Review

When you want to buy a good looking business notebook you are typically limited to industrial designs which are rugged and durable but not really stylish. Usually the only attractive option was the Apple MacBook Pro up until recently. Dell hopes to change that with the new Latitude Z ... a super thin, high-end, 16-inch notebook aimed directly at business professionals.

Our Dell Latitude Z 600 Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
• Intel Core 2 Duo SU9600 Processor (1.60GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache)
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (1066MHz)
• Two small form-factor 128GB Samsung SSDs
• 16.0" Wide Screen WXGA HDF+ Display WLED Panel (1600x900)
• Intel X4500M integrated graphics
• Intel 5300AGN, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Dell AT&T Wireless 3G
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 15.6 x 10.7 x 0.57-0.79 inches
• Weight: 5lbs 2.6oz with 8-cell battery
• 8-cell 80Wh battery
• Three-year standard warranty
• MSRP: $3,591 (price includes wireless docking station, extra 4-cell battery)

The looks are nothing short of amazing. Dell has given the Z a perfect mix of stylish brushed metal, clean side panels, and industrial rubbery surfaces. It is almost as if Apple and Lenovo collaborated to make a high-end business notebook. The screen cover has a rubbery metallic-paint trimmed with chrome-plated screen hinges. The side panels walk a fine line between function and form with ports sparsely scattered around the edges ... keeping just above the bare minimum to keep users happy. Apple crossed this line with the MacBook Air and its infamous single USB port. Opening up the notebook we see the clean design continued with a wide brushed-metal bezel surrounding the rubbery keyboard tray and touchpad. If you hadn't already picked up on it I really like the looks of this notebook.

Screen and Speakers
The Latitude Z offers a spacious 16-inch display with a resolution of 1600x900. Compared to most thin and light notebooks the Z offers more screen real estate and is much easier on the eyes after a long day of typing. The panel offers LED-backlighting and rates above average compared to other similarly sized displays. On completely dark screens like those seen while booting the computer we noticed some mild backlight bleed but it was only apparent with the screen brightness turned up. Even with its matte finish display the screen still offered good color reproduction and nice contrast. The matte finish also helped reduced glare and when paired with the higher brightness backlighting it was still usable outdoors. Vertical viewing angles were better than average with colors staying accurate until tilting the screen 20-degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were good to nearly 90-degrees but some color dimming was noticed at the 45-degree mark.

Dell mounted the speakers on the Latitude Z on the bottom edge of the notebook which muffles the sound if you have it resting on your lap. Compared to other similarly-sized notebooks the Z sounds above average with a hint of midrange and plenty of volume. It might not hold a candle to systems that include a subwoofer, but it sounds very good for a notebook so thin. For the discreet professional on the road headphones are still the preferred choice.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the Latitude Z is limited compared to other 16" notebooks. Users are limited to one USB port, an eSATA/USB combo port, DisplayPort-out, LAN, and a headset jack. If you plan on hooking up a lot of peripherals at your desk the optional wireless docking station is highly recommended.

The Latitude Z packs quite a few surprising features inside its thin chassis. You can configure the Z with an inductive charging system that lets you power the notebook without connecting any wires. The Z also offers EdgeTouch which is a touch-sensitive strip built into the edge of the screen bezel. With the included software you can configure tap-zones to launch programs or use the strip as a huge scroll wheel. As someone who doesn't like multitouch-enabled screens for the hazy screen covering or fingerprints this is a great alternative. Another cool feature of the Latitude Z is the touch-sensitive volume controls. This in itself isn't a surprise to see on a notebook, but its haptic feedback when pressed is. Each tap is met with a soft beep and vibration that gives you a very noticeable indication that you pressed the button.