dell latitude d600 review

dell latitude d600 review

Dell - Latitude D600 review

As with all its notebook lines, Dell has recently re-vamped the corporate Latitude range, giving these laptops a smarter look as well as the latest Intel mobile technology

The Latitude D series is the top of the range, with the D600 (dell latitude d610 battery) positioned Latitude D600,by Dell as offering a balance between mobility and performance. The new range use Dell's Tri-Metal chassis design using aluminum, magnesium alloy and steel, to make the latest Latitudes lighter and thinner than previous models. Measuring 31.5cm x 25.6cm x 3.1cm and weighing in at 2.12kg, it also achieves its mobility goal

Throughout the range you have a choice between pure Centrino technology or swapping the Intel Pro Wireless PCI card for one of Dell's own TrueMobile solutions, either the 1300 with 802.11b/g or the 1400 which supports 802.11a, b and g. The review model was a true Centrino unit using the Intel solution.

Powered by a 1.4GHz version of Intel's Pentium M Processor, FRU 92P1141,using Intel's 855PM chipset and backed by 256MB of 266MHz (PC2100) DDR memory, the performance was good without being sensational, but more than enough to handle today's business applications.( dell latitude d510 battery)

One area of the D600's performance which does shine is its graphics sub-system. Powered by a 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 chip, it's quick enough to cope with a good number of the games currently available. Hardcore gamers may not be impressed, but then the Latitude is a corporate animal not a games machine.

The output from the graphics chipset drives a 14.1-inch SXGA+ screen which has a native resolution of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels.Latitude D600 battery, Also available as a cheaper option is a 1,024 x 768 pixel, 14.1-inch XGA screen.

The reviewed D600 came with the standard 30GB hard drive but bigger options are available - 40GB (add £40 + VAT) and 60GB (add £110 + VAT) - while sitting in the single modular bay was a 24x/10x/24x CD-RW drive.FRU 92P1137, This modular bay can house a number of different drives, but if you are upgrading from a previous Latitude model, you have to buy new modular drives as your old ones won't fit the new D series.

For connecting to the outside world, you have a number of choices with the D600 (dell laitude d505 battery). Aside from the Wireless PCI card, it also comes with integrated Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000Mbps), integrated 56Kbps modem and an option to fit an internal BlueTooth card (add £19 + VAT).

On the opposite side of the chassis to the modular bay, there is a single Type II card slot and the slot for the integrated Smart Card reader.02K6651, Joining these are the two audio ports and the IR port. The rear panel holds all the remaining ports; two USB 2.0, single LAN, modem, parallel, serial and VGA ports and an S-Video port. As there are no PS/2 ports, if you want to use an external mouse and keyboard, these will have to be USB items.

The D600's keyboard is well positioned and feels solid to the touch, and has a pointing stick in the middle of it. If you don't like using this, then a traditional touchpad is also built in. The four mouse buttons - two below the space bar and two below the touchpad - are like the keyboard; well built and responsive. To the left hand corner of the keyboard are the volume buttons.

The 4,400mAh battery combined with the Centrino technology gives the D600 a respectable battery life of around four hours.

If legacy connections and long dell laptop battery life are what you need in a business laptop, the Dell Latitude D600 delivers. The slim Wi-Fi-ready unit weighs 5.4 pounds and has parallel and serial connections for old office peripherals. For typists, the D600 provides both a low-profile pointing stick in the center of the keyboard and the more popular touchpad. The two sets of mouse buttons cater to polar-opposite tastes: The pointing stick's buttons are squishy and deep-depressing, while the touchpad's buttons are extremely stiff. In our battery tests, 02K6928,the D600 lasted just over 4 hours, about an hour longer than the average laptop.

The keyboard feels springier than most, though the nice layout includes a set of press-and-hold volume buttons. The stereo sound emitted from the front speakers is powerful enough for small presentations or close-quarters entertainment. The 14-inch screen can be had in 1024-by-768- or 1400-by-1050-pixel resolution; we tested and priced a D600 with the higher resolution.

Nicely upgradable for a laptop, the D600 offers a hard drive that can be removed from the front of the case, dell Latitude D600 battery,as well as a modular media bay. The latter can hold an optical drive, a second battery ($50 extra), or a second hard drive. The variety of available docking stations makes the D600 (dell latitude d600 battery) a viable primary PC. Options range from simple monitor stands to the $279 D/Dock Expansion Station, which provides four USB ports and a DVI flat-panel port.

Other convenient touches include an external battery gauge and battery release latch. Also,02K6620, a button on the optical drive pops out when pressed, making it easy to remove the drive, and status lights are placed prominently in the right-side screen hinge. Finally, though the cards and security software aren't included in the price, the D600 comes with an integrated Smart Card slot for protecting files and making Web logons more convenient; Dell sells the optional OtaniumSuite PKI software with two Smart Cards for $60. In keeping with its business orientation, the D600 has no FireWire port or multiformat DVD burner option.

The D600 is a bit disappointing on one front: speed. Not an aggressive performer for a 2-GHz/600-MHz Pentium M 755-equipped laptop, it earned a WorldBench 5 score of 81 in our tests, compared with a score of 89 earned by a similarly equipped Acer TravelMate 8000. The difference, however, should not be overly apparent when using mainstream applications. dell inspiron 700m battery

The D600's documentation is not very convenient to access. We did not receive a complete printed users' manual, 02K7039 and electronic information is scattered throughout the Windows Help and Support Center. However, the answers are there if you don't mind searching.

Upshot: Though not quite a go-getter in the performance department, the D600 offers a nicer design than many thin-and-light business machines, including dual pointing devices.