the point where it light touch is all is needed to maneuver the pointer and register clicks.

The Latitude is pretty snappy for a Pentium M 1.1 GHz running only at 600 MHz on battery and low CPU loads. At this speed, it is only asking for .812v according to CPU-Z. Even with larger loads (such as installing Microsoft Office, calculating spreadsheets, encoding a DVD movie), it is hard-press to even realize you are not on a anything slower than a 2 GHz Pentium 4.

Another nice thing I noticed while using the X1 is that it does not run very hot like my Pentium M 1.6 GHz Gateway 4530GZ laptop, just warm and easy on your lap! The Gateway I owned gets really hot for some reason under heavy loads.

The size and weight is an eye opener. First off, it is as large as a standard 8.5" by 11" paper! It's barely an inch thick, and weighs only 3 lbs with the standard battery.

Should You Get One?
If you were looking for an ultra portable, don't need to use a DVD/CD-RW combo drive on the road, and price is not an issue, this is a well-designed notebook with lots of attention to detail. For those who would like the optical drive built in, Sony's T Series is a very good competitor, and offers a 1.2 GHz CPU, 60 GB HD, and a DVD /-RW drive. Though the price is higher (2,299.99), it may be worth it considering the better specifications (and less hassles since there is no external drive to deal with). The Dell Latitude X1 as configured (with the extra battery) was $1700 with a corporate account, which is still a great price considering that at that price, we also have an extra battery and a 3-year Gold Service contract.

Overall, it is a well-built ultra portable laptop with very little complaints.

If you are looking for a standard laptop, the above-mentioned Gateway is a good start for personal use, while the Dell Latitude D600 is a better bet for the corporate setting.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1700
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30

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