New Dell Latitudes due for tomorrow?

All the usual disclaimers apply, but the word on the proverbial street is that Dell has some new Latitude business laptops on the way. The reported model numbers are D-420, D-620 (pictured), D-820, and m-90, which range from 12 to 17-inches in screen size. The bringer of these tidings noted that at the demo of the laptops, he saw a 185 pound man stand on a D-820 placed on its side and open in a "V" position, and that the notebooks have a new tri-metal composite chassis. He also noted that the 8 pound, 17-inch m-90 sports a 512MB Quadro graphics card. That's all we "know" for now, but hopefully more will be revealed tomorrow.

[Thanks, Omar]

[bigmiz @ Mar 13th 2006 6:03PM]

cool! im due for a new dell at work and i will talk to big boss into buying me a lappy that i can stand on!!!!

[Kevin @ Mar 13th 2006 6:04PM]

The company that I was recruited for is buying us laptops this summer, and apparently they are Latitude Ds... Here's for core duos and ATi/nVidia graphics across the whole line!

[Bill @ Mar 13th 2006 6:11PM]

Cause thats what everybody needs a "business" notebook with more video memory than some gaming desktops i bet it will be cheap too

[ezKiel @ Mar 13th 2006 6:14PM]

IBM ripoff? Or is it just me.

[MDJ @ Mar 13th 2006 6:18PM]

I hope the D420 will support a resolution higher than 1024x768, anyone have resolution info on the new lineup?

[fj10000 @ Mar 13th 2006 6:26PM]

Here's hoping these are better than my Latitude D800 which fails on average of every 2 months (complete care whew). I also wonder if these will be based on the same hugely thick plastic slab as previous Dell Lappies?
For me I think a Fujitsu is next after this lemon dies (likely in April when the warrenty is over)

[Chris @ Mar 13th 2006 6:27PM]

Huh huh... huh huh...

420.

[diulei @ Mar 13th 2006 6:29PM]

How about something decent to look at this time, Dell?

[Josh Warner @ Mar 13th 2006 6:31PM]

I am currently typing this on a D610.

Without sounding like a Dell fanboy, their business laptops are solid. Period. I have no regrets about this thing (except perhaps not buying the media bay battery) and it is the best laptop I have yet laid hands on (caveat: I have never personally played with an IBM/Lenovo, which I have heard are good).

Dell's consumer side has slacked a bit in terms of build quality, but their business side has only improved. The D610 is sturdier than its predecessor, the D600 (which I have used) although I don't think I would stand on it.

Looking forward to more info...

[wulff @ Mar 13th 2006 6:34PM]

so.. since my dell rep was down about 1 month ago showing off the presentation on these, and its about time for them to come out i have 1 tidbit for you,

this will have an additional mini-pci slot(i believe it was minipci), that you can populate with either EVDO or GPRS(although I want to say it said something about HSDPA being an option in the future but i don't recall exactly) without interfering with the wimax/802.11n support they will also be offering.

i honeslty dont remember much else, that was the only wizbang feature for me

[Todd W. @ Mar 13th 2006 6:37PM]

I find it hard to believe anyone is on the edge of their seats for a new Dell laptop. Or Dell anything.

[Jeff @ Mar 13th 2006 6:39PM]

Well, #5, my D810 supports the following:

15.4" WSXGA+ UltraSharpTM Wide Screen Display; Max resolution: 1680x1050; 16.7 million colors

The D810 graphics chipset supports up to 1600x1200 pixels with external monitor, 16.7 million colors

You should be able to find what you need on dell.com

[Jeff @ Mar 13th 2006 6:43PM]

By the way, the tri-metal chassis is VERY robust. I've never felt a laptop so solid. Mine is a bit heavy, but it is a desktop replacement after all.

[Fred @ Mar 13th 2006 6:53PM]

is it just me or is this just plain lame compared to how it is when people think Apple is releasing a new notebook?

[B2O @ Mar 13th 2006 6:59PM]

Are you sure Dell's new machine isn't an Apple iBook?

http://users.tpg.com.au/43vuong/header.jpg

[Handle IT @ Mar 13th 2006 7:36PM]

If the middle one is the D20 then it looks like they got rid of the touchpad and just kept the eraser head.

[chris @ Mar 13th 2006 7:39PM]

I also talked to our Dell rep about these about a month ago. All of them are widescreen, the d620 (the one I will get) is 15.4, they all do UWXGA+ or something like that. Dual core, optional fingerprint reader, optional EVDO/EDGE card. Supposed to be real metal, not plastic painted to look like metal, ake the d600 and d610. I think they said 4GB RAM max, but that seems high to me as I type it. Sounded like a pretty sweet laptop all in all.

Unfortunately, all the software written for it will run very slowly because it's using Rosetta and there's no native apps.

Oh wait, Dell wouldn't screw over it's entire customer base. Again. My bad.

[Windows @ Mar 13th 2006 7:53PM]

Are you saying that Dell is actually going to get better? Wow, I can bearly believe this new transition that they've made.

[Mao @ Mar 13th 2006 8:12PM]

LOL, tri-metal composite for a laptop. I can't wait for corrosion issues to come up with this design.

[nizzy1115 @ Mar 13th 2006 9:00PM]

#14

There is a touch pad on the middle one. The flash makes it hard to see.

[Alex K. @ Mar 13th 2006 9:44PM]

OMG teh Dell hype machine

XD

[Tutor @ Mar 13th 2006 9:50PM]

eh. who cares?

[Alex Brewer @ Mar 13th 2006 10:45PM]

This makes me very happy. My school buys laptops for the ninth graders every year, (Private, so we have to pay), and I'm in eigth grade. The last two years the 9th graders got D610 laptops. I would be so happy if we then got the new d620s with duel core etc. I think that they were due for a redesign. The current d400, 600 and 800 lines have looked the same for the last 3 years. I am soo soo happy.

[yjs @ Mar 13th 2006 10:52PM]

Wow, you guys are incredibly arrogant and ignorant. If you've ever laid your hands on a Dell business notebook, you'll all think twice about what you've said. Out of what I've experienced, they are almost as good as Lenovo/IBM lappies.

Stick to your crappy iBooks.

[Eric @ Mar 13th 2006 11:22PM]

This is great. I am due for a laptop from college late april or early May. I was hoping dell would pump up to the D820 because if not I would have had to settle for the D810 with the X600. Maybe they'll finally move to the X1_00's!

[slow news day @ Mar 13th 2006 11:46PM]

Where I work, we use D410, D610, and X1, and they're all solid laptops. My only complaint would be on the X1, which although is the lightest of the line and is really cool for traveling, it doesn't have one basic feature-- a replicator!! A desktop replacement it is NOT.

Incidentially, I'm using (Verizon's) EV-DO on the D410 right now without any problems, and I also have Bluetooth and 802.11b/g installed. Not sure what a mini pci EV-DO offers me.

[Marty @ Mar 14th 2006 1:08AM]

"7. Huh huh... huh huh...

420."

;) so im not the only one that got that.. i wonder how much it would be to get a leaf airbrushed on the lid

[coolkamio @ Mar 14th 2006 4:30AM]

Why buy a Dell when you can already boot natively Windows XP on a Mac with Intel processor?

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/3/13/3169

[Sebhelyesfarku @ Mar 14th 2006 5:21AM]

" Why buy a Dell when you can already boot natively Windows XP on a Mac with Intel processor?"

Maybe because Apple laptops are overpriced buzzing crap made in the same Chinese factories from the same components like any other PCs, or simply just because anybody with an Apple looks like a douchebag?

[coolkamio @ Mar 14th 2006 8:38AM]

Sebhelyesfarku, guy, you are a fanboy and an Apple hater.. that is obvious..

No,Apple laptops or computers aren't overpriced, and no, they aren't made in the same factories as Dell computers, neither they follow the same quality controls..

Anyway, if they use the same components as the Dells, where is the Dell notebook with MagSafe or Similar? Polymer-lithium Battery? Dual-Link DVI? Optical 5.1 Audio Ports?....

YGWYPF or You Get What You Pay For...

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

The thinnest Dell notebook is 1,44", and the lightest 15,4" notebook 6.18lbs
vs 1" and 5.6lbs of Apple notebook

Sorry for my bad english, i'm spanish.. BTW, what is the translation of "douchebag"?

[Derek @ Mar 14th 2006 8:53AM]

What time does Dell normally release products at?

[Will Wheeler @ Mar 14th 2006 12:00PM]

Why do you people find it so important to bag on Apple when this post is about Dell? Get over it, you like Dell, and the people that use an Apple obviously like their computers too. Either way, someone is spending their hard earned money on a computer they want, so back off.

[Iceman @ Mar 14th 2006 1:10PM]

#25, offering EVDO support via a mini-PCI slot means, it's built in. Just like your wi-fi card is. And yet it's upgradeable, just like your wi-fi card is. You don't have to put up with the PCI card sticking out of the side of the laptop.

[JJ @ Mar 14th 2006 3:20PM]

Per my rep: "The new latitudes will be available for ordering and testing at the end of March - beginning of April."

[Esteban @ Mar 14th 2006 4:03PM]

Is it just me or is that an image of the new Latitude on Dell's site?

USA > Medium & Large Business > Notebooks

[Vince @ Mar 14th 2006 4:22PM]

For all you who asked on specs:

D820: Core Solo or Duo up to 2.16GHz; up to 4G DDR2 memory; Intel GMA 950 or nVidia Quadro NVS 110M (256M) or 120M (512M) Turbo; 15.4" w/up to 1920x1200 resolution; up to 100G primary HD w/80G secondary; Cellular Broadband (Cingular or Verizon); 802.11 a/g; Bluetooth; fingerprint option; 6.1 lbs

D620: same except 14.1" wide w/max 1440x900 internal or 1920x1200 on external monitor; no Nvidia 120M; no secondary HD; 4.4 lbs

D420: specs not received. It looks like this one will come out up to a month or 2 after the others.

[Spiffy McCheese @ Mar 14th 2006 5:31PM]

Anyone have further release details? 'Tomorrow' appears to have come and gone with no information

[GopherSports @ Mar 14th 2006 6:43PM]

Personally, I'm looking forward to the 620. Should open at about $1500 for a base unit?? Another $150 for a dedicated graphics card?

[LL @ Mar 15th 2006 6:34AM]

I have a D410 for work, here's what I like

- I can dual head it to a LCD rotated at 90 degrees
- The BIOS allows you to boot to USB (read non-work HDD)
- BIOS is TPM configurable
- Battery life much better than the X1 which my colleagues use

The personal line of Dell laptops look and feel cheap but the business line is absolutely rock solid. My previous Dell crapped it's own mobo twice but I've had no probs with this one. Best of all it fits right in my folder when I travel.

We can personally buy them pre-tax so the fully optioned D410 is about AUD $2k - 2GHz Pentium M, 2Gb RAM, DVD Burner, media base, spare batt/cord/HDD, the works.

In my experience they're tops and I haven't seen any others with better value anywhere else.

[Scott Miller @ Mar 22nd 2006 11:11AM]

Dell Laptops:

We deploy Latitudes exclusively to the laptop users among our 1000-user base, so I have some experience with these. Thay are *generally* very reliable, solid, and are the best value out there. I will say that Dell can occasionally get a run of bad components within a model. For example, in 2003 we had a number of D800s that required mobo replacement (probably ~50% of the 800s we procured that year). Probably attributable at least in part to the lot sizes of the parts involved.

I don't know about the D620/820, but I was told early May for the D420. We have procured most of our 2006 refresh units, but one of our execs wants a small, light laptop with standard key spacing (19.05mm vs. 18 mm) and according to my Dell team the D420 will get that by virtue of a wider case that corresponds to the new aspect ratio.

-S.

[lothar @ Mar 27th 2006 4:41PM]

"3. Cause thats what everybody needs a "business" notebook with more video memory than some gaming desktops i bet it will be cheap too"

That would be in the M series laptop that is designed for CAD which requires large video cache.

People are interested in this because Corporation standardize on one vendor. Dell has a significant part of that market. And like everyone else we (employees of said corporations) like shinny fancy gadgets regardless of vendor. :)

[Ted M @ May 13th 2006 9:15AM]

I'm writing this on my new Dell D820 Core Duo, 2Gigs 677 MHz DDR2 RAM (from Dell), 80 Gig 7200 rpm HDD.

Goods:
- Screen is nice and bright.
- Processor speed is great, mine's 1.83 GHz Core Duo and it's noticeably faster that my 'old' D610 1.83 single core.
- Battery life. Using second media bay battery on a full charge I'm good for over 7 hrs of work!

Bads:
- The fingerprint reader is worthless, sure we all dream of opening the laptop and swiping our finger over the reader; well it's a LOT clunkier than that. First there is the setup process which was stupidly complicated involving TWO BIOS VISITS!!! Once I got it running, Ctrl-Alt-Del brings up a different dialogue box but only after a 20 second wait with some dumb box about building database! Then I still had to change the drop-down from this_computer to my_domain AND then click in the lower part of the box before I could swipe - repeat all this if the swipe isn't recognized :( In short is slowed me down big time - I uninstalled it all and disabled it in BIOS.
- HDD gets HOT! They really should have some allowance for airflow around the drive like a cover that has holes in it that lets the air in - DUH!

[Marc @ Aug 18th 2006 10:19PM]

Dell 820 duo 2ghz 4 gig ram 512 mb video 100gig 7200rpm hdd.

Peice of crap out of the box. Bios can not read video card. Apparently it uses some sort of software to "boost" performance or so says the Indian at Dell Gold support.

Purchased with WUXGA go UXGA
Purchased with 512mb video got 256 BS card that tricks windows into reading it is 512.
Purchased 9 cell battery got 6 cell
Purchased regular glide pad sent advanced
Purchased 8x dvd rw got cdrw.

Got an apology and was told I could pay for the return.

Back to Toshiba for me.

[Marc @ Aug 21st 2006 10:59PM]

Wow, what a load of BS.

Don't fall into the trap that I fell into. The 512mb video card that DEll sells you and pushes as a high performance card is actually a 256 mb video card that shares 256 mb on the mother board and has severely limited performance issues.

The 512mb nvidia quadro nvs 120m turbo card is NOT 512mb on the 820 system. It is a 256mb card that pools memory video from the board.