Dell adds multi-touch to Latitude XT

Bigger SSD drives too

By Jan Libbenga • Get more from this author

24th July 2008 12:54 GMT

Dell has announced it's incorporating touch-screen functionality - in the form of an easy-to-install firmware upgrade - on it's Latitude XT tablets.

Tablets or convertible PCs are notebooks with a rotating screen that can be used as a flat writing surface. With the free software, users can scroll by placing two fingers on the screen and moving them horizontally or vertically, zoom in by touching the screen with two fingers and moving them together or program a double-tap to launch a web browser or to turn the screen of to save power.

Dell has release a short clip on YouTube showing how this will work...

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On other notebooks these capabilities won't be available until Windows 7 is released, which promises multi-touch "built throughout the OS".

Dell has also introduced a 128 GB SSD (solid state drive) GB drive for all Precision and Latitude systems and for XPS and Alienware systems. The $649 price tag is the same as the previous 64 GB SSD. SSD drives have no moving parts and are eight-and-a-half times more shock tolerant than standard hard drives.

Dell next month starts to manufacture its news Mini notebook, which will run on Linux, initially. According to Ken Musgrave, director Experience Design Group, Dell may decide to release a Windows XP version at the same time, but the company hadn't decided yet. The Register saw red, white and black notebooks, each with three USB ports, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, a car reader and a normal size keyboard. Musgrave declined to comment on the release date and pricing.