E4310 Owner's Lounge

HDMI is inapropriate for this Laptop. But it really should have a Displayport

Do you really need a I7 in a small laptop? I5 duals are plenty of power for the intended audience of this laptop.

The E4310 is what it is. A middle ground for someone that needs to have the power of the E6410 but wants some of the smallness of the E4200.

Speaking of the E4200.... dell has been extremely quiet about any possible E4210. Ive heard rumblings that they may drop the 12 inch lattitude line.

 

Don't forget that the E series has docking capability, which offers a lot of extra ports. Personally (and based on my experience of the E4300), I would find only 2 USB ports to be the biggest limitation.

John

 

I just noticed that Ubuntu 9.1 is listed as an OS option on the E4310.

Your right, the E port plus has connectors a plenty for most anyone. I even manage to hook the ocasional PS/2 or Parralell device to one ocasionaly. I swear some employees here hold on to some old PS/2 ergo keyboard or desktop printer with a death grip. LOL.

 

Hmm, yeah, I saw the specs and I think that the changes are not significant enough to replace my E4300. John is right, the lack of even a minor battery in the media bay is a mistake. That single optionless feature is my biggest peeve because it limits how easy it is to swap a battery without shutting down.

I understand keeping VGA on board (aside from the docking stations which really are a must have at this size machine) as it is very very prevalent in all environments.

The combined headphone and microphone is silly, if a third USB had been gained, or an HDMI or Display Port added, then fine, but it does not so I say dumb.

Even so, I still prefer the E4300/4310 over any other similar sized laptop on features, cost and especially weight. I was just hoping for too much I guess.

 

Don't forget the E Series legacy extender has two USB ports on it. it's small and attaches to the Docking port.

It also tips the back of the laptop up for better cooling.

 

Actually, I am not disagreeing at all, sorry if that is how you took it. Currently I don't travel as much as I did. But having said that, having to power down completely when traveling is a royal pain, and the ability to hot swap the external battery because there is a bay battery would be a huge boost to the portability of this otherwise fantastic little machine. As it is, I still rarely power down, and much prefer hibernation for long stops and of course standby for the shorts. I simply believe that if Dell is going to make an ultra-portable with an optical drive, then with a *little* more effort would not be out of line to allow for the option of the bay battery. That kind of overall functional flexibility would be fantastic.

As far as the wider screen format, losing the split jacks in favor of keeping something like 1394 is something I do not understand. Why not put the 1394 in the back if it must remain, and keep the dual jacks on the sides. Is there really that big of a user base among the ultra-portables to require this port? But even so, the E4300 and E4310 still, in world of preferences, beats the current competition in the features, ports, size + weight, and cost game.

But already having the E4300, I am not impressed *enough* to upgrade. If I were buying new, I would probably wait a few months for the initial warranty feedback and ECO' cycle to complete...

 

They dropped the 1394 port as well, actually...

 

Really, I thought I saw it on the pictures! Well, your right, and I am wrong and I will eat my words.

 

The E4310 really is not targeted at E4300 users. It's for enterprises on 3 or 4 year cycles. So the E4310 would be replacing D420 and D430 laptops that are getting worn out, or for users who have 14 inch D series and want something smaller.

In dell's thinking, the current model is not to replace the previous generation. But the generation a couple of models older.

1394 is a waste for us. We never use it. I will have to see if the E6410 still has it.