Dell Latitude E6400 Notebook Review
The Dell latitude E6400 is being marketed as the ultimate road warrior’s notebook. With a 19 hour battery life (more about that later), you will wear out before this computer does.
The E6400 is targeted towards companies and organizations that have a large population of notebooks and are looking for dependability, solid performance levels and commonality of parts for their complete workforce for ease of maintenance, service and back up. So design, looks and bells and whistles are not what the E6400 is offering.
Perhaps that’s why the magnesium alloy chassis is so square with hard sharp corners. Its not bad looking and gives the impression of being rugged and dependable but seems to have the appearance of a notebook from 4 or 5 years ago. The magnesium alloy is used on the lid also and the brushed metal look here is quite attractive.
The 14.1 inch screen is matte WXGA+ with a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution. The colors are bright and crisp and the backlight is clear and unobtrusive with an adjustment range that makes it fine for both indoor and outdoor use. The matte screen may seem a bit of an odd feature but the logic seems to be that it will have less reflection in a harshly lit office environment.
The keyboard is well spaced out and allows for comfortable typing. The key travel is limited and this prevents too much clicking noise, especially during high speed typing. The keyboard backlighting is good enough for comfortable use in a dark room.
The touchpad has a nice feel to it but the response leaves a bit to be desired. Time lag and accuracy is not as good as with HP and Lenovo touchpads. On the plus side is the 3 mouse button configuration which gives better control for tabbed web browsing.
Keeping in mind that business users will use the E6400 as a laptop when travelling and a desktop when in the office, Dell have introduced a new docking station for the E series which includes design improvements and an extra USB port.
Okay, coming back to the 19 hours battery life. The standard 9 cell battery gives about 4 hours plus of operating time, which is reasonable. This could be extended by using the Vista power saving mode. The 19 hour option involves a 12 cell high capacity battery that connects to the bottom of the E6400. When the 9 cell and 12 cell battery are used in conjunction, along with Dell’s power saving settings, a 19 hour battery power time is possible. However, the 12 cell battery does add to the weight of the unit and that’s not much fun when on the road.
Like all Dell notebooks, all kinds of equipment combinations and permutations are possible, along with a host of options, so discussion the performance is not really fair. It all depends on your configuration. But its safe to say that in this regard the E6400 meets Dell’s high standards. The starting price is around $1200 at the most basic level but can easily double (or more) depending on what you opt for.