Dell Latitude X1

Think of it as a Latitude with attitude. At 2.5 pounds, the sleek, silver-colored X1 is the lightest in Dell’s business notebook line. In order to achieve its super-portable design, Dell skimps on one key feature, a PC Card slot, but this lighter-than-air laptop makes up for these shortcomings in enough areas to warrant the investment.

With a tiny footprint of 11.3 x 7.7 x 1 inches, the Latitude X1 is tailor-made for tight spaces, whether it’s a coach class seat or a crowded train or bus during your morning commute. The Latitude X1 is far from fragile. Dell’s Shock Zone shock absorber protects the hard drive should your system take a tumble.

Despite the overall compact dimensions of the system, the widescreen display forces the base to be a bit wider than normal. This allows the system to offer a very comfortable, fairly spacious keyboard, which is sealed to protect against the occasional spill. We only wish the touchpad were a bit larger.

Other noteworthy features for highly mobile professionals include Dell’s ExpressCharge technology, allowing you to recharge 80 percent of battery capacity in about an hour. There’s also a TPM security chip for network identification.

The 12.1-inch WXGA display installed on the Latitude X1 is small enough that you won’t have to worry about someone sitting in front of you during your flight and leaning all the way back. If you want to watch movies, you’ll have to lug the external DVD/CD-RW drive, which is included in this configuration.

Like many ultraportables, this one includes an Ultra Low Voltage processor to save on battery life. We weren’t expecting much from this 1.1-GHz CPU, but it offers enough performance that we weren’t waiting very long for tasks like file decompression and image editing to complete. MobileMark gave the Latitude X1 an above-average performance rating of 163. Multitasking proved no problem, either, thanks to the inclusion of 512MB of DDR2 memory.

The Latitude X1 was able to run for almost three hours in the MobileMark battery life test with the Wi-Fi adapter disabled. Unfortunately, the system’s integrated Intel PRO Wireless 2200 cut 30 minutes off the runtime. If you want to double your endurance, Dell offers a six-cell battery for $129, an upgrade we highly recommend.

One potentially huge pitfall for business users is the Latitude X1’s lack of a PC Card slot. The included CompactFlash slot let you connect some of the same types of devices that are typically installed as PC Cards. If you want to install a faster Wi-Fi or a high-speed cellular PC Card, you’ll be out of luck. Having Bluetooth built into this ultraportable means you can use a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone as a modem, but this process is usually complicated and some carriers don’t support the necessary dial-up networking profile for their devices.

Preloaded utilities include Dell’s QuickSet, which quickly tailors the system’s power settings to various types of tasks, and OpenManage Client Instrumentation, which allows network administrators to examine system configuration data and perform remote BIOS updates.

Backed by Dell’s three-year parts and labor warranty with 24/7 toll-free tech support, this ultraportable has a lot to offer. The Latitude X1 makes some sacrifices to fit into its tight frame and is a bit pricey at $2,229, but it’s worth considering for road warriors looking to travel lightly.