Dell Latitude CPI D300XT

Dell Latitude CPI D300XT

Dell's Latitude CPi D300XT snags the power Best Buy this month. It's nearly identical to the Latitude D266XT, except it's faster, has a bigger hard drive, and costs $101 more.

The PII-300 chip is the main reason the high-end CPi D300XT is 9 percent faster than its predecessor and is one of the quickest notebooks we've tested. The processor and 6.4GB hard drive--less than 2GB shy of the largest available laptop drive--account for the $3499 price, which excludes a modem.

Like its predecessor, the Latitude CPi D300XT is a pleasing charcoal gray. It's 1.75 inches thick, compared to the standard 2 inches, with one modular bay. At 7.4 pounds and with about 3 hours of battery life, the notebook is fine--but not outstanding--for travel. You can lengthen its utility on the road by adding a second battery, which costs an extra $169.

You'll adapt to this notebook's excellent keyboard in virtually no time. All the keys are adequately sized, are located where you'd expect them, and have crisp action.

The Latitude CPi D300XT's multimedia features include a brilliant screen with a smooth image from edge to edge. Basic stereo sound is tinny, but MIDI music sounds good, thanks to the software wavetable synthesizer.

Dell's service and notebook reliability gets good marks from PC World readers. In our most recent calls to technical support, we were impressed by the accuracy of the reps' advice but disappointed by the average hold time of 20 minutes.

SUMMARY

PRO: Very fast; excellent keyboard CON: No modem