Dell Latitude E6400 review

We caught our first glimpse of Dell’s new Latitude E-series when we came face to face with its semi-ruggedised E6400 ATG laptop. With a suitably burly build and plenty of carefully focussed business features, it was a promising debut for the range. But, while some users will relish the extra resilience of Dell’s ATG laptops, we can see most preferring a more lightweight option for everyday computing.

This is where Dell’s standard Latitude E6400 steps in. Strip off the ATG’s layers of reinforced metal and you’re left with a far more portable 14.1in laptop. Indeed, pop the E6400 on the scales and its less rugged frame weighs in at 2.33kg to the ATG’s more considerable 2.98kg heft.

And where the ATG looked a touch too brutish to be truly attractive, the E6400 is an altogether more alluring beast. The combination of stark, clean lines and that magnesium alloy chassis look plain to begin with, but given a few hours we couldn’t help but admire the elegant simplicity of it all. Where the D-series looked a little too grey, squat and utilitarian to inspire genuine desire, the E-series is an altogether more tempting proposition.

Solid as a rock

The looks are matched with reassuring solidity. The lid catch keeps the laptop snugly closed in a bag, and it took a huge amount of pressure on the lid to produce any show through on the display itself.

Tilt back that sturdy feeling display, and the E6400’s base tells a similar tale. Finished all in black, the clean lines are destined to become a design classic, and any attempts to twist or flex the chassis produce little result.

It’s more than just a good looking laptop, though. Ergonomically it’s well on song, and although the presence of an all-new keyboard might be enough to put a lump in the throat of those weaned on Dell’s superb D-series, there’s nothing to fear. Each key has a decidedly firm but pleasingly positive action and the anti-slip finish helps to keep typos to an absolute minimum.

The combination of trackpad and trackpoint are a staple of business laptops, but there are no slip ups on this front. The trackpoint offers precise cursor control even in the most cramped of environments, and the trackpad and its horizontal and vertical scroll zones behaved perfectly throughout our testing.

Screen wonder

The 14.1in screen is kitted out with an LED-backlit 1,440 x 900 panel which, in our eyes, should be the de-facto native resolution for all 14.1in and 15.4in laptops. There’s plenty of desktop space to take advantage of, and the supreme brightness and fine image quality is only marred by colour reproduction which errs on the side of dullness.

It’s a minor complaint, but one that’s more than made up for with useful features such as the automatic brightness sensor nestling to the left of the Chrome-effect Dell logo.

The E6400’s connectivity and security features are beyond reproach, though. Three USB ports are complimented by an eSata port and mini-FireWire, and businesses can opt for PC Card or ExpressCard/54 slots as they choose. The inclusion of a DisplayPort output, is a welcome sight too, though the number of displays that have these types of inputs is still limited.

A standard SmartCard slot is complemented by a contactless SmartCard reader to the right of the trackpad, there’s also a fingerprint reader tucked in next to the cursor keys and a TPM 1.2 chip deals with encryption duties.
Pay extra and you can even opt for Dell’s remote laptop tracking and recovery service. With tariffs starting at £15 for one year, and stretching to £55 for five years, many businesses may see the extra outlay as a tempting extra. Pay a little more, however, and remote data destruction can be added to the list, allowing businesses to destroy sensitive data the instant a stolen laptop goes online. UK Home Office take note.

In terms of specifications, our review unit struck a sensible middle ground. An Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 running at 2.26GHz is matched with 2GB of memory and a 160GB hard disk. It’s a combination which scored a capable 1.15 in our benchmarks. But, of course, the beauty of the Dell sales model is its flexibility. Drop down to a slower processor, and you’ll save a good few quid in the process. If you’re thinking of buying these in bulk, a bit of careful spec trimming here and there will pay handsome dividends.

Battery life

The final feather in the E6400’s sharply tailored cap is stamina. With the standard six cell 5,400mAh battery, light usage saw the Dell last just over five hours. Upping the ante to heavy usage saw that drop down to a still-reasonable 1hr 39mins. If long-life is an essential trait, the £105 cost for a larger nine cell 8,500mAh battery is well worth spending.

There’s no doubt that the E6400 is an unmitigated success. Where 15.4in laptops turn any bag into an albatross hung round the average business worker’s neck, the E6400 strikes a great compromise between weight, ergonomics and durability.

The daunting price is bound to take the wind out of those with smaller budgets, but with a three year next business day warranty attached to such a fine product, it’s one of those times when the price is worth paying. There’s an incentive to act quickly too; if you can get your orders in before the 28th October, Dell are making the E6400 even more of a temptation by taking £174 off the asking price.

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