So, I've been talking with a Dell representative this morning on this Latitude XT / N-Trig gridding issue.

Dell confirmed to me that it is a result of the capacitive touch digitizer technology; and, the grid is viewable when off, dim, viewed at different angles, and sometimes under fluorescent lighting. When operating under normal brightness settings, though, it is not easily viewable (I agree). Apparently, it is even less viewable with the LED screen. As Steve eloquently pointed out and Dell confirmed, it is a trade off of having the capacitive touch technology, and is a design issue.

The Dell rep told me that they ultimately want me to be happy with the technology purchase; and if I'm not happy, then they would work out whatever they needed to do: trade in for the LED model or do a refund. In addition, I have up to a month to decide. You don't see that being offered very much in this industry.

Thanks to Dell's generous return policy, I'm going to push through and see if I can get to the point of it being a non-issue. I may ultimately go the LED route since the grid is apparently less visible.

In the end, I need to decide if the XT and the superior capacitive touch experience is worth the intermittent visual disruption. Thankfully, I have some time to decide. I'll keep everyone up to date on my progress.

Hopefully, this whole process will help our readers work through the known issues of the XT before deciding for themselves if the XT is for them.