Dell Latitude Z600 Video Hands-On: Best Business Notebook Yet?

At first glance, the Latidude Z600 looks like nothing more than a status symbol for well-heeled execs. I could see Ari Gold toting this notebook or using it at the negotiating table. But when you dig a little deeper you find some welcome touches that should make the lives of workers (with expense accounts) easier.

Not only is the Z600 (starting at $1,999) the thinnest 16-inch notebook on the market, it includes touch controls on the LCD for quick access to shortcuts, instant-on technology that promises days of battery life, and facial recognition security. You can even charge the Z600 wirelessly and output its video to a bigger monitor via wireless USB– if you’re willing to splurge for optional accessories.

The price for the Z600 is a bit steep, especially since you get only 64GB of included storage, but Dell’s latest Latitude has a lot going for it. We had a chance to go hands on with this luxury business notebook for over an hour and wanted to share our first impressions.

Design

Like most Latitudes, the Z600 has a sturdy magnesium alloy frame, but Dell decks out this system with a cool SoftTouch Black Cherry finish and high-end brushed aluminum accents around the deck. The machine measures from 0.57 to 0.79 inches thick in the back, where Dell created Zinc hinges that house the power and Ethernet ports. Its starting weight with a 4-cell battery is an impressively light 4.5 pounds, but you don’t get an integrated optical drive.

There’s enough room for just 2 USB ports on the chassis, one of which doubles as an eSATA port. There’s also a DisplayPort, an Ethernet jack, and a combined headphone/headset connector. You won’t find an ExpressCard slot or memory card slot.

Although the  keyboard is not spill resistant, we like that it’s backlit. We’re not sure to make of the raised “silky touch” keys themselves yet, so stayed tuned for the full review. Overall, the Z600 has a premium look and feel that screams first class, which is where you’ll need to fly if you don’t want the passenger in front of you to crush your screen. Above the keyboard are capacitive volume controls, which have nice haptic feedback.

EdgeTouch LCD

Dell is making a big deal out of the Z600’s EdgeTouch technology, but it’s important to clarify that this 1600 x 900 LCD is not a full touchscreen. On the right side of the bezel there’s a small touch button you press to launch a menu of shortcuts that pop up in a vertical column along the right side of the desktop. And each of these shortcuts, which are customizable, have their own corresponding touch sensors, also hidden in the bezel. So, for example, you can launch the browser with just a touch of a button next to its icon. We also like that you can use EdgeTouch to scroll Web pages.

Instant-On, Reinvented

With most notebooks, instant-on means you can get online faster than you would with full Windows, but the battery life gains are marginal. Dell’s Latitude ON is different. The Z600 packs a separate board with its own integrated ARM processor, 512MB of memory, and Wi-Fi connection for surfing the Web and accessing your e-mail, calendar, and contacts. Because you’re not using the Intel processor in this environment, Dell promises days instead of hours of productivity on a charge, which we can’t wait to verify. The interface is pretty simple, and we like that Latitude ON integrates with Microsoft Exchange. You can even get online via mobile broadband in this mode (if you pay extra for that connectivity).

Face Recognition, Wireless Charging

Although HP’s EliteBooks have been doing this trick for a while, it’s nice to see that the Z600’s 2-MP webcam with autofocus can scan business cards and other documents. But Dell goes one step further by leveraging the webcam for an added layer of security. Utilizing face recognition, when you step away from the notebook your system will automatically lock, and you’ll need to enter a password to get back in.

If you’re willing to spend about $200 more than the starting price, you’ll be able to charge your Z600 wirelessly when you get back to your desk. The all-metal stand uses inductive technology to juice your laptop; the only caveat is that you don’t get to take advantage of Dell’s Express Charge feature when using this dock (which gets you to 80 percent in 60 minutes). If you want to top off your battery in a hurry, you’re better off using the Z600’s compact 45-watt AC adapter.

Another $200 option is the wireless A/V dock, which lets you extend your desktop to a bigger display using wireless USB. The dock has DVI output but not HDMI or DisplayPort connectivity. It also has audio ports and USB ports, so you can plug in a printer, USB hub, or storage drive.

Specs and Battery Life

The Z600 will get the job done, but it’s definitely not for speed demons. It packs a 1.4-GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor and 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 4GB). The Samsung-made 64GB SSD should make opening applications and files fast, but we’d prefer 128GB or more capacity at this starting price.

Dell rates the included 4-cell battery for up to 4 hours of runtime, and the optional 8-cell battery should double that.

Outlook

At $1,999, the Z600 is not designed to be a mainstream business notebook; it’s designed to impress others when you give presentations and to extend your worktime away from an outlet. We’d like to see a 13-inch Z300 that’s even easier to travel with, but if you want a big screen and a low profile, the Z600 looks like a premium business machine that’s worth the splurge.

Full hands on of the Z600.

Dell Latitude ON Explained

Z600 Wireless Charging and Wireless USB A/V Dock