New Dell Latitude E-Series Now Available

The Inq is BS. Most mobile graphics cards are fine.

 

This is wrong!
Maybe it looks like a display port, but it is actually the special powered usb port, that dell is bragging about.

 

That port between the monitor and audio ports looks like a USB port with the USB charging facility.

I think it is also eSATA. See the close-up photo of an eSATA /USB port in this review.

John

 

praneeth I was actually inquiring about the accessories not DisplayPort.

 

They are not compatible. The D series used a dock based off a PCI connector, while the new E series uses PCI-e (not compatible).

 

The powered usb port has a lightning bolt on it, so that's probably not that... don't know anything about display port being on those models.

 

It's the USB/eSATA combo port. Same exact port as on the Voodoo Envy 133. I doubt it's powered. Maybe the USB port on the other side is powered.

 

The US dell website is lacking in info compared to other international sites.

For instance you can reach this page via the NZ website and it gives what seems to be a more complete spec sheet for the E4200 and it lists displayport as a port.

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/pro...ptop_latitude_e4200?c=nz&l=en&s=bsd&cs=nzbsd1

 

What were they thinking giving it an nVidia FX370M? The Lenovo T61p has an FX570M and it's a generation old now.

 

The e5400 appears to be mostly plastic while the e6400 is magnesium alloy. Checkout the photos of the lid, and the inside surrounding the keyboard/touchpad and you’ll see the difference.

 

Thank you Greg.

 

Keep in mind that switchable graphics requires a restart under Windows XP. Kind of negates the benefit...

 

As much as i would like to have an integrated DisplayPort in the E4200/E4300 this picture clearly says otherwise:

 

What´s the difference between Vostro 1510 v new Latitude E5500, other than the 250 euros?

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I´m thinking about getting a Dell Vostro 1510, I have just seen the new Latitude E5500, now in doubt.

Is it worth the 250 euros price difference?

Could someone give me some reasons to buy one or the other?

Thanks in advance, any ideas welcome.


Javier, Spain

 

It's definitely worth it.

 

The e4200 and 4300 look like good machines. I'm disappointed, if unsurprised, that they only have VGA out. That's really lame for a notebook in 2008.

The "Latitude On" feature sounds interesting. I'm guessing it's an ARM processor? It sounds like it might be a few months(?) before the notebook is equipped with this feature though?

can anyone confirm the thickness of and width of the e4200? I'm curious to see if Dell is playing with the stats like Lenovo does with the X200 (0.8" at the very tip rising to an undisclosed 1.4" in the back)

 

Does anyone know if it support dual link dvi? i'm looking for one of these to run my 30"

 

As far as I know, only high ends notebook cards currently support dual link DVI.

 

It's not so much notebook card support that's required (all of them do), as much as notebook support. The manufacturer has to add a dual-link DVI output. Nearly all only add single-link, even if the physcial port is a dual-link one.

 

I think ONLY Powerbook G4 and Macbook Pro 15" and 17" have it.

 

There are other notebooks, not just Apple, that have dual-link output. The M1730, for instance, and possibly the latitudes (I think the dock does, don't quote me yet though).

 

A few CLevos have (M570RU had, and the replacement probably does as well).

 

those are huge compare the the Macbook Pro

 

So true.

Both the Lenovo T series and the dells are actually downgraded this summer. Now we can chose between FX370M and ATI 3470 if we want a 14" laptop.

A year ago, we could have the faster FX570M 128 in the t61p (128mb version)

What were they thinking....

 

sorry, but is there any more specific information on when the 4300 is going to be available? (my school starts on the 25th of september)

 

Sigh...*facepalm*

Do they cost as much (no), do they enjoy the support of business level tech service (probably), are they geared towards the business environment and all the requirements therein (not really), are they even aimed at the same markets (no)?

 

15.4" MBP Dimensions
1.0" H x 14.1" W x 9.6" D
Weight: 5.6 lbs.

15.4" Latitude E6500 Dimensions
1-1.3" H x 14.1" W x 10.1 D
Weight starting at: 5.2 lbs

How is that huge compared to MBP?

 

I'm talking about the notebooks with dual link DVI.

 

Oooh. Yeah, they are. They're 17" laptops that are much more powerful. I heard that one of thses had dual-link DVI. Not sure though.

 

Yeah, sorry guys. I was really excited when I saw the Crave posting, but looks like no Display port.

 

Does anyone know if the 'Latitude On' feature that boots into the Linux OS instantly is available for the 6400?

 

It isn´t mentioned in the E6400 description so i would say no.
BUT

so you could upgrade ist later, if my interpretaion of "models issued with the reader" is right, could you help me with that?

 

There was never a 14" widescreen T61p, and whether the crippled FX570M in the 14" 4:3 T61p was more powerful than the NVS140 in the standard T61 is the subject of debate. So it's not a complete downgrade...though I think widescreen in and of itself is a huge downgrade for business notebooks. The NVS160 in the E6400 should be a decent GPU.

 

ACtually, no it's not. It was more powerful than the NVS140 and more powerful than the 8600m GS. The lower buswidth and memory size were offset by lower resolutions and higher memory clockspeed. It was a little weaker than a ddr2 8600m GT at 1024x768.

 

According to this presentation it is only available on the e4200 and the e4300.

 

Any hint at the price for the e4200 and e4300?

 

Hm, kind of reminds me of a thinkpad, if i got another laptop, i would consider one, except that they do not have their version of the trackpoint, which i love!

 

Is anyone working on review for the E series? I´ve just found one review and it`s missing the notebookreview goodness.

 

I'm interested in that review. Can you give a link?

 

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-dell-latitude-e6400

 

Thanks. Interesting review and comments. They had over 5 hours of battery life on the 6 cell they claim, although the picture seems to show a 9 cell battery.

 

The E6400 should deliver at least 5 hours from the 6 cell on order to be able to reach the claimed 19 hours from 9 cell + the 12 (lower capacity) cell slice. Dell used an SSD for that test, which might help a little.

According to the user guide the battery capacities are:

12-cell "smart" lithium ion prismatic slice (84 Whr)
9-cell "smart" lithium ion (85 Whr)
6-cell "smart" lithium ion (56 Whr)
4-cell "smart" lithium ion (35 Whr)

(84+85)/19 = 8.9W (similar to what I can get with the Toshiba R500 with its ULV CPU!) and at that discharge rate the 6 cell should be good for over 6 hours.

John

 

John does the 6 cell stick out of the back of the laptop?

 

I hope not.

There looks to be a big enough hole in the base to hold a 6 cell battery.

On closer examination, I think the hinges stick out slightly at the back and the 6 cell is flush between them.



The specs show the 9 cell battery as being about 22mm wider than the 6 cell, so that will stick out. Here's all the battery info from the user guide:

And, while we are on the subject of power, the PSUs have been put on a diet:

John

 

Ok, so this must be the 9 cell.


When is the expected delivery date of yours John?
And what is the exact weight including 6 cell battery?

 

Can you guys show the pic of the slice battery. What does it look like, is it flat like a laptop cooler and is attached to the bottom of the laptop?

 

On or before 15th September (but I'll believe it when it arrives).

My best estimate of weight with the 6 cell is:

The manual says this about the weight:

I assume the second weight also includes the optical drive.

A bare optical drive weighs about 180 grams and, as already posted, the 6 cell battery weighs 90 grams more than the 4 cell. Therefore, I don't know why there is only 0.2kg difference between those two configurations unless the travel module has significant weight (I would have thought a piece of flimsy plastic would weight around 25g / 1oz).

At the moment I am assuming the 1.95kg is correct. Adding 90g for 6 cell battery and 180g for optical drive gives 2.22kg. An SSD weighs about 75 grams and an HDD 100grams so that's +25g if you choose the HDD so that gives a total weight of 2.25kg (4.96lb) assuming that the caddy for the optical drive weighs the same as the weight saver module. That's my best estimate until someone can get the E6400 and a digital balance to have a brief encounter.

It's significantly heavier than the Fujitsu S6520, but Fujitsu haven't given any hint that they will produce a version with a WXGA+ display.

I haven't seen a photo of the slice but it is slightly bigger than the area occupied by the computer and about 15mm (0.6") thick. I presume it connects through the docking port.

My own preference would be to carry a spare normal battery.

John

 

Well, a spare normal battery might be lighter, but 19 hrs (maybe less, but anything over 10 hrs is fantastic) allows me to be at the lake with the laptop for the whole day. Or at the office without the ac adapter.

 

Here's a photo: http://tweakers.net/ext/i/1218609472.jpg

(source in Dutch: http://tweakers.net/nieuws/55077/dell-introduceert-nieuwe-zakelijke-latitude-e-notebooks.html )

 

Actually, I kind of like the dual-battery option. Last time I used something like that, I was actually able to change one battery while the laptop was running off of the other. One did not have to completely interrupt working just to recharge.

The battery slice seems to be an interesting add-on, something that brings value to the E series. 15mm increase in thickness is probably worth it for road warriors.