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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Perfect for the road warrior looking for feather weight"
Pros: Battery life, light weight, wide screen, slim media base, everything built in
Cons: Larger drive would be nice, jumpy touch pad
Summary: What a great surprise!! I have been a user of Dell's ligthest Latitude machines for many years including the C400, D410 and now the D420.
When I got my D420 over a month ago, I had not really looked at the footprint. This machine is a lot sexier than the D410 I bought in February 2006.
My biggest issue is always batteries. I'm on planes, in remote offices, hotels, airports etc at least 15 hours a week. I always hesitated powering up my laptop for fear of running my battery down after an hour or two. With this macine, I am able to get 7+ hours with the 9 cell battery!!! Close to 5 hours with the 6 cell and 3 hours with the 4 cell battery.
The mini-PCI bluetooth and Broadband card are also great. No more fudging for the full size PCI card. The antenna seems to have a better range for the broadband.
The screen size is great on planes. I especially like the fact that in economy, I can open the laptop and work even when the passenger in front of me is in full recline mode.
The weight factor is wonderful. I now have two options when traveling. My normal laptop bag with a weeks worth of work (total 11 lbs). My second option is a slim attaché case with the laptop, an extra battery and a couple of files, toothbrush... (no power cord!!!) I'll use this for day trips or an overnight trip (total 6 lbs). I've even left the laptop bags at home and started putting the laptop in the outside poach of my carry on luggage. It fits anywhere because it is so thin!!!
I was also surpised that the media base did not increase the weight or size very much. If I ever need to take the media base along (my kids might want to watch some movies on a long plane ride), then it will certainly not be a hassle.
For those who think they need a built-in CD/DVD. You would be surprised how easy it is to get by without one. I have managed for over 5 years. Besides, God invented USB thumb drives to help us out!
My only beef is the small hard drive. The 60 GB (and now 80 GB) drives are the new 2.5" form factor which explains why the drives are not at 120 GB yet. I'm sure that in a year, this problem will be solved.
I'm especially happy/excited that with 1.5 Gb of memory on my machine, I will be able to have the full Vista experience!
My support experience with Dell has improved over the past year. It is not perfect, but for business users, it meets our need.
The touchpad settings need to be "adjusted". I turn the "tapping" feature off, because my thumb often triggers a "tap" which is annoying.
I have to say that this laptop is NOT for everyone. I have a workstation in my home office where I do all my "technology" heavy lifting. I could not survive with just the power of this Latitude to get all my technology work done.
Finally, I must add that I purchased a 19" LCD screen and the D-Docking station. When I return from my trips, I slip the D420 into my desk's cupboard (where the docking station is) and I only have my bluetooth keyboard, mouse and wired monitor on my desk which is a lot more fun then my old days of using the laptop/docking station without a monitor on my desk and losing a lot of real estate.
Great job Dell!!!
