M6900 - What specs are you hoping for?

M7710 keyboard compared to M4800 keyboard (which is identical to the M6800 keyboard):



The PrntScrn is now a dedicated key instead of Fn+End. The cursor keys and Page Up / Page Down are also a bit smaller.

As a programmer and frequent spreadsheet user, I'm not really pleased with these changes.

The touchpad is bigger, so that's a plus.

 

I found a picture of an M7510 with glossy screen on a Polish website:



Someone on this site said it looks like a 'Lattitude on steroids'.
I can't say I disagree.

On the same site, there's also a picture of two M5510's with matte (FHD) and glossy screens (4K):



I wished Dell made an M7710 with such small screen bezels...

 

thanks to those posting the photos. I'm really getting excited. Good news regarding keyboard is that Home and End can be used on the keypad without Fn if numlock off. I'm searching for the silver linings as I'm definitely purchasing this generation... We've budgeted for it and my current machines (see my sig) really should be replaced soon. I like the p70, but I really like Dell's Pro service with Accidental coverage... that there is major selling point for me. I may wait until early next year though to see if any significant changes appear after the launch hype.

The 5510 is gorgeous. If it could go up to 64GB I would probably go with it over the 7000 series. 32GB is alot, but that 64GB of the 7000 series has me drooling... even if realistically I probably won't have that many simultaneous VMs running.


Hmm I wonder how well the touchpad will perform. I always use a mouse, but would be nice to have a decent touchpad.

 

There doesn't appear to be an optical drive in the M7710. Hopefully, Dell still offers this as an option, because I don't want to carry an external drive around with me.

Also, there's no VGA connector anymore. So, if you want to connect a beamer, you either need one with an HDMI connection or use an adapter.

Personally, I don't mind the chiclet keyboard, as long as typing is decent. The distance between the keys is pretty much the same as with the old keyboard.

Not sure if I like the new look of the M7710, though. I'm still a fan of the old bronze 'brick' look. I think the M6x00 series had a nice business look to it.

For me, a mobile workstation is first and foremost a workhorse. Unfortunately, most manufacturers nowadays favour appearance over functionality and Dell apparently is no exception.

 

IBM is still old-school with the P70. You may or may not like the looks of those Thinkpads, but they're certainly no-nonsense.

 

Is IBM still involved with making the thinkpad? I think Lenovo is a Chinese owned company. But I havn't followed them super close. I really do like the oldschool Lenovo back in the day. Main reason I can't go p70 is because they did not offer the on site NBD repairs or accidental coverage. Very important for a small business owner who cannot be without a workhorse even for a couple days.

 

I wish I could agree with you but the new style ThinkPad keyboard layout is still a serious regression from the traditional 7 row.

Partially correct - the former IBM ThinkPad design teams in the US & Japan are still employed by Lenovo.

The more worrying thing is - can you trust Lenovo with their record of installing shady malware on to their machines? Even ThinkPads with the stock OS image called home to report hardware telemetry without asking the user.

 

Pretty sure IBM sold ThinkPad off to Lenovo quite some time ago and is not involved anymore.
The P70 looks cool. I see that there is still an optical drive option. As far as the keyboard goes, though, putting the Fn key where the Ctrl key should be really drives me nuts.

 

Yes, it is.

Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer division in 2005, including the ThinkPad line. In 2014, they also acquired IBM x86 Server division.

Nowadays, IBM has little to nothing to do with Lenovo and/or personal computers.

That's why I steer clear of Lenovo.

The 'Superfish' malware that came factory installed with some Lenovo consumer laptops (Y50, Z40, Z50 and G50, but possibly others too), injected its own root SSL certificate into https traffic. Probably to inject their own ads into websites.

Because of this fake SSL certificate, there's no way to tell whether the sites you visit are legitimate or not. If an https session is hijacked, thanks to the fake SSL certificate, it appears as if the connection is still encrypted and there's nothing to worry about.

A serious breach of trust, if you ask me.

In february, Lenovo released a tool to remove the Superfish malware and the root SSL certificate. In the U.S., Homeland Security urged Lenovo customers to remove the malware:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/21/us-lenovo-cybersecurity-dhs-idUSKBN0LO21U20150221

 

I shall treasure my M4800, hopefully weathering this silly chiclet craze until it’s gone.
The internals in the new generation may be up to expected specs, but as for the exterior, and the keyboard, this really is just another Dell line, as the model numbering suggests. Only their internals, and an extra port here and there, and more of cooling vents apparently distinguish the new Precisions from Latitudes.