Dell Latitude D420

...the move much, according to Dell this recharges to 80% within an hour & lasts 2-4 hours depending on what you are running. I have only been browsing & using simple spreadsheets/word documents so far and it has lasted just over 4 hours.

Misc
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USB ports - only 2 but I plan to add a keyboard with 2 USB ports

DVD drive - when I unpacked the laptop I was somewhat puzzled to find what looked like an internal ...
...Wednesday. I had problems having my previous desktop delivered by Dell so I kept tracking my delivery status on line. It was dropped off from Ireland at 9.15 am & finally arrived at my flat by 5.30, so somewhat frustrating since they couldn't specify a particular time, especially at £50  ... more

I am changing jobs and will be working from home a lot more so I needed to get a new laptop to replace the old one work had provided me with. I am no IT expert so I decided to stick with a similar one to my work one & I have been pleasantly surprised. I ordered it online using the 'help me choose' assistant so I clicked all the relevant boxes i.e. needs to be lightweight, doesn't need very long battery life, lots of memory etc and the helper eliminates models that don't fit these criteria. The end product was the altitude D420 but I was slightly concerned about the price. Using the 'customise' option I removed lots of items I wasn't interested in & added some features I felt were more important e.g. remove support & remove carry case meant I could afford to increase the memory. well, the end result was this -

D420 Intel Core Duo U2500 (1.2GHz) 12.1" WXGA LCD with Standard Touchpad 1 881.00 881.00
L02421 - D420 ESSENTIAL Feb 1
12.1 inch WXGA LCD Panel 1
UK - D420 Ship Accessories with Power Cord 1
Windows Vista Capable Label 1
1.5GB DDR2 SDRAM (1 x 1GB + 512MB Integrated) 1
60GB 4200RPM Hard Drive 1
Dbay and 8x DVD 24x CD-RW Combo Drive 1
PowerDVD 5.7
65W AC Adapter 1
D420 42WHr 6 CELL Primary Battery 1
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter 1
Core Duo - Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) 1
English - Genuine Windows XP Pro SP2 Media/Recovery CD 1
680-10250 Base warranty 1
680-16585 3Y NBD International (Next Business Day) On-site 1

System
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I have been up & running for a week now & am very happy with the process speed so far. The Intel core duo seems to be doing the trick, as I said earlier I am not an IT boffin so I am quoting from Intel -
"With Intel® Core™2 Duo desktop processor, you'll experience revolutionary performance, unbelievable system responsiveness, and energy-efficiency second to none. And, you won't have to slow down for virus scan, multiple compute intensive programs, or multimedia downloads-these desktop processors are up to 40 percent faster with improved energy-efficiency"

hmmmn, I have to take their word for it.

The machine
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When I first took it out of the box I was surprised that it was slightly smaller than my old work latitude & about 1/3 lighter. The wide screen display (WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution is a sharp, clear picture) means I will be able to watch films on the train but as usual with laptops the mouse/keypad is too cumbersome for my speedy typing. I will be picking up a USB mouse/keyboard to supplement my package.

Battery life
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I chose a 6cell battery as i dont expect to be using it on the move much, according to Dell this recharges to 80% within an hour & lasts 2-4 hours depending on what you are running. I have only been browsing & using simple spreadsheets/word documents so far and it has lasted just over 4 hours.

Misc
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USB ports - only 2 but I plan to add a keyboard with 2 USB ports

DVD drive - when I unpacked the laptop I was somewhat puzzled to find what looked like an internal drive. After opening another box I found a casing to slot the drive into. Not exactly what I was expecting, an external drive, but it does result in a lighter machine and after all, how often do I load software? This will only be an issue if I plan to watch films on the train.

sound - seems ok, nothing amazing but I didn't get it to play music on after all, I am supposed to be doing work on it.(power DVD software is included)

applications - I cancelled all options for office applications as I am expecting my new boss to pay for these but you can have them pre-installed in the factory if you wish

wireless - there's a wireless mini card installed internally. I Installed a Linksys wireless router modem & have found it to work perfectly. After a few glitches getting the network set up initially I am now experiencing 5x faster (for downloading) internet than I previously had. This is probably more to do with the Linksys than the internal card but i am very happy with it & don't know how I got by without it now, The range seems to be quite large, i can pick up networks 3 floors below me in my flat & have regularly piggy-backed on a network 50 yards from my office although i dont think the range extends much more than this.

Overall
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After the first week I am very happy with the speed of processing & the look of the machine. I have yet to use any large utilities & am struggling a little with XP pro after using the home edition previously but that's not really relevant to this machine per se. They start at £819 excluding vat & delivery so really they start at £1012. With a little tweaking you can remove unwanted add ons & customize as I did (my total package £1080)

Delivery - it was due to be delivered between 8 & 6 on a Wednesday. I had problems having my previous desktop delivered by Dell so I kept tracking my delivery status on line. It was dropped off from Ireland at 9.15 am & finally arrived at my flat by 5.30, so somewhat frustrating since they couldn't specify a particular time, especially at £50 

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