Sunday, April 17, 2011

Dell Latitude E4300 Overview

The Dell Latitude E4300 is one of the newest laptops by Dell in the Latitude range and is almost ultraportable. The Latitude series has been a high performance, high reliability business series aimed at those who want something better than Dell’s Vostro series of business notebooks. The Dell Latitude E4300 is one of the most portable 13 inchers out there. It has the trademark Latitude quality and features a nice design and build quality. Reliability has been Dell Latitude’s middle name and the E4300 completely adheres to that. A Latitude can last about 3-4 years easily and are known to be the most durable among notebooks. Also most business customers generally need portability with long endurance and reliability, all of which the Latitude series offers. Dell also offers superb customer care with the Latitude series which satisfies most customers.

The only aspect of the Dell Latitude E4300 that's weak is its integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics Dell Latitude E4300 AC adapter, which is slow and takes up some system RAM. It recorded 1020 marks in 3DMark06, which means it won't be good for crunching 3D graphics, but it will be fine for running the 1280x800, 13.3in screen or a higher resolution monitor connected to the notebook's VGA port. Another of the notebook's weaknesses is its lack of a digital video port; you don't get a built-in HDMI output or DisplayPort. If you want a digital video port, you have to purchase the one of the docking options.

The solid state drives are great in terms of speed, reliability and extending Dell LATITUDE E4300 battery life but they can add a lot to the total cost so budget minded companies may go in for the standard HDD. The E4300 comes with Intel’s latest Wi-Fi chipset and Bluetooth so you get all the mobile connectivity you could need. For those who want even more, a cellular modem is available as an option.

The ambient light sensor can adjust the brightness of the screen automatically. In well-lit conditions, the screen increased in brightness, while in dark conditions the screen dimmed. It wasn't overly sensitive to minor changes in lighting conditions. Funnily enough, when we enabled the 'Power Saving' scheme, the ambient light sensor was automatically disabled and the screen brightness increased, but it did not do this every time. We found this frustrating.

As you could have already figured out by the specs, the performance of the E4300 is great! In idle mode, the CPU cores are clocked at 1,5GhZ, going higher when needed. I never came to the point to use all of the 4GB DDR3 RAM, so I can not tell how it is behaving under full load, yet. But so far, it definitly hits all my expectations concerning speed/performance. Software is always starting immediatly, the whole system is snappy as hell ( without vista, this is),..

For now, I did not play any games on the E4300 so I can not tell anything about the graphics integrated. It is DirectX10 capable but do not expect too much from a videocard without even own memory.

The ultimate team player, Latitude Ultra-Portable laptops can be managed virtually anywhere in the world by your IT professionals. With image and systems management tools like Dell ImageDirect and Dell Client Manager, you can help simplify systems management and free up IT to focus on more strategic business challenges. Latitude Ultra-portable laptops also work with all E-Family notebook docking solutions.

The brushed metal look is gorgeous on the Dell E4300. It certainly looks sexy, and to Dell’s credit, this is also its best laptop yet in terms of build quality. The laptop feels amazingly solid with its magnesium alloy chassis. There is absolutely no hint of flex on the palm rest, or on the laptop screen. Attempts to twist or prod resulted in no ripples on the screen. It is worth noting how solidly built the metal hinges are. There was hardly any motion regardless of the positioning or angle of the screen. The 6-cell battery protrudes from the back of the laptop, and is hardly noticeable, although that is a matter of personal taste. Again, Dell has been outdone by its competitor Lenovo, which manages to fit in its own 6 cell SONY VGP-BPS8 battery without having it protrude.

The Dell Latitude E4300 is a remarkable business ultraportable that offers the benefits of both speed and battery life—provided you get the extended battery. Its weight and screen size sit between the E4200 (review coming shortly) and the E6400, and it's the best option of the three, in my opinion. The 13-inch widescreen is the sweet spot and a first in the Latitude line, and the illuminated keyboard and color options are excellent aesthetic touches. It's not as innovative and forward thinking as the Editors' Choice Sony VGN-Z590, but it has a tremendous upside potential.

You can use the Dell Latitude E4300 charger for creating elaborate office documents, image editing, and even chopping up and rendering videos. Our reivew unit came with 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM (you can get up to 8GB) and a fast 7200rpm, 160GB hard drive - the hard drive managed an average transfer speed of 30.72 megabytes per second in our tests. This is a little slower than notebooks such as Dell's own slimline Vostro 13, but it's still a very good result. There is an option for a solid-state drive, and you can even get the laptop with a second hard drive installed.

There is a new laptop from DELL.Dell Latitude E4300.It is a the most powerful and portable notebook launched by DELL till date.The 13 inch screen makes the machine ultra portable.The Intel Core 2 Duo processor and boasts in battery life makes it a perfect choice for professionals.It costs $1349.

Business ultraportables are revered for what they bring to the table. They are priced at a premium and are expected to meet significant criteria. Since business travel accelerates wear and tear, durability is one of the main objectives. Several hours of battery life is no longer enough; a business ultraportable has to last all day, whether through a single Dell LATITUDE E4300 battery or multiple ones. Ample connectivity features and future-proofed parts are equally important. The Dell Latitude E4300 ($2,789 direct) assumes a place among the elite of corporate laptops, venturing down paths that were uncommon in the Latitude line until now. (This model doesn't even have a true predecessor.) For the first time, a 13-inch widescreen, color options (blue, black, or red), and an illuminated keyboard are part of its arsenal. And when used in tandem, the two high-capacity batteries yielded over 8 hours of battery life.

A few other buttons on the E4300 are worth noting. One, the slick "Latitude On" button, triggers Dell's branded version of the DeviceVM Splashtop technology, which lets you quickly check e-mail, contact, and calendar info without fully booting up the computer; it's an extremely handy feature for the business traveler. On the downside, the keys for volume control and muting are small, awkwardly placed, and very stiff.

Like many 13.3-inch displays with 16:10 aspect ratios, the E4300’s screen has a native resolution of 1280 x 800. However, we would have preferred the larger workspace provided by a 1440 x 900-pixel resolution, something the E4300’s main competitors, the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and X301, both offer.

Specifications:
  • Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 (2.53GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP2, with downgrade rights for Windows XP SP3 and upgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional
  • 13.3" LED WXGA LCD Screen (1280x800)
  • 1GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM (upgraded to 4GB)
  • 80GB 7200RPM Western Digital 2.5" Hard Drive
  • Intel X4500MHD video card
  • Internal Fixed DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
  • Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, WWAN Capable
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • 6-Cell 60WHr Battery, with 6-Cell 48WHr Battery Slice
  • 3-Year Warranty with On-Site Technical Support
  • Dell E-Port Docking Station, with Dell Flat Panel Monitor Stand
  • Dimensions: 12.2" x 8.6" x 1.1"
  • Measured Weight: ~ 3.7lbs

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