Dell Latitude E6420 Notebook

The Dell Latitude E6420 is the next edition in the much loved Latitude line, which has long been a big favorite with business users. The E6420 is a 14 inch notebook with an updated look and a strong feature set, although it doesn’t come cheap at around $1350 with an Intel Core i5 and the touchscreen option. The Dell Latitude E6420 has a great new look, with a design that is stylish yet still boardroom friendly. The materials used in construction also make this a durable laptop, with reinforced steel hinges and a protective LCD seal being two of the features that help this notebook to pass the MIL-STD 810G standard for extreme temperatures, dust, and vibration. This computer comes with a spill resistant keyboard, with both a touchpad and a pointing stick included like on older Latitude designs.

This pointing stick device did have infrequent drifting problems on older Latitude laptops, so hopefully Dell has fixed the problem with this release. The screen on the Dell Latitude E6420 is a 14 inch display, with a glossy touchscreen and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The touchscreen is optional, and provides two finger gesture supports. However, it does not support pen input, the screen does not rotate, and the computer does not have any kind of dedicated tablet mode. In terms of connectivity, the Latitude line of laptops has always shined. This edition is no different, with four USB ports, HDMI, an ExpressCard, Ethernet, and a Kensington lock slot.

There is also an SD card reader, a Smart Card reader, and a WiFi on/off switch. Being a Dell, the Dell Latitude E6420 can be configured in a variety of different ways. There is an integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip for graphics. A model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 320GB hard drive, and 4GB of RAM has been tested at well above the category average by laptopmag. This looks like a serious computer, and will no doubt have fans in both the business and power user markets. Battery life is also great at over 8 hours in moderate usage using a 9 cell battery. Prices vary greatly, starting from about $700 and going upwards from there.

Specifications

  • CPU variable with Intel Core i3, i5, or i7
  • hard drive variable
  • 14 inch display
  • 1366 x 768 resolution
  • up to 8GB of RAM
  • DVD-R SuperDrive
  • Intel HD Graphics 3000
  • 802.11 a/g/n WiFi
  • Ethernet
  • HDMI
  • USB x 4
  • eSATA
  • Bluetooth
  • ExpressCard/54
  • SD memory card reader
  • Smart Card
  • 6.2 pounds