DELL COMPUTER THURSDAY announced its updated Latitude line of notebooks for the business market, featuring a cosmetic overhaul, built-in wireless capabilities, and more distinct model names that ideally will no longer cause customer confusion.

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The 4.9-pound C600 notebook is available immediately worldwide and the top-end C800 will be made available in the next 60 days. Both new models include a built-in antenna connecting to the MiniPCI bay, which will allow integrated 802.11b wireless local area networking when the optional radio component becomes available by the end of this year.

The C600 model is 1.4 inches thick and its weight is 1 pound lighter than the current Latitude CPx model. Dell spokesman Rob Crawley said the C600 is lighter and sleeker than the current Latitude CP models, but it is still compatible with existing docking stations and peripheral devices. The C600 can be configured with a variety of processors up to the new Intel 850MHz Pentium III processor with SpeedStep technology.

According to Dell, consumers will pay $2,599 for a C600 with a 700MHz Intel Pentium III processor, 64MB of RAM, a 6GB hard drive, a floppy disk drive, a 24X-maximum CD-ROM drive, an integrated 56K v.90 modem, and enhanced video subsystem including AGP (accelerated graphics port) and 8MB of SGRAM (synchronous graphics RAM.)

The C800 starts at a weight of 7.22 pounds and is the first Latitude model with a 15-inch Super XGA screen, an offering that has previously only been available from Dell with its Inspiron consumer laptop models. Dell suggests that the C800 is ideal for graphic illustrators as it contains high-speed wireless capabilities, robust graphics, and an IEEE 1394 port that allows a high-speed connection to peripherals.

The price of the standard Latitude C800 configuration starts at $3,299 and is expected to include an 850MHz Pentium III processor, a choice of optical drive, 64MB of RAM, a 10GB hard drive, a floppy disk, an integrated 56K v.90 modem, and an ATI Mobility 128 graphics card with 16MB of SGRAM.

Dell decided to change the names of the models so as to have less customer confusion, Crawley said.

"It become too complex to track," he said. "We were spending too much time telling customers what model was what."

With the announcement of the C600 and C800, Dell said it would discontinue the ultraportable Latitude CSx by the end of the year. The model was first announced in December of 1999 and currently starts at $2,249.