New Dell Laptop Charges Without Wires

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Dell has unveiled a new laptop in its Latitude line that is turning heads this week.

The feature on the new Latitude Z that is getting the most attention is its wireless charging dock that works sort of like one of those cordless toothbrushes. It just sits on a docking rack with an "inductive charging pad". Bottomline: no wires.

Cool!

Price for all the wireless docking accessories: $400; which is not so cool.

But wait there's more!

The 16' Latitude Z, billed by Dell as the lightest and thinnest notebook in the world (this week), is James Bond slick and weighs about four and a half pounds.

I really don't care as much about the weight or thickness. However, there are a few other features that do impress me.

1. It has a second low-voltage processor dedicated to turning on the laptop with a instant boot up called "Latitude ON".

2. It also has a webcam that uses Dell's face recognition software called FaceAware. It's a great security feature. You step away from the camera and within seconds your computer shuts down requiring your login to get back in again. Other faces need not apply.

3. Want more security features? The Z also has a smartcard reader and a fingerprint reader. It does not, however, have a feature to make the whole thing go up in a puff of smoke should you choose to accept your mission.

4. The built-in webcam doubles as a scanner for business cards. Just hold up the card and swipe it in.

All that and it's pretty.

Expensive, but pretty!

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio