Dell Latitude E5420 Business Notebook

Dell’s Latitude series of notebooks have always been a hit with business professionals as it offers great durability and security features, unlike regular notebooks. With their annual update on track, Dell has refreshed their Latitude line up both cosmetically as well as technically so let’s see what you get for that high a price tag.

Design and Build
Dell has gone with a very understated look, which works very well. It looks and feels professional, without being drab or boring. This can be attributed to the choice of materials used to build it. Dell likes to call it ‘Tri-Metal’ design, as it has an anodized brushed aluminum lid, steel hinges and a magnesium alloy internal frame for rigidity. All this comes together to give you one solid notebook. Pressing the back of the lid causes no rippling effect on the LCD at all. Since the base is quite heavy, you can easily open the lid with one finger without any problems. The entire surface does not attract any finger prints and is easy to maintain.

Sturdy construction makes it very durable

On opening up the lid, you’ll notice there’s quite a bit of extra bezel around the screen and that’s there for a reason. A rubber lining runs all around the screen thus protecting it from accidental spills when the notebook is closed. Thanks to this extra girth, there’s plenty of room for a good keyboard. It’s not chiclet style, but comfortable to use nonetheless. The directional keys are placed separately and not clubbed with the rest of the keyboard. The power button and volume control buttons are placed on the right, along with a biometric scanner at the bottom. The display has a matt finish so reflections are not a problem and when closed, it's held securely with a latch. Weighing in at a little over 2kg, it does feel a bit heavy, as well.

Overall, it feels extremely sturdy and has a very polished look and feel.

Features
Prices for the Latitude E series begin at Rs.61,638 for the base model. Dell sent us a souped up version of the E5420, which pushes its price tag a few notches higher. Powering Windows 7 Professional, we have Intel’s latest SandyBridge Core i7 2620M, a multi-threaded dual-core processor running at 2.7GHz with the ability to Turbo up to 3.4GHz.

Good connectivity although USB 3.0 is missing

To complement that, we have 4GB DDR3 memory and a 320GB hard drive. Some other extras include a higher resolution screen (1600x900) and back-lit keyboard. Surprisingly, Dell does not give you the option to add a discrete graphics card, so you're stuck with the one on the CPU. This isn’t a big issue since most people opting for this would not use it for gaming anyways and the Intel HD 3000 can easily handle 1080p content.

There’s no shortage of connectivity options, either. On the left we have a Firewire, HDMI, USB/ESATA combo, USB 2.0 ports and 54mm ExpressCard slot and a Multi-Card reader below. The right side houses the DVD burner, screw-in VGA port, USB 2.0 port and a headphone/microphone combo jack. The rear features a LAN jack, the fourth USB 2.0 port and a charging port. There’s a docking connector underneath which can be used with an optional accessory. We also have some strategically placed intake vents along with four rubber feet for support.

Offers a good look and finish

Dell also bundles along some data security software like Data Protection Encryption, Dell Fast Response Free Fall sensor and Strike Zone. The finger print reader can also be used to secure certain confidential folders or files.