The future of classroom tech at BETT

Dell was particularly keen on selling its new Latitude laptop, the XT, which, with a nifty swivelling manuoeuvre, transforms from standard laptop format into a tablet.

The 12.1-inch convertible is very thin. Dell says it should prove useful for people who walk around while using their PC, for example teachers or doctors taking notes as they move around the classroom or hospital.

The dual-core Vista-powered machine recognises all but the worst handwriting and connects via both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Customers who want the XT, which was released in late December, will have to fork out around £1,000 for the device, which can be customised, in true Dell tradition.

We're not sure why Dell showed us a model with a system-failure message on it.