The dark, er Dell side - Latitude D620

[K. Eng]

The keyboard on this thing is suprisingly good. There's a ThinkPad T20 here and an older Latitude D600 as well. The D600's keyboard is the worst of the lot, and its hinges are in really bad shape. The T20 is physically in excellent condition despite being thrown about, but the keyboard is really mushy. The D620 is actually the most useable machine here...

Build quality is actually pretty solid, as is the keyboard. I wish there was a scroll key on the trackpoint though.

Those of you curious about the new Latitudes ask away...

[sugo]

I always believe not every Dell laptop is bad. How do you like the 1440x900 widescreen?

[K. Eng]

The display on this machine is actually 1280x800. This is sufficient to view two Microsoft Word documents side-by-side. Vertical viewing angles are mediocre at best, while Horizontal viewing angles are marginally better. Brightness is quite good compared to ThinkPad panels. Standard T4x panels have a brightness of 150 nits. The panel on this D620 has a brightness of 185 nits and the difference is very noticeable.

I hope that ThinkPads get brighter standard panels. I know they eat more battery power, but I'd rather have a bright panel that can be turned down than a dim panel that can't be turned up.

The 14" widescreen format is great IMO. The notebook isn't as deep as a standard 4:3 display machine, and its only a bit wider. It feels like the D620 takes up less space on my desk because the area is spread out to the sides rather than up front. I know a lot of ThinkPad owners hate the Z series, but from a form-factor perspective I think that widescreen is the way to go. The T20 and D600 both have 4:3 displays, and they just look strange to me now. For some reason the widescreen seems to fill my field of vision better.

[draco2527]

The keyboard on this thing is suprisingly good. There's a ThinkPad T20 here and an older Latitude D600 as well. The D600's keyboard is the worst of the lot, and its hinges are in really bad shape. The T20 is physically in excellent condition despite being thrown about, but the keyboard is really mushy. The D620 is actually the most useable machine here...

Build quality is actually pretty solid, as is the keyboard. I wish there was a scroll key on the trackpoint though.

Those of you curious about the new Latitudes ask away...

Yeah, I have several at work; including the D820 as well. I like the keyboards too! and the trackpoint is really responsive as well.

I did have a problem with a D820, EVERYTHING was loose on it (memory, Wifi card, lcd ribbon to mobo, etc) and it would boot but give all kinds of problems including a goofy picture! I was not impressed on how some of the items were attached; in particular the LCD ribbon to motherboard connection. I think that Dell has come a long way in a short amount of time; but there are many improvements that need to happen, before I would consider them for as a sole laptop replacement. The D600's and below had HORRIBLE hinge problems, give them a year of moderate everyday use and they are SHOT! The D610's improved on the hinge concept but they are still mediocre at best! The DX20 series remains to be seen!

I almost did a comparison between the D610, D820 and T42p build quality and engineering..but decided against it! Maybe in the near future.

One thing that is starting to grow on me is the widescreen displays that they are staring to use, at first corporate was a little worried about a widescreen on a business laptop; but everyone seem to love them now.

What also remains to be seen is the wearability of the "shell", all other Dell series laptops did not do well in this arena; including the DX10 series. It was cheap plastic also, which tends to crack with minimal impact force. I have replaced more palmrest do to this, then I care to count.

I would be worried if this trend continues (but in all honesty I see no imidiate threat from Dell quality) as I can see Dell making a good all around machine in the next 2+ years (business class).

[K. Eng]

That's strange that everything is loose on your D820. It is possible that the Dell employee who built the machine didn't do a good job putting all the parts together. So much for quality control...

No problems like that so far on the D620.

I am also curious as to how well the exterior parts will hold up. The display lid is magnesium alloy so I'm not to concerned there. I'm not sure what the base case is. It doesn't feel like the ABS plastic used in R series or HP nc6200 machines, but it doesn't feel like metal either.

Edit: I'll be testing this machine by using it as my primary work computer for the day. I'll have further comments posted tonight!

Yeah, I have several at work; including the D820 as well. I like the keyboards too! and the trackpoint is really responsive as well.

I did have a problem with a D820, EVERYTHING was loose on it (memory, Wifi card, lcd ribbon to mobo, etc) and it would boot but give all kinds of problems including a goofy picture! I was not impressed on how some of the items were attached; in particular the LCD ribbon to motherboard connection.
...
What also remains to be seen is the wearability of the "shell", all other Dell series laptops did not do well in this arena; including the DX10 series.

Edit: After using the D620 for a day, it seems like a pretty good machine. A couple observations:

(1) The TrackPoint needs a scroll key! Although the touchpad has scroll zones, I do miss the convenience of the scroll key.

(2) The fan turns on less often than on a ThinkPad, but the machine runs hotter as a result. When I'm on AC power, the CPU will idle at 45C and the fans engage at 50C. The machine seems to wait until the CPU reaches a high temp and then turns the fan on to cool it down into the 30s. I know a lot of people complained about the fan always running on the T4x, but if the fan doesn't run continuously heat does build up. Its a tradeoff between quietness and temperature.

(3) No ThinkLight - yeah, people laugh at the ThinkLight, but I actually miss it.

(4) Junk software - The D620 comes with a minimal amount of junk software. Google Desktop was the only thing that I chose to uninstall. I note that the D620 has a lot less "stuff" preinstalled compared to the latest ThinkPads, and that the D620 also seems to boot much faster as a result.

Overall the D620 is quite good. Good enough that I prefer using it to the T20 . For now, at least, I think I will be using the D620 for my daily work, because I like the keyboard and the widescreen. If I can get a Z61t in here, I will do a comparison of the machines.

[draco2527]

Edit: After using the D620 for a day, it seems like a pretty good machine. A couple observations:

(1) The TrackPoint needs a scroll key! Although the touchpad has scroll zones, I do miss the convenience of the scroll key.

(2) The fan turns on less often than on a ThinkPad, but the machine runs hotter as a result. When I'm on AC power, the CPU will idle at 45C and the fans engage at 50C. The machine seems to wait until the CPU reaches a high temp and then turns the fan on to cool it down into the 30s. I know a lot of people complained about the fan always running on the T4x, but if the fan doesn't run continuously heat does build up. Its a tradeoff between quietness and temperature.

(3) No ThinkLight - yeah, people laugh at the ThinkLight, but I actually miss it.

(4) Junk software - The D620 comes with a minimal amount of junk software. Google Desktop was the only thing that I chose to uninstall. I note that the D620 has a lot less "stuff" preinstalled compared to the latest ThinkPads, and that the D620 also seems to boot much faster as a result.

Overall the D620 is quite good. Good enough that I prefer using it to the T20 . For now, at least, I think I will be using the D620 for my daily work, because I like the keyboard and the widescreen. If I can get a Z61t in here, I will do a comparison of the machines.

Well, I figured you would talk about the "auto" LCD brightness function!! I like that feature, if you go from different levels of ambient light; with the brightness set to "auto" it will adjust automatically.

The switch activated "on/off" feature is not my cup of tea; also the BT gets enabled WITH the WiFi! I think this is a PITA! Most users will have BOTH on, without remembering to dissable the BT if they are not using it.

For the D820 they re-introduced the 1394 port; according to Dell it was removed from the D810 (it was present in the D800) due to customers not needing that feature on a business laptop. I guess they critics changed their minds!

The D620 only has ONE PCMCIA slot, the D820 has TWO but one functions as the "new" standard "PC express" PCMCIA. The other slot is labeled BC.

The one thing I was not expecting to see on these, was the serial port still attached to the back of the machine!!

I do not know were the SIM for the "WLAN" is located on the T6X (and other) ThinkPads, but while I find Dells location convenient and easy to access (under the battery) it is a double edge sword!! Two minutes in a conference room and you got yourself tons of activated cell cards!!

Also the screens (IMHO) are trully good, they are nice and bright and provide a clear detailed picture (this are one step up in resolution then the "standard" configuration).

It is worth noting that the D410's are also a HUGE improvement over the L400, C400 and D400 series of machines! I have MANY deployed with about 20 deployed at my current "home base" I ordered an additional two more today.

The AC adapters that I have been getting work with the older series of laptops (DX10 and DX00) and vice-versa (BIG PLUS) but they seem to have changed the section were the dongle attached to the ac adapter; this is a PITA since now I have to carry TWO types of dongles for the European travelers!!

Like I said before, I think they are making headways; now only if I could find a way for IBM/Lenovo to send some T60's my way to write some reviews!!!

[archer6]

The 14" widescreen format is great IMO. takes up less space on my desk because the area is spread out to the sides rather than up front. I know a lot of ThinkPad owners hate the Z series, but from a form-factor perspective I think that widescreen is the way to go. For some reason the widescreen seems to fill my field of vision better.

I purchased my Z60m specifically because it offered the widescreen display and I'm a staunch ThinkPad advocate. It's the first widescreen I have used and I'm really happy with it. I would be quite enthused to see them produce both a 14" and 15.4" widescreen in the T series. This would be the ultimate business notebook, less bulky and thinner than the Z series. Fast, light and a smaller footprint on the desk, as you noted, just a bit wider and less depth. Wonderful for working on documents side by side, as well as other tasks which benefit from the increased display size.

[sugo]

I hope that X series will have a 16:9 widescreen someday ... the battery life and size of T series just doesn't cut it at times.

[archer6]

I hope that X series will have a 16:9 widescreen someday ... the battery life and size of T series just doesn't cut it at times.

I certainly agree. I think it would be fantastic to have a 16:9 aspect ratio in both the X & T series.

Regarding battery life, since I do not like batteries (9-cell) that protrude and increase the size of the computer, I have been using the Ultraslim bay battery in my T60. Since they reduced the size of that bay to just 9.5mm the battery is much lighter than the older thicker and heavier Ultrabay batteries. In fact it's only .1 lbs. heavier than the optical drive it replaces. Seems to be a good solution. Not perfect, but a nice enhancement.