Dell Latitude Z review

On the move

The Latitude Z’s sheer size makes it an odd travelling companion: whip this machine out of your bag on the train and you’ll get some odd looks. Nevertheless, it’s good to see a 3G modem as standard, complete with a GPS radio, and Bluetooth is thrown in too.

Where things fall apart a little is battery life. The 40Wh battery that comes as standard gave a frankly pathetic 3hrs 53mins in our light-use tests, and while you can choose an eight-cell battery (for a very reasonable £24 extra) this inevitably adds bulk at the machine’s rear. And that spoils the clean lines that make the Latitude Z so attractive in the first place.

This poor battery life is despite the inclusion of a 1.6GHz ultra-low-voltage SU9600 processor, which has its emphasis on power saving rather than outright performance. Nevertheless, the Latitude Z scored a creditable 0.85 in our benchmarks, helped along by 4GB of RAM and the assistance of two SSD drives in a RAID0 array. This is a machine that’s more than capable of handling day-to-day tasks.

Intel’s business-like GMA4500HD graphics are also present and correct, as they need to be for the Centrino 2 certification. Forget playing Crysis, but the Latitude Z will cope with less demanding 3D games and smoothly play back HD video.

Usability

The screen itself isn't quite capable of displaying full 1080p, but its resolution of 1,600 x 900 is a good match for its 16in diagonal. If Dell squeezed in more pixels, you’d be squinting to see system text.

This usability extends to the rest of the ergonomics too. The travel on the keyboard may be short, but it’s perfectly enjoyable to use thanks to the large, well-spaced keys – and they even light up when you press them. Dell sensibly makes the touchpad large as well.

Considering all the cutting-edge technology squeezed into this machine, we’re pleasantly surprised by the price of the base system. Currently you can buy it for around £1,200 exc VAT. Our exact configuration isn’t so affordable, with the twin 128GB solid state drives, 4GB of memory and 1.6GHz rather than 1.4GHz processor bringing the total to a jaw-dropping £1,975. Excluding VAT. And delivery.

What prevents us giving the Latitude Z a recommendation, however, isn’t the value for money, but the battery life: yes, you can buy the extended battery, but that rather spoils the point of having a beautiful machine such as this. What we can’t fault Dell for is innovation: as a showcase for ultra-wideband technology and sheer striking design, it’s a winner.

Author: Tim Danton