Steve S
03-29-2009, 11:22 PM
The Dell Latitude XT2
A User Review
29 March 2009
Bottom line first: Dell’s Latitude XT2 is an evolutionary improvement over last year’s XT, but as is frequently the case, many small improvements can add up to a relatively big difference in the user experience; and so it is with the XT2. In total, the XT2 is probably what Dell had originally hoped the XT would be: a highly mobile tablet with excellent pen and touch experience, good connectivity and appropriate computing power and graphics. Should you ditch your XT and buy an XT2? Read on…!
What was bought: The configuration of my XT2 is as follows:
Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 1.40 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3M L2 Cache (Intel Small Form Factor Montevina Chipset)
12.1 “ WXGA (1280 x 800) DayLight Viewable (DLV) LED-lit Screen
Vista Ultimate SP1 (32 bit)
1 GB DDR3 SDRAM - (See text)
Mobile Intel Graphics 4500MHD (Integrated Graphics)
Full set of Recovery Discs and Documentation - (No charge)
64 GB Dell “Flash Ultra Performance” SSD – (See text)
E-Modular Bay with 8X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
Roxio Creator Dell Ed. 9.0 & Cyberlink PowerDVD
6 Cell, 42 WHr Primary Battery
45W Mini-Charger with 3 foot, 2 conductor AC Cord
Dell Wireless 5720 Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev A) Mini-Card
Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n 3x3 1/2 Mini-Card
Dell 365 BlueTooth Card
3 Year Dell ProSupport Service
Total manufacturer’s suggested retail price was $3369.
The Dell “purchase experience” continues to be excellent, but it needs your active participation to get a good outcome. Although the Dell order site ( www.dell.com ) on the web is convenient and inviting, my experience has been that dealing with an order agent by phone has several important advantages. First, the order site doesn’t offer the DLV screen option (what’s up with that…?) whereas an order agent can make that arrangement for you, and also answer any other questions that you may have. Second, order agents can sometimes link you up with price discounts or special offers that might not be apparent at the order site. So my strong recommendation is that you try the Dell telephone order line, and don’t be afraid to politely disengage and call again if you initially get an agent that you don’t think that you can work with; Dell is like any other company in that some of their order agents are simply better than others. (In fact, I ended up calling twice this time!)
Taking a page from last year’s experience, I ordered my XT2 with only 1 GB of system RAM, and this year there were no problems doing that. At the same time, I ordered a 2 GB stick of extension RAM from Crucial ( www.crucial.com ). Crucial’s part number CT25664BC1067 (2GB, 204-pin SODIMM) is compatible with the XT2 and was very easy to install ( www.tinyurl.com/dmrua8 ). Best of all, it only cost me $33! Note that because I am using a 32-bit version of Vista, rather than a 64-bit version, there is no point installing 5 GB of RAM because 32-bit OS’s can only address somewhere around 3.5 GB of RAM at most. You need to be running a 64-bit OS to address and use larger installations of RAM (i.e., 5 GB).
Having used an SSD in my XT for the last year, I am convinced that they are worth the extra investment, so I ordered the newer “Ultra Performance” SSD, a $400 extra on my XT2. This SSD is really a Samsung MCCOE64G8MPP 1.8 RBX Series SLC device with a mini-SATA interface connector. At the time that I am writing this (Mar09), these same SSD’s are being offered at NewEgg ( www.tinyurl.com/dknutr ) for only $175! A discussion thread, with photos, showing how to swap the drive on an XT2 can be found at GottaBeMobile.com ( www.tinyurl.com/dyjgja ). Ordering a conventional Hard Drive with your XT2 and then buying an SSD separately will save you money, but be aware that it will also void your warranty because Dell links their warranty to the system storage device (HD or SSD).
As before, I also ordered all the recovery media and documentation with my XT2. That was an easy choice to make because as usual, it was all free!
What’s In The Box: Ordering the SSD apparently put the delivery date for my XT2 out about six weeks, so despite the fact that I ordered it the week it was introduced, my delivery date was late March. Nonetheless, my XT2 was delivered about a week early, on the 20th. So as I write this review, I’ve had a little over a week to live and work with the machine. An unboxing thread has already been posted at GottaBeMobile, so if you’re interested, navigate to the Dell forum and take a look at the images. The box contained the XT2, the charger and 3-foot AC cord, the DVD drive module and the empty E-Modular Bay enclosure to put it in, the pen with lanyard, nib puller and two types of nibs and the recovery media and documentation.
One bone that I have to pick with Dell is that whereas the documentation for the XT was very good, the corresponding documentation for the XT2 is pretty skimpy. For example, there doesn’t appear to be an XT2 User’s Guide on the machine (or at least I couldn’t find it, and neither could Windows!). There are a few documents, primarily a nicely written and illustrated Service Manual, to be found at www.tinyurl.com/dd7dlb , but I don’t consider that to be a good substitute. The only thing on the XT2 are some reference network documents that you can find at [ Welcome Center > Product Support and Documentation ] that cover the WiFi adapter, the Ethernet adapter and the BlueTooth adapter, but that’s about it.
Dell could have, and certainly should have, done better than this!
But just to show that Dell has been doing some things better, my XT2 was devoid of “bloatware,” those loathsome extras like Google add-ins, IE toolbars, and ‘demo’ software that used to litter the desktop and sap your resources by installing and constantly running in the background. This time, my software load was clean! Of course, Dell includes their usual assortment of service and information-related apps, but I’m OK with that.
Features: A good outline of the XT2’s features can be found here: www.tinyurl.com/dd7dlb (Setup and Features Information Tech Sheet) at the Dell support website.
As usual, there are a few additional comments that are worthy of mention:
Overall dimensions are 11.72” wide x 8.62” deep x 1.03” high, and apparently now it makes no difference whether it’s an LED or a DLV screen. Both apparently have the same dimensions. Width and depth dimensions are identical to the XT. Across the hinge, the XT2 is 9.19” deep, so a hard case needs to be at least 12” x 9.2” to fit. Including the short rubber feet, the maximum height is ~1.13”. Weight, according to Dell, is about 3.78 pounds making the XT2 about 7 ounces lighter than the XT and that’s a very noticeable improvement (and I did!).
The protrusion that houses the hinge has the same rubberized coating as the XT.
The XT2 has a varied complement of ports, including three different versions of USB ports! On the left side is the “Power Share” USB port, on the back is the combined USB and power port (like the XT) and on the right is the eSATA / USB port. The Power Share port provides USB power (5 V, 0.5 A) when the XT2 is off. As on the XT, there is a mini FireWire port (1394) and a 54mm (full width) ExpressCard slot. (The 54mm slot will also accommodate the half-width 34mm ExpressCards.) Immediately above the ExpressCard slot is an SD card slot that will take SD, SDHC and other similar card form factors. On the XT2, the SD card now fits almost fully flush when engaged rather than sticking out a fraction of an inch as on the XT.
The XT2’s “WiFi Finder” seems to work a bit differently. When the XT2 is off, pressing the button will cause it to light up to indicate whether it senses nearby WiFi nodes or not (blue and yellow respectively, I think). However, when the XT2 is on, the WiFi Finder seems to do nothing… or at least I can’t seem to make it do anything. I’ve looked for a software setting for this, but have so far come up dry. This is one of those areas where an XT2 User’s Guide would sure be handy to help figure out what one should expect!
The BlueTooth module is still mounted behind a small access door under the lower right corner of the base.
The XT2 uses the same screen alignment approach as the XT, small rubber cleats on the base that engage corresponding dimples in the lid to keep it aligned when closed or in tablet mode. What I missed last year was that there are also powerful little magnets in the corners of the base and the top corners of the lid to help hold the screen down! These magnets are probably strong enough to damage magnetic storage media (like floppies, if you still use them) so be careful!
The XT2 features the same rocker switch for scrolling and a “Back” button on the bottom screen edge.
The XT2 screen measures 268 mm x 168 mm from inner edge to inner edge of the frame or bezel. If you wish to install a screen protector, my suggestion is that you order an SP whose size is reduced by about two millimeters along each edge (i.e., 264 mm x 164 mm). Note that not every type of screen protector is compatible with the N-trig digitizer ( www.tinyurl.com/csc2qe ).
The E-Family Modular Bay (E-Modular, for short) and optical drive module supplied with the XT2 have their pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the E-Modular bay is more compact and comes with a nice zippered storage pouch, something that was distinctly missing on the XT. Another plus (I think) is that the connector cable is now detachable and plugs into the eSATA / USB port on the right side of the XT2 rather than the USB port on the back. However, the new Bay housing feels cheap and fragile, and when the drive is operating, it sounds rough and noisy. Don’t misunderstand; it works, but the feeling of quality is definitely missing here and out of step with the XT2 itself. A most unfortunate design choice by Dell!
Finally, the pen and charger are unchanged. The 45W compact charger supplies 19.5 V at 2.31 A and uses the familiar Dell adapter plug (0.295 inches diameter, 0.490 inches long with needle-like center pin). For my money, Dell’s 45 W charger is a best-in-type example of smart charger design!
User Impressions: Last March (2008), I was the happy new owner of a Dell XT. Interestingly, or perhaps ironically, I am writing this review almost exactly a year… to the day… later, and after a week of use I can say that the XT2 is a noticeable improvement over the XT with DLV screen.
The new DLV screen makes for a lighter, smaller and more portable tablet, something that XT users with the LED screen have probably long known. In addition, the XT2 “refresh” of the XT has several other subtle improvements that make the XT2 noticeably nicer to use.
To start with, the XT2 doesn’t seem to have the significant number of N-trig digitizer issues that have plagued some XT users until the recent (Dec08 – Jan09) round of driver updates. Although some XT2 users are still reporting a few odd problems, I have seen none of them. To date, my XT2 has simply worked. (But note that I stick with production software and driver releases when I say this.)
Overall, there are a number of small things that have made an impression on me during the last week:
It’s hard for me to say for sure, but I think the XT2’s DLV screen at full brightness is actually brighter than the XT! Unfortunately, I don’t have a good way to measure this. Because the XT’s DLV screen is so much thicker and heavier, the XT’s screen is actually steadier than the XT2’s if you use touch while in laptop mode.
The WWAN antenna “bump” makes for an excellent handle to open the lid. Because it is biased to one side, it is easier to hold the XT2 in both hands while nudging the lid open with your right thumb. The center-mounted handle on the XT was actually more awkward for me to use!
The access door on the bottom of the XT2 is now larger and rectangular. The screws are captive, meaning that they stay with the access door and can’t get separated from it. Once open, there is plenty of room to work on the WWAN (broadband) or WLAN (Wi-Fi) modules, or the system RAM.
Unfortunately, Dell did not think to update the touchpad. It appears to be the same unit and although it works OK, it’s certainly not the best touchpad I’ve ever used. The pointing stick also appears to be the same.
The thermal management design of the XT2 appears to have been improved. The cooling vent is now near the rear on the left edge (rather than more “amid-ships” as on the XT). So, when the XT2 is running, the part on the bottom that seems to get warmest is an area that is centered and all the way at the rear (next to the screen hinge cover), and it also doesn’t seem to be all that warm (to me). Either way, if it is sitting on your lap, the heat doesn’t seem to be… ahem… too close to your thighs or anything else! That’s a nice design touch. Note that if you are also charging the batteries, the front edge of the XT2 will likely heat up, so I guess that you can’t have everything!
So far, the fan has been running very quietly. The last time someone asked me, I had to listen very carefully just to be sure the fan was running at all…
The I/O (on / off) button is now easier to press. The other tablet buttons on the frame are just a little too small for my fingertips.
The hinge for the lid / screen is a bit differently designed. It feels solid, but so did the one on my XT. The hinge on my XT has never given me a moment’s trouble.
I have acquired an HP tx2z pen and can confirm that, as expected, it works with the XT2’s N-trig screen. The HP pen is a bit heftier than the Dell pen and in that sense, I like it a little better. The HP pen has no eraser button, however…
Every day operation has made its impressions, too. The Ultra Performance SSD doesn’t seem to be greatly different than the one in my XT, but either of these machines is much snappier than my daughter’s XT with its conventional hard drive. And that brings me to another thing; some folks have asked me to run one benchmark or another to quantify this or that performance. I may get around to doing that eventually, but here’s the thing; performance metrics are only meaningful to me to the extent that they are reflected in what I actually do on a day-to-day basis. So I don’t care if my processor is running at 800 MHz or 3 GHz; I care that Word opens and shuts down faster than it did on my previous tablet. If it’s a noticeable difference, I’m generally happy. SSD’s (and Vista) seem to provide that kind of performance boost, and that’s all I ask.
One more comment about SSD’s: Be sure to turn Vista’s background defragmentation process off by unchecking the “Run on a schedule” box in the Defragmenter window.
At the moment, with some software applications loaded, my XT2 boots from cold start to the password screen in about 41 seconds and, allowing for me to type in the password, gets to a stabilized desktop, with gadgets, in 58 seconds. For comparison, my XT, with more applications loaded, clocks 44 seconds and 1 minute and 19 seconds for the same events. From stable desktop to shutdown, the XT2 took 31 seconds and the XT took 1 minute and 6 seconds.
The Windows Experience Index (WEI) for my XT2 is 3.2, based on scores of Processor (4.6), RAM (4.9), Graphics (3.2), 3D Graphics (3.3) and Primary Hard Dive (5.9). XT scores are 4.4 / 4.2 / 4.1 / 3.5 / 5.3, so it looks like there are some questions that could be asked about the XT2’s Intel graphics engine! It will be interesting to see how these two stack up under the revised evaluation rules that are being built into Win7’s WEI metric, which results in a more stringent rating…
WiFi and BlueTooth performance have both been flawless up to this point. Whereas I would occasionally experience WiFi connectivity problems with my XT, I have (so far) seen none of this with my XT2. Also, the BlueTooth implementation on my XT2 has been more trouble-free than on my XT. Installing my BT mouse was easy and uneventful and pairing occurs quickly and routinely. Needless to say, I’ve been very pleased with this performance.
That brings us to one of the more interesting software features on the XT2, ControlPoint. Dell ControlPoint (CP) appears to be a UI (user interface) shell that creates a sort of “one-stop” interface or window that allows the user to check or tailor:
System Overview: Power, network connections and security device statuses
Power Manager: Current power setting, options and changes to power settings
Tablet: Tablet settings including pen and tablet button settings, speaker volume / mute, display and rotation settings, shortcuts (like Windows tablet settings and the tablet PC tutorial) and power management (again).
Display & Devices: Display settings, keyboard hotkey settings and mass storage (HD / SSD) health.
Connection Manager: Broadband, WiFi, Ethernet and BlueTooth settings, connection status, profiles and troubleshooting tips!
Security Manager: Initialize and status Embassy Trust Suite, login and password management and data protection settings.
You can see why this is a pretty interesting application. Although I haven’t yet tried every branch and operation of CP, everything that I have tried seems to work and work as one would expect. In particular, the Connection Manager and the Security Manager seem to be well organized and very helpful in managing functions that have raised a few user complaints in the past. All in all, I think that CP is a net improvement to the user experience and I’ll be interested to see how it “wears” with me over the next year.
Battery life is one of the things that I’m not going to be able to comment on just yet. The XT2 features the same 42 WHr, 6-cell battery that the XT has. However, the XT2 also features some advances in power savings such as the new LED-lit DLV screen, which likely uses less power than the XT’s cold-cathode fluorescent lamp-lit screen, and of course the newer Montevina Centrino 2 architecture. This coupled with some particularly aggressive power management schemes (e.g., Power Saver) that cut display brightness and framing rates, would seem to put the XT2 in position to enjoy significantly improved battery operating times. New XT batteries will run those platforms for about 2.5 hours, on average. My expectation is that the XT2 will do significantly better, if you can live with the Power Saver profile.
In Summary, I’m sure that there’s more to be said about the XT2, but you can only learn so much in a week. I like the XT2, and I think that the numerous small improvements in both the hardware and the Dell software make for a significant improvement in the user experience. Weight has been reduced and battery life has been addressed (although how effectively is still to be determined). However, I’m sure that for many of you reading this, the question is whether you should consider trading up from the XT to the XT2. I, too, have been pondering this long and hard over the last week and my primary thought is that the XT, with the current software and driver updates, has evolved into a very good tablet. Although the XT2 is better in many individual respects, I don’t think that those differences are sufficient to justify the cost of upgrading. Consider that used XT’s can probably sell for only about $900, more or less, while new XT2’s are still in the $2400 to $3400+ range. The difference in cost seems too large, to me.
However, for people who are considering their first purchase, but who have been mindful of the XT’s early problems, I would suggest that the XT2 is what you’ve been waiting for. There is no longer any need to wait and let the rest of us have all the fun! Come on in; the water’s fine…!
A User Review
29 March 2009
Bottom line first: Dell’s Latitude XT2 is an evolutionary improvement over last year’s XT, but as is frequently the case, many small improvements can add up to a relatively big difference in the user experience; and so it is with the XT2. In total, the XT2 is probably what Dell had originally hoped the XT would be: a highly mobile tablet with excellent pen and touch experience, good connectivity and appropriate computing power and graphics. Should you ditch your XT and buy an XT2? Read on…!
What was bought: The configuration of my XT2 is as follows:
Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 1.40 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3M L2 Cache (Intel Small Form Factor Montevina Chipset)
12.1 “ WXGA (1280 x 800) DayLight Viewable (DLV) LED-lit Screen
Vista Ultimate SP1 (32 bit)
1 GB DDR3 SDRAM - (See text)
Mobile Intel Graphics 4500MHD (Integrated Graphics)
Full set of Recovery Discs and Documentation - (No charge)
64 GB Dell “Flash Ultra Performance” SSD – (See text)
E-Modular Bay with 8X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
Roxio Creator Dell Ed. 9.0 & Cyberlink PowerDVD
6 Cell, 42 WHr Primary Battery
45W Mini-Charger with 3 foot, 2 conductor AC Cord
Dell Wireless 5720 Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev A) Mini-Card
Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n 3x3 1/2 Mini-Card
Dell 365 BlueTooth Card
3 Year Dell ProSupport Service
Total manufacturer’s suggested retail price was $3369.
The Dell “purchase experience” continues to be excellent, but it needs your active participation to get a good outcome. Although the Dell order site ( www.dell.com ) on the web is convenient and inviting, my experience has been that dealing with an order agent by phone has several important advantages. First, the order site doesn’t offer the DLV screen option (what’s up with that…?) whereas an order agent can make that arrangement for you, and also answer any other questions that you may have. Second, order agents can sometimes link you up with price discounts or special offers that might not be apparent at the order site. So my strong recommendation is that you try the Dell telephone order line, and don’t be afraid to politely disengage and call again if you initially get an agent that you don’t think that you can work with; Dell is like any other company in that some of their order agents are simply better than others. (In fact, I ended up calling twice this time!)
Taking a page from last year’s experience, I ordered my XT2 with only 1 GB of system RAM, and this year there were no problems doing that. At the same time, I ordered a 2 GB stick of extension RAM from Crucial ( www.crucial.com ). Crucial’s part number CT25664BC1067 (2GB, 204-pin SODIMM) is compatible with the XT2 and was very easy to install ( www.tinyurl.com/dmrua8 ). Best of all, it only cost me $33! Note that because I am using a 32-bit version of Vista, rather than a 64-bit version, there is no point installing 5 GB of RAM because 32-bit OS’s can only address somewhere around 3.5 GB of RAM at most. You need to be running a 64-bit OS to address and use larger installations of RAM (i.e., 5 GB).
Having used an SSD in my XT for the last year, I am convinced that they are worth the extra investment, so I ordered the newer “Ultra Performance” SSD, a $400 extra on my XT2. This SSD is really a Samsung MCCOE64G8MPP 1.8 RBX Series SLC device with a mini-SATA interface connector. At the time that I am writing this (Mar09), these same SSD’s are being offered at NewEgg ( www.tinyurl.com/dknutr ) for only $175! A discussion thread, with photos, showing how to swap the drive on an XT2 can be found at GottaBeMobile.com ( www.tinyurl.com/dyjgja ). Ordering a conventional Hard Drive with your XT2 and then buying an SSD separately will save you money, but be aware that it will also void your warranty because Dell links their warranty to the system storage device (HD or SSD).
As before, I also ordered all the recovery media and documentation with my XT2. That was an easy choice to make because as usual, it was all free!
What’s In The Box: Ordering the SSD apparently put the delivery date for my XT2 out about six weeks, so despite the fact that I ordered it the week it was introduced, my delivery date was late March. Nonetheless, my XT2 was delivered about a week early, on the 20th. So as I write this review, I’ve had a little over a week to live and work with the machine. An unboxing thread has already been posted at GottaBeMobile, so if you’re interested, navigate to the Dell forum and take a look at the images. The box contained the XT2, the charger and 3-foot AC cord, the DVD drive module and the empty E-Modular Bay enclosure to put it in, the pen with lanyard, nib puller and two types of nibs and the recovery media and documentation.
One bone that I have to pick with Dell is that whereas the documentation for the XT was very good, the corresponding documentation for the XT2 is pretty skimpy. For example, there doesn’t appear to be an XT2 User’s Guide on the machine (or at least I couldn’t find it, and neither could Windows!). There are a few documents, primarily a nicely written and illustrated Service Manual, to be found at www.tinyurl.com/dd7dlb , but I don’t consider that to be a good substitute. The only thing on the XT2 are some reference network documents that you can find at [ Welcome Center > Product Support and Documentation ] that cover the WiFi adapter, the Ethernet adapter and the BlueTooth adapter, but that’s about it.
Dell could have, and certainly should have, done better than this!
But just to show that Dell has been doing some things better, my XT2 was devoid of “bloatware,” those loathsome extras like Google add-ins, IE toolbars, and ‘demo’ software that used to litter the desktop and sap your resources by installing and constantly running in the background. This time, my software load was clean! Of course, Dell includes their usual assortment of service and information-related apps, but I’m OK with that.
Features: A good outline of the XT2’s features can be found here: www.tinyurl.com/dd7dlb (Setup and Features Information Tech Sheet) at the Dell support website.
As usual, there are a few additional comments that are worthy of mention:
Overall dimensions are 11.72” wide x 8.62” deep x 1.03” high, and apparently now it makes no difference whether it’s an LED or a DLV screen. Both apparently have the same dimensions. Width and depth dimensions are identical to the XT. Across the hinge, the XT2 is 9.19” deep, so a hard case needs to be at least 12” x 9.2” to fit. Including the short rubber feet, the maximum height is ~1.13”. Weight, according to Dell, is about 3.78 pounds making the XT2 about 7 ounces lighter than the XT and that’s a very noticeable improvement (and I did!).
The protrusion that houses the hinge has the same rubberized coating as the XT.
The XT2 has a varied complement of ports, including three different versions of USB ports! On the left side is the “Power Share” USB port, on the back is the combined USB and power port (like the XT) and on the right is the eSATA / USB port. The Power Share port provides USB power (5 V, 0.5 A) when the XT2 is off. As on the XT, there is a mini FireWire port (1394) and a 54mm (full width) ExpressCard slot. (The 54mm slot will also accommodate the half-width 34mm ExpressCards.) Immediately above the ExpressCard slot is an SD card slot that will take SD, SDHC and other similar card form factors. On the XT2, the SD card now fits almost fully flush when engaged rather than sticking out a fraction of an inch as on the XT.
The XT2’s “WiFi Finder” seems to work a bit differently. When the XT2 is off, pressing the button will cause it to light up to indicate whether it senses nearby WiFi nodes or not (blue and yellow respectively, I think). However, when the XT2 is on, the WiFi Finder seems to do nothing… or at least I can’t seem to make it do anything. I’ve looked for a software setting for this, but have so far come up dry. This is one of those areas where an XT2 User’s Guide would sure be handy to help figure out what one should expect!
The BlueTooth module is still mounted behind a small access door under the lower right corner of the base.
The XT2 uses the same screen alignment approach as the XT, small rubber cleats on the base that engage corresponding dimples in the lid to keep it aligned when closed or in tablet mode. What I missed last year was that there are also powerful little magnets in the corners of the base and the top corners of the lid to help hold the screen down! These magnets are probably strong enough to damage magnetic storage media (like floppies, if you still use them) so be careful!
The XT2 features the same rocker switch for scrolling and a “Back” button on the bottom screen edge.
The XT2 screen measures 268 mm x 168 mm from inner edge to inner edge of the frame or bezel. If you wish to install a screen protector, my suggestion is that you order an SP whose size is reduced by about two millimeters along each edge (i.e., 264 mm x 164 mm). Note that not every type of screen protector is compatible with the N-trig digitizer ( www.tinyurl.com/csc2qe ).
The E-Family Modular Bay (E-Modular, for short) and optical drive module supplied with the XT2 have their pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the E-Modular bay is more compact and comes with a nice zippered storage pouch, something that was distinctly missing on the XT. Another plus (I think) is that the connector cable is now detachable and plugs into the eSATA / USB port on the right side of the XT2 rather than the USB port on the back. However, the new Bay housing feels cheap and fragile, and when the drive is operating, it sounds rough and noisy. Don’t misunderstand; it works, but the feeling of quality is definitely missing here and out of step with the XT2 itself. A most unfortunate design choice by Dell!
Finally, the pen and charger are unchanged. The 45W compact charger supplies 19.5 V at 2.31 A and uses the familiar Dell adapter plug (0.295 inches diameter, 0.490 inches long with needle-like center pin). For my money, Dell’s 45 W charger is a best-in-type example of smart charger design!
User Impressions: Last March (2008), I was the happy new owner of a Dell XT. Interestingly, or perhaps ironically, I am writing this review almost exactly a year… to the day… later, and after a week of use I can say that the XT2 is a noticeable improvement over the XT with DLV screen.
The new DLV screen makes for a lighter, smaller and more portable tablet, something that XT users with the LED screen have probably long known. In addition, the XT2 “refresh” of the XT has several other subtle improvements that make the XT2 noticeably nicer to use.
To start with, the XT2 doesn’t seem to have the significant number of N-trig digitizer issues that have plagued some XT users until the recent (Dec08 – Jan09) round of driver updates. Although some XT2 users are still reporting a few odd problems, I have seen none of them. To date, my XT2 has simply worked. (But note that I stick with production software and driver releases when I say this.)
Overall, there are a number of small things that have made an impression on me during the last week:
It’s hard for me to say for sure, but I think the XT2’s DLV screen at full brightness is actually brighter than the XT! Unfortunately, I don’t have a good way to measure this. Because the XT’s DLV screen is so much thicker and heavier, the XT’s screen is actually steadier than the XT2’s if you use touch while in laptop mode.
The WWAN antenna “bump” makes for an excellent handle to open the lid. Because it is biased to one side, it is easier to hold the XT2 in both hands while nudging the lid open with your right thumb. The center-mounted handle on the XT was actually more awkward for me to use!
The access door on the bottom of the XT2 is now larger and rectangular. The screws are captive, meaning that they stay with the access door and can’t get separated from it. Once open, there is plenty of room to work on the WWAN (broadband) or WLAN (Wi-Fi) modules, or the system RAM.
Unfortunately, Dell did not think to update the touchpad. It appears to be the same unit and although it works OK, it’s certainly not the best touchpad I’ve ever used. The pointing stick also appears to be the same.
The thermal management design of the XT2 appears to have been improved. The cooling vent is now near the rear on the left edge (rather than more “amid-ships” as on the XT). So, when the XT2 is running, the part on the bottom that seems to get warmest is an area that is centered and all the way at the rear (next to the screen hinge cover), and it also doesn’t seem to be all that warm (to me). Either way, if it is sitting on your lap, the heat doesn’t seem to be… ahem… too close to your thighs or anything else! That’s a nice design touch. Note that if you are also charging the batteries, the front edge of the XT2 will likely heat up, so I guess that you can’t have everything!
So far, the fan has been running very quietly. The last time someone asked me, I had to listen very carefully just to be sure the fan was running at all…
The I/O (on / off) button is now easier to press. The other tablet buttons on the frame are just a little too small for my fingertips.
The hinge for the lid / screen is a bit differently designed. It feels solid, but so did the one on my XT. The hinge on my XT has never given me a moment’s trouble.
I have acquired an HP tx2z pen and can confirm that, as expected, it works with the XT2’s N-trig screen. The HP pen is a bit heftier than the Dell pen and in that sense, I like it a little better. The HP pen has no eraser button, however…
Every day operation has made its impressions, too. The Ultra Performance SSD doesn’t seem to be greatly different than the one in my XT, but either of these machines is much snappier than my daughter’s XT with its conventional hard drive. And that brings me to another thing; some folks have asked me to run one benchmark or another to quantify this or that performance. I may get around to doing that eventually, but here’s the thing; performance metrics are only meaningful to me to the extent that they are reflected in what I actually do on a day-to-day basis. So I don’t care if my processor is running at 800 MHz or 3 GHz; I care that Word opens and shuts down faster than it did on my previous tablet. If it’s a noticeable difference, I’m generally happy. SSD’s (and Vista) seem to provide that kind of performance boost, and that’s all I ask.
One more comment about SSD’s: Be sure to turn Vista’s background defragmentation process off by unchecking the “Run on a schedule” box in the Defragmenter window.
At the moment, with some software applications loaded, my XT2 boots from cold start to the password screen in about 41 seconds and, allowing for me to type in the password, gets to a stabilized desktop, with gadgets, in 58 seconds. For comparison, my XT, with more applications loaded, clocks 44 seconds and 1 minute and 19 seconds for the same events. From stable desktop to shutdown, the XT2 took 31 seconds and the XT took 1 minute and 6 seconds.
The Windows Experience Index (WEI) for my XT2 is 3.2, based on scores of Processor (4.6), RAM (4.9), Graphics (3.2), 3D Graphics (3.3) and Primary Hard Dive (5.9). XT scores are 4.4 / 4.2 / 4.1 / 3.5 / 5.3, so it looks like there are some questions that could be asked about the XT2’s Intel graphics engine! It will be interesting to see how these two stack up under the revised evaluation rules that are being built into Win7’s WEI metric, which results in a more stringent rating…
WiFi and BlueTooth performance have both been flawless up to this point. Whereas I would occasionally experience WiFi connectivity problems with my XT, I have (so far) seen none of this with my XT2. Also, the BlueTooth implementation on my XT2 has been more trouble-free than on my XT. Installing my BT mouse was easy and uneventful and pairing occurs quickly and routinely. Needless to say, I’ve been very pleased with this performance.
That brings us to one of the more interesting software features on the XT2, ControlPoint. Dell ControlPoint (CP) appears to be a UI (user interface) shell that creates a sort of “one-stop” interface or window that allows the user to check or tailor:
System Overview: Power, network connections and security device statuses
Power Manager: Current power setting, options and changes to power settings
Tablet: Tablet settings including pen and tablet button settings, speaker volume / mute, display and rotation settings, shortcuts (like Windows tablet settings and the tablet PC tutorial) and power management (again).
Display & Devices: Display settings, keyboard hotkey settings and mass storage (HD / SSD) health.
Connection Manager: Broadband, WiFi, Ethernet and BlueTooth settings, connection status, profiles and troubleshooting tips!
Security Manager: Initialize and status Embassy Trust Suite, login and password management and data protection settings.
You can see why this is a pretty interesting application. Although I haven’t yet tried every branch and operation of CP, everything that I have tried seems to work and work as one would expect. In particular, the Connection Manager and the Security Manager seem to be well organized and very helpful in managing functions that have raised a few user complaints in the past. All in all, I think that CP is a net improvement to the user experience and I’ll be interested to see how it “wears” with me over the next year.
Battery life is one of the things that I’m not going to be able to comment on just yet. The XT2 features the same 42 WHr, 6-cell battery that the XT has. However, the XT2 also features some advances in power savings such as the new LED-lit DLV screen, which likely uses less power than the XT’s cold-cathode fluorescent lamp-lit screen, and of course the newer Montevina Centrino 2 architecture. This coupled with some particularly aggressive power management schemes (e.g., Power Saver) that cut display brightness and framing rates, would seem to put the XT2 in position to enjoy significantly improved battery operating times. New XT batteries will run those platforms for about 2.5 hours, on average. My expectation is that the XT2 will do significantly better, if you can live with the Power Saver profile.
In Summary, I’m sure that there’s more to be said about the XT2, but you can only learn so much in a week. I like the XT2, and I think that the numerous small improvements in both the hardware and the Dell software make for a significant improvement in the user experience. Weight has been reduced and battery life has been addressed (although how effectively is still to be determined). However, I’m sure that for many of you reading this, the question is whether you should consider trading up from the XT to the XT2. I, too, have been pondering this long and hard over the last week and my primary thought is that the XT, with the current software and driver updates, has evolved into a very good tablet. Although the XT2 is better in many individual respects, I don’t think that those differences are sufficient to justify the cost of upgrading. Consider that used XT’s can probably sell for only about $900, more or less, while new XT2’s are still in the $2400 to $3400+ range. The difference in cost seems too large, to me.
However, for people who are considering their first purchase, but who have been mindful of the XT’s early problems, I would suggest that the XT2 is what you’ve been waiting for. There is no longer any need to wait and let the rest of us have all the fun! Come on in; the water’s fine…!