Latitude E-Series Anticipation Thread

Or is it the fingerprint reader, as it was the case in the d-series? By the way, how is the workmanship on this baby? Has it the rigid body of the d-series? metal hinges I guess, mag-alloy chassis? I saw some flaws in your pre-production unit. How`s the overall build quality?

Thanks, Al.

 

thanks for the pictures! It does look quite a bit different from the early renditions posted on Engadget in February. As a matter of fact most of the early Latitude and Studio renditions showed them sporting those Mac/Vaio style keys, but in the end both seem to be using the more traditional style. I guess Dell gave up on them? not as spill proof i guess?

 

not to beat a dead horse, and no offense intended, but I am glad dell did not listen to customers like you. the machine is a business laptop. it should be unobtrusive and basic looking. it is not supposed to be exciting. and furthermore, the point is the specs, as a business laptop, you should not care how it looks (never mind that you shouldn't care about how a laptop looks period, since its a piece of heavy operational power).

 

I agree it's a business laptop and looks are not most important. And I still believe Dell could have done a better job. If I would not care about looks at all I might buy a Lenovo X200.

But each to his own I guess. I just hope the black E4300 will look better. Or I'll just go for Sony Z.

 

Personally, I like the look of the black systems better. with the colored models, they paint them and it has a matte finish. I didnt like the red. i might like the blue better. The standard black ones are pretty cool tho. They have this gunmetal look. They are magnesium alloy skins just like the painted ones, but they have a nice metal look. To me it looks like oiled handgun metal. kinda sweet imo.

 

Theres another good reason for less flashy looks: it is less noticeable and thus less likely to be stolen.

 

On the other hand, a notebook with distinctive appearance might be easier to recover than one which will be lost in the crowd of silver / gre y/black notebooks.

John

 

I think style is important. Dell intentionally manufactures that way to increase sales. Business NB (solid, plain style), target customer = business. Consumer Grade NB (less solid, more stylish), target customer = end user. They want to get the best of both worlds. If Dell manufactures solid business notebook with nice style, I think their revenue on consumer grade NB will be depleted. Who would buy the consumer grade? Unless if budget constraint. Bottom line, if Dell manufactures stylish business NB, +1, I will buyitnow. I am actually crossing my finger now, hoping that the 14.1" will be somewhat more stylish, at least fall into my acceptable range.

If I may add, why this Latitude E seems very popular? Not only because of spec (everybody knows that business NB has solid spec), but also because of the style hype that was leaked last February! People are expecting that this will be the first Dell NB that are not 'boxy', solid, and stylish like Sony/Mac.

 

i think the simple black is pretty stylish enough.

do you think the price could be haggled down a little bit by talking to a dell rep on the phone or do you think since the product is brand new they will be sticking to their guns? Anyone have exp. with new products?

 

My experience is always better dealing with their reps on the phone. The website isnt going to give you much of a discount for a new business product and to my knowledge, the big coupons on the consumer side dont work on the business side of their site. I've always found that the more ammo i can give them as a reason for the price, the better I can do. i.e. HP pricing is here and ask them to match or beat it.