More portable than a flying carpet with its own luggage set.

With expensive, ultra-portable laptops becoming more popular than a debauched stag weekend in Prague, we actually get quite excited when one worthy of our attention comes along. Packing both power and performance into one of the smallest notebooks on the market, Dell's Latitude X1 is as sexy as it is competent, making it the ideal travel companion.

With tiny dimensions, this is a lightweight laptop that can easily be thrown into your small luggage. Where many systems this size will scrimp on components, the X1 excels with an ultra-low voltage Pentium M processor and ample system memory. However, this does come at a cost, as the X1 can only run for a couple of hours from its internal battery.

A 12.1-inch widescreen LCD ensures plenty of viewing space for any task. It has a good level of colour and contrast, while the surround is strong and resilient, providing plenty of stability during transit. There's room for a broad and surprisingly well-spaced keyboard, making typing comfortable over those long journeys.

Strong wireless connectivity comes courtesy of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: both are ideal for browsing the Internet and synchronising outboard peripherals whilst on the move. However, to keep things so compact, there's no provision for high-speed graphics or DVD recording, so the X1 is best suited to business tasks.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer power that's been crammed into such a small box, a fair deal of heat is produced and prolonged use on your lap can become uncomfortable. It is rare to get such high performance from such a small laptop, even in today's ultra-compact-obsessed era, but Dell has succeeded where others have failed.

While the price is high, there's no denying that the small size, high power and sleek looks make this a tantalising portable prospect.

Source:http://www.t3.com