Latitude E7240 and E7440

Yeah I think my bad on ordering w/o. For the moment I'm keeping them - I have a few weeks to return. Figure if a sale occurs during then I'll buy replacements and hopefully be able to swap hard drives if they are identical configs so that I don't have to reload everything. Have to say I love the FHD over the one on my 6430u. It's like night and day..... And hey, I'll likely upgrade again later this year anyway when the new models come out.

 

It's great with some minor backlight bleed. Also, I tried to open up the back panel and one of the screws was worn so I could not open. Could not get the screwdriver to open it at all. Have to send it to Dell to replace it, which I don't mind doing. They also said they'd try and fix the backlight bleed so that's nice.

They sent me the old AC adapter though. The boxy one 9RN2C instead of the new rounded M1P9J. It would be easier to pack with the wrap around cable. I contacted Dell and they said since this is a referb, they can't replace it. The e7240 I returned had the newer adapter. Should I bother fighting this?

 

I highly doubt that the backlit keyboard requires a new mobo. It just doesn't make any financial sense for dell to make two different mobos just to support something as mundane as backlit keyboard.
Check out p 18 of the manual: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...tude-e7440-ultrabook_Owner's Manual_en-us.pdf
It shows the keyboard backlight cable and it's connector on the mobo. As long as the connector is there, all you need to do is ordering the backlit keyboard from ebay for a few bucks.

 

Well, i found this site myself via google, but you cannot find Dell Quickset for the E7440...

 

I agree it seems odd. The support guy seemed to check into pretty deeply and said the problem is the regular motherboard doesn't have the power connector required for the backlit keyboard to plug into (he seemed surprised about it too). Each rep I talked to said if it was as easy as a new keyboard, they would provide at no cost but since it wasn't possible to upgrade they suggested I send back the laptops (at their expense). But of course the problem is that I can't replace them for anywhere near what I paid....

If anyone has a document that says otherwise, I will call them back. The support guy also said changing the keyboards on these was a PITA.

I should add that the first guy I got looked in the new order system and couldn't find an option for a backlit keyboard - e.g. they come standard per him. Maybe that has been a change since the product launched and now it's a standard feature for any new ones?

 

That's possible. Just keep in mind that Outlet machines may have been built before the change so you have to make sure any you are interested in say "backlit" in the configuration description.

 

After 1 month of wait, Dell finally delivery my E7240 with FHD touch display with backlit keyboard. They keyboard feel good to type on although it have some flex like everyone said & it kind of hot at the bottom. The best thing is the touch display. Using the touch screen is faster & easier than using touch pad. So i would say touch screen is the future for laptop.

 

Yeah, I miss the touchscreen on my E7240 that I returned for other problems. I decided to get the E7440 instead with the same exact specs with no touch screen (i7-4600u, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram, 4-cell battery, backlight kb, webcam) for $630ish, which is almost $400 cheaper than what I paid for the E7240 with touch. I'm thinking about the touch screen, but now it's around $1900 before discounts for i7, 256 ssd, 8 ram on the outlet so I don't think that's worth it. It's so nice, though! So very useful.

The E7440 I think I'll keep but it also has problems. Backlight bleeding, kb flex, and it has no Windows 8.1 key installed on the motherboard even though when I bought it, it said it was Windows 8.1 Pro. Also, one of the screws for the backplate is worn out they might have tightened it too much. I have to send it in already. But it's such a good deal that I think I'll deal with it.

 

630 is an amazing deal for the 7440. I use the touch a lot more than I thought I would.. You can even pass through the touch function to a virtual machine in vmware workstation.

 

You got a great deal. I've yet to see a notebook IPS display that didn't have at least a little backlight bleed, so don't judge too harshly on this parameter. Mine has a little at the bottom right but I've seen much worse, and it makes absolutely no difference in actual use unless you're looking at an image that is near-black in that area, and even then it is hard to notice.

I have keyboard flex too, it doesn't really affect my typing speed or accuracy but I find it annoying just because it can be felt. I also don't like that some keys have a cheap hollow sound when depressed. Again no practical impact, it's just annoying to notice on a premium machine. Some day I will get up the courage to remove the keyboard and see what can be done as far as taping or shimming the underside to reduce flex.