Dell E4300 and E4200 Sneak Peek

Today we just got a sneak peek of the upcoming Dell E4300 and E4200 ultraportable notebooks courtesy of Engadget. These new notebooks offer a similar configuration to the Lenovo X300, with their super thin design that includes a rich feature selection and wide external port configuration.

The E-series ultraportable notebooks offer LED backlit WXGA or WXGA+ displays, Centrino 2 chipsets, Firewire, eSATA, Headphone/Mic, ExpressCard/34, multipl US B ports, DDR3 800MHz memory, and the new DisplayPort video connection. The E4300 offers a step up of options over the E4200, which include the WXGA+ display, faster processors, modular optical bay (for additional batteries most likely), and a wider selection of hard drives over the 32GB or 64GB SSD offered in the E4200.

Product shots are limited right now, but we do get a glimpse of the super thin chassis and new hinge design of the E-series notebooks. Images courtesy of Engadget.

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It is very refreshing seeing many notebook manufacturers shifting focus from bulky designs to the much smaller and increasingly popular 13.3" notebooks. I can't wait to see what these notebooks look like in person.

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.6 to .8 inches thick for the small one and 1.0-1.1 inches thick for the bigger one. That's not SO bad.

But DDR3 memory for the 13.3 inch computer???

 

Very nice. I have my eyes on the 12".

 

These are Montevina lappies, so they probably won't be due till summer, right?

 

Looks like 0.6" to 0.8" for the 12.1" version - not bad at all.

As for DDR3, that's standard on both as they're built on the Montevina platform, not due out until this summer, which supports DDR3. Looks like the 12.1" version has 1GB built-in and a single DIMM for a 4GB memory stick (going by the 5GB max memory supported).

The roadmap Engadget posted shows September as the intro point.

http://www.engadget.com/photos/up-c...4200-ultra-portables-with-displayport/712955/

 

Wow! The E4300 has a max of 8GB of memory!! Vista will fly on these!

 

Hot damn! If the price on these is just right, these might be my next notebook in a couple years.

 

Oh crap, you're right. I thought the D430 was the E4200 whoops.

 

I doubt it will make much of a difference. 3GB of RAM feels the same as 2GB.

 

Man, these notebooks look pretty sweet. Now all they need to do is to either throw a dedicated GPU in the 13.3" model, or make a 15.4" model. Then I'd be sold on the Latitude E-series.

 

Maybe I'm blind - I don't see any mention of the gfx cards?

 

Because they're integrated. But nice to know that Montevina is getting closer.

 

The 13.3" E4300 interests me. The spec sheets on Engadget are a bit conflicted, but it looks like the E4300 has:

- pointing stick (!!) + touchpad, not just touchpad like E4200
- WXGA+ 1440x900, not WXGA 1280x800 like E4200
- stereo speakers (on each side of the keyboard), not just one like E4200
- obviously the optical bay for optional Blu-ray drive

But I don't think either one has a webcam?

Also noticed both models are supposed to use the SFF version of Montevina. As I recall the standard version is coming June, with the SFF version around September? So Dell's Sept timetable seems to make sense?

P.S. I'd like to see NBR do another benchmark on Intel's X4500 compared to the X3100 (and compared to AMD's 780G and discrete graphics)

 

I'd be all over the E4300 if it was out sooner and had at least the Intel x4500 graphics. I think that would be enough for me, but I doubt that Ultramobile graphics will suffice.

Anyone else notice that colors are now options? Lemme guess, black, slate grey, and silver.

Greg

 

If I designed X300 I would consider Ultrathin Card Reader for SD and CF cards...

 

A peak is the top of a mountain.
A peek is a quick look.

 

2.2 lbs!? The E4200 will be mine!

 

Any chance of an E4500? xD

 

8 gigs RAM won't matter at all except when using a 64 bit OS.
If everything we are seeing now happens to be true then Dell has done a really good job and unless HP comes up with a surprise too, Dell will be the biggest this year....(...IF their prices are good too)

 

I think I might ditch notebook gaming, buy one of these and build a gaming tower.

 

I'm going to go the same route, except I'll stick with my 360 and PS3 for gaming. I don't game nearly as often on my laptop as I thought I would.

 

It's different if you own a desktop.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/20/dells-latitude-e-series-roadmap-revealed/

A link to show the rest of the laptops. I would so jump on the 13.3" if it were a tablet or if the XT2 came out in June... I need my laptop by July and I prefer a tablet But I'm sure the E6400 is going to be a beast!!!

 

It appears these are still under development as given away by the word 'target' in the specs. I will be pleasantly surprised if Dell can stick to these specs. Yeah, we won't see these till fall, most likely. Montevina is due in July though.

 

Montevina is going to be released at early June, and the ULV Montevina it was said at later on. So, September like the roadmap of Dell shows it makes sense. By the way great job Dell!

 

Anyone noticed a backlit keyboard option in E4300?
Also, something is wrong with keyboard layout, have a look at the Page Dn and Up buttons. Both are different, one is a regular key and the other reduced and shallower. Dell definetely won't release it as such, so I'd consider the pictures only a glimpse of the real machine that will show up.

 

Ultra-portable and more than 1280x800 resolution?

HALLELUJAH!

Late this year is about the time I should be about ready to get my next lappy, too. Nice!

 

Wow, I am impressed. The ultraportable market is really opening up in a big way.

 

E6500 FTW!! hmm...XPS m1530 or Latitude E6500??

 

there will be an xps update too.

 

Thanks sgogeta4 for that link. Wow. I'm ready for the new Delltops.

 

I'm quite surprised that HSDPA is not an option in the E4200 or in the E4300. IMO first thing in an ultraportable is the battery life and after the connectivity.

Does the E4200 have the Penryn processor?

 

The new E-series will probably have Montevina, the next generation. I'm sure they will add WWAN options, they would be foolish not to.

 

I got confused now! Are these E4200 and E4300 with the Montevina chipset? What about Penryn?

 

Montevina will use the Penryn cpus. So to answer your question, both the E4200/E4300 will use the next intel plaform (Codename Montevina, Offical Name: Centrino 2) which will consist of Penryn processors.

 

Anyone have any ideas on the major differences between the E4300 and XPS M1330? (Aside from the webcam and weight of course)

 

No Nvidia graphics card
Can use DDR3 memory and up to 8GB (M1330 uses DDR2 and up to 4GB)
Backlit keyboard
Montevina platform (robson 2.0, Intel X4500)
Bluetooth 2.1 (can be upgraded to on M1330)
E4300 has DisplayPort
Optical drive area can hold second battery
No media direct
Optional contactless smart card reader (wireless usb??)

 

Thanks! So do you think the price will be just about the same?

 

@ Justin: The E4300 will be priced heavily since it will only have SSD, most likely due to its 1.8" HD, but also because of its DDR3 SODIMMs (2x4GB anyone!?).

@ Jay: How do you get BT 2.1 on the m1330? Doesn't it have the 355 BT 2.0 card? (the D630 has the 360 BT 2.1 card). Also, m1330 has UWB (wireless USB).

@ DTX: The reason why the E4300/4200 are coming out in Sept. and not in June with the E6400/6500 is b/c that's when the SFF processors come out. In June, Penryn refresh for normal TDP (T series) and lower TDP (P series, socket B not socket P like current T series). In Sept., the smaller and even lower TDP models: SL, SP, SU, come out.

 

You can buy a Dell bluetooth 360 card and stick it in the m1330.

 

The E4300 will only have SSD? Not even a 2.5" HD?

My hope is dashed!

 

I'm very interested in the E4300 -- but, I didn't realize it only comes with SSD. That (along with the other specs) will probably make it too pricey for my pockets. I guess we'll see.

My other concern is that if the 13.3" screen only comes as WXGA+ resolution, the text might be too small for me. I happen to think that WXGA on a 13.3" screen is just fine, thank you.

 

I mean if you can put an SSD on there, you sure can put a 2.5" hd right?

I would have got the 13.3" XPS laptop, but only 2 USB port?

 

Yep, I suppose so.

 

I thought that all the laptops with the Montevina platform are going to have the X4500 graphic card. What is this Intel UMA?

 

X4500 is the desktop version, laptops will use the GMA 4500.

 

The data sheet for the 4300 says up to 250GB so i don't think SSD is the only option. I am really excited for this lappy but i'm a little confused why the late release date. The 4200 uses the low voltage montevino but the 4300 uses the standard chip, so why not release the 4300 this summer instead of waiting until september?? Anyone?? It's going to be a tought choice between the 4300 and the new Lenovo's, but the 4300 at 3lbs is going to be hard to beat - I haven't seen anything else out there matching the 4300....

 

any idea on starting price for both e4200 and e4300? Any ETA on release date?