electronics Dell Latitude D410 opinions and reviews

Dell Latitude D410

An ultraportable laptop delivering exceptional performance courtesy the advanced Intel Centrino technology, the Dell Latitude D410 is a good offering for business executives constantly on the move.

Weighing just 3.8 pounds (72kg), it is pleasingly lightweight. Size features are as follows: 11 inches wide, 9.4 inches deep and 1.3 inches thick, rather acceptable for an ultraportable.

Among the earliest ultraportables to utilize the Centrino platform, D410 embraces the superior Pentium M 760 processor (2 GHz). This has a quicker front-side bus, better DDR2 memory and also the new Intel 915GM graphics chipset with the Graphics Media Accelerator 900 engine. Memory features include 512MB of 400MHz; 128MB of video RAM and the 40GB hard drive.

Both touchpad and pointing stick mechanism are provided. Also the 12.1-inch display, which has a resolution of 1024 x 768, is comprehensible with an especially good viewing angle.

A major shortcoming of D410 is the keyboard designing. It is nearly 6% smaller than a standard keyboard as a result of which those accustomed to operating on a normal-sized keyboard will definitely have some problems adjusting to this.

As seen in a lot of ultraportables, there is no integrated optical drive. However, a removable optical drive is present and you will find a lot of connectivity ports as well. More docking choices are available on purchasing a port replicator and a docking station.

Security features comprise of TPM 1.1, a hardware security chip which stores and generates encryption keys, common to all latest ‘D’ category notebooks. Intel's Execute Disable Bit (a hardware antivirus solution) and a built-in smart-card reader round off the security package.

Softwares enclosed with this Dell offering include the OpenManage client suite, which unfortunately has not been properly incorporated. The bad arrangement can be judged from the fact that the Altiris recovery backup and its management tools are itself not fixed in one interface as a result of which, you have to commence their operations independently. However, some of the other features like hardware management and client configuration utilities are better equipped.

D410 encompasses the 11.1V; 4,800mAh battery which will be functional for three and a half hours; very good for an ultraportable.

The Latitude D410 comes with a lengthy three-year warranty inclusive of onsite service. Additionally, you can also utilize the 24/7 customer support.

Analysing all the pros and cons, Dell Latitude D410 can be described as a suitable ultraportable for ‘ultra-busy’ businessmen.