12.1-inch Dell Latitude D420 Introduced
This 12.1″ widescreen ultraportable was hinted at around a month back, but only today was it officially announced by Dell. Featuring a Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Intel Core Solo U1300 (1.06GHz) processor, it will probably be slightly weaker performance-wise in comparison with Acer’s upcoming 12.1″ offering, the Ferrari 1000 (AMD Turion 64 X2). Of course, this will only be the case if Acer decides to ramp up the GHz on their model.
However, given the starting weight of 3.0 lbs for the Latitude D420 (when equipped with a 4-cell battery), it’ll compete well on weight since the F1000’s weight has been reported to start at around 3.7 lbs. Admittedly, you’re not going to be getting much style with the Dell - with its standard greyish silver finish awaiting you. But its battery life can be expanded to a whopping seven hours if you are willing to lug a 9-cell battery-equipped D420.
Early adopters will also be pleased with a couple of features Dell has thrown in with the D420. It’s 802.11n-ready, and features a Wi-Fi Catcher which can help you find wireless connections without booting up your notebook. Nothing spectacular, but it does add value to a rather simple notebook in a burgeoning ultraportable market.
It does seem though that Dell are prepared to battle its competitors on price instead of features, with a starting price of US$1,149 after an instant savings coupon. Of course, this price gets you only 512MB RAM, a 30GB 4200 RPM hard drive and a 24X external CD-ROM drive. Up your budget to US$1,642 and you’ll get the “standard” (that is, if you want to run Windows Vista) 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD (also 4,200RPM) and an external DVD-RW optical drive.
Overall, we’re not too thrilled with this new model, though it does round up Dell’s business-level Latitude notebook series. We’d say buy it only if you’re looking for a simple and effective ultraportable on the cheap.
Read more news and reviews on the Dell Latitude D420.
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Dell Announces Support for 802.11n Draft Specification | House of Dell said,
Pingback • July 18, 2006 @ 4:11 am
[…] When Dell launched the 12.1″ Latitude D420 notebook last month, one of the key features touted was its support for Draft 802.11n technology through the Dell Wireless 1500 mini-card. That was probably Dell’s idea of a soft launch since only yesterday was a full press release on the subject published. […]