E6400 Impressions - Day 1.

I ordered my E6400 on 08/30 and rec'd it on 09/05. Unbelievable order, build, ship times. I ordered a Lenovo T400 on 08/12 and it had an est ship time on 09/01, but on 09/02, they changed the ship date to 09/16 and I promptly canceled my order.

On initial start up, for some reason, it took 3-4 minutes for it to boot. I called ProSupport and after it finally booted, everything was fine after that.

E6400 was incorrectly shipped with WinXP and I spent a few hours doing a clean install of Vista Business (which was included). Didn't make me happy because I ordered Vista Business.

OK, let me make this perfectly clear, the E6400 is a clear winner when compared to the Thinkpad. I've used Thinkpads for more than 10 years and I never thought I would say this. It is rock solid in every area.

Keyboard - outstanding tactile feedback. Let's just say that you won't miss a key if you move from a Thinkpad to an E6400.

Trackpoint / Trackpad - Much improved trackpoint and now with the scroll button, matches Thinkpad functionality. Trackpad is smooth and since I've actually been using a Macbook Pro for the last two years (no trackpoint on board), I find it more comfortable than the trackpoint. Could be a little bigger but definitely top notch... especially the button action for both the trackpoint and trackpad.

LCD - Blows any previous Thinkpad out of the water. Matt finish with LED lighting and wonderful brightness settings (if only they would have provided a scale so you can tell where you are on the brightness level). Might biggest complaint has always been the Thinkpad LCD. I haven't seen the T400's LCD yet, but I can't imagine it being any better than the E6400. All I know is it is so much better than the LCD on my T61 it's not even close. BTW, I got the WXGA+ and LED screen.

AC Brick - nice reduction in size.

Weight - Definitely a plus. Not as heavy as I thought it would be. With the smaller size, feels lighter than my Macbook Pro, but I think it is probably a little heavier, but nothing to notice.

Build - Definitely a business level product. I've got an XPS 1330 and it's got a good build quality, but the E6400 is definitely a cut above.

6 cell Battery - Got four hours on heavy use of web, video, and photo editing. Doesn't stick out much from the back of the laptop, maybe a 1/3 of an inch.

Some things I don't like.

1. I don't like the latch. Not exactly easy to push it in far enough to release the LCD, but it might loosen up as time goes by.

2. The DVD is a little on the loud side when spinning at full speed.

All-in-all, I think Dell has a very nice laptop with solid credentials. I waited anxiously for the D600 to get released and was pretty disappointed when I got one. Went right back to a Thinkpad, but with the quality of the LCD, that won't be the case this time.

BTW, I ordered before the price reduction, but called Dell and got an immediate price adjustment. I think you qualify for a price reduction if it occurs within 20 days of your purchase.

 

Thanks for the info! Maybe pictures as well?

 

Thanks for posting your initial impressions regarding E6400. Please keep 'em coming.

 

Great to hear! You are the 2nd or 3rd person I've heard from that has gotten an E6400 so quickly...oh, so exciting!

Dell's price adjustment policy is 21 days, FYI.

Also, there is an option for Vista Business w/ XP Pro installed...did you pick that accidentally?

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually the new Thinkpad screens, especially the LED on the T400 seem to be giant steps up from previous Thinkpad screens. If you ever get a chance to actually see one yourself I'd be curious as to your impressions then. In fact both the Lenovo and your Dell have 14.1 WXGA+ matte LED screens so it's possible it's even the same part.

 

I recieved mine a few days ago and I totally agree. I also got it with XP installed but I think that's my own fault. I re-installed using a Vista SP1 64bit dvd from MSDN (the one shipped along was 32 bit) and it works perfectly.

Only bad things I encoutered so far are: not-burning cd drive, sound quality (even with headphones) a bit crunchy, and somehow the contactless smartcard reader is not working anymore since I installed vista.

I ordered it with the E-Port Plus docking station. Docking and undocking is very easy. I still have to connect my dual monitor setup. If anyone is interested I could post some pics of the dock.

 

I'd appreciate it if you did. Thanks.

 

I will, as soon as I get a chance to set it up.

 

I haven't checked what my order showed, but I definitely told the sales rep that I wanted Vista Business.

 

I think I heard something to that effect.

Nevertheless, give that the screens are the same, this is the most responsive keyboard I've ever used on a laptop. The old Dell clacky-clack keyboard is gone. This one is very, very reminiscent of the keyboard on my old IBM/Thinkpads. It is a joy to type on and is (dare I say) even better than the one on the Macbook Pro.