Meet Tim, a senior technician here at Laptop Broker. Like all our technicians, Tim knows his way around a laptop and has upgraded and rebuilt thousands of computers over the years. We asked Tim to review a few laptops he is familiar with and have posted them for our customers to review. We hope you find this information helpful and welcome your feedback.

Dell Latitude D410 Review

Dell Latitude D410 is a smart and speedy laptop ideal for busy executives. D410 has some new features like Intel Sonoma, durable frame, and a trusted platform module chip. Although it looks little bulkier and heavier, there is no compromise on its performance. Dell Latitude D410 ranks among the best.

Features

Dell Latitude D410 is almost the same size as its predecessor. This ultraportable laptop is eleven inches wide and 9.4 inches deep. Exact dimensions include 278 x 238 x 31.9mm. It weighs 3.9 pounds. It has a 512Mb RAM memory.

You can purchase your D410 only through the company website and its toll-free number. This laptop is not available across other web sites or at retail outlets. It does not have any built-in optical drive and thus has a considerably low weight. The build and overall design is compact and nice. There are no spongy plastics or flimsy surfaces anywhere on D410. It is definitely an enticing and attractive laptop.

Rating: 4/5

The Looks on the Exterior

Dell Latitude D410 is a professional and well-designed laptop. It sports a dark charcoal gray and silver finish on the exterior. The dark outer color with the silver-colored screen latch adds to the style.

The case around the main body and keyboard area is of plastic. The laptop lid is of magnesium alloy. This provides additional strength and protection to the screen. The strong screen hinges prevent any wobbling of screen while you are working. D410 chassis offers a blend of magnesium, aluminum, and steel. However, the plastic dust protector over the PCMCIA slot does not gel with the overall finish. It gives a cheap look.

Rating: 4/5

Ports

Dell Latitude Dell D410 has many mainstream ports. There is one USB 2.0 port, a security cable slot, two air vents, infrared sensor, and a D/Bay connector for an optional external optical drive on the left side of the laptop. Headphone and microphone jacks, PCMCIA slot for accessory expansion, the hard drive bay, and a smart card slot is on the right side of the laptop.
 
Two USB 2.0 ports, modem port, Ethernet port, AC adapter connector, video out port, and some more air vents are at the backside. An air vent, memory module cover, hard drive, battery, battery charge gauge, battery latch locks, and docking device connector are on the bottom of the laptop. There is no fire wire port or media card reader on D410.

Rating: 4/5

Battery Life

The battery of Dell Latitude D410 is at the front. This location is different from the normal back position as in most laptops. However, this position prevents heating up of your battery. As a result, palm rests do not become warm. Battery does stick out a little in the front.

Dell Latitude D410 offers standard six-cell battery. This offers battery life of three hours and forty minutes while using word, web browser, and a bright screen. You can alternatively opt for a nine-cell battery and get around seven hours of battery life with the same options on use. There is space for a second battery.

Rating: 5/5

Screen

Dell Latitude D410 has a 12.1" LCD in XGA format. The screen brightness is apt and there is no glare. You can control screen brightness using up and down arrows and function keys. D410 does not have a widescreen and there is no glossy finish. 

Screen offers the conventional 4:3 ratio without any high contrasts or reflective coatings. Viewing angles are good and reasonable. Screen supports excellent tilt. Display resolution is 1024 x 768. This display may prove restrictive for corporate working. However, it more than suffices normal text working and presentations.

Rating: 4/5

Processor and Performance

Dell Latitude D410 has a 2.0GHz Pentium M processor. D410 offers many variations of the hard drive. You can choose from 30, 40, 60, or 80 GB hard drive. However, option for 40, 60, or 80 GB drive is beneficial, as the speed is 5400 rpm. This gives better performance and boots faster. There are two user accessible memory slots. It offers 2 GB memory with speed of 533MHz. Dell Latitude D410 allows easy working through graphics. The Sonoma chipset supports impressive graphics. You can keep open many applications at any single time.

Rating: 5/5

Sound, Heat, and Noise

The single speaker of Dell Latitude D410 is on the top. It is an 8-ohm, 1-W speaker. There is no stereo sound or high volume. You can use external speakers or headphones to get stereo sound. Headphone jack is at the back right side. This proves little inconvenient as you need long connecting wires. Further, these wires cause hindrance while working. There is no color-coding between microphone and headphone jacks. You have to get used to them before you can distinguish the two and use appropriate cord in any immediate situation.

Presence of various vents allows for easy cooling of the inner parts of Dell Latitude D410. Keep the laptop on a table while working. This greatly reduces heat formation. The fan does give out a constant whirring electrical noise. However, the noise is not very intimidating or disturbing.

Rating: 2/5

Keyboard and Touchpad

Dell Latitude D410 has a little larger keyboard. Mouse buttons and touchpad are proportionately larger. This allows easy typing. Key travel and feedback is excellent. Keys are relatively small. This could prove difficult and become very cramped if you have to type for long hours.

Keyboard layout is simple and efficient. Delete key is at top right. Control key is outside of function key. Keyboard is sturdier from its predecessor. You get a solid feel as type on D410. Overall, keyboard is comfortable to use.

Track point offers accurate functioning. However, if you accidentally hit on this while typing, your insertion point will change. Hinges mouse buttons are not very flexible. The pointing stick helps in easy cursor movement. Touch pad offers both left and right select mouse buttons for greater convenience.

Rating: 4/5

Wireless

Dell Latitude D410 offers a built-in 802.11b/g Intel ProWireless 2200. It further offers an optional upgrade of 802.11a/b/g Intel 2915. Connectivity is good, although not superb. A Wi-Fi LED indicator at the top helps you understand if the Wi-Fi on or off. Wireless configuration software is available as a default application. You do not need any extra software. Bluetooth connectivity is available as optional.

Rating: 4/5

Software

Dell Latitude D410 offers limited software. This software helps you manage screen brightness, power, and other screen presentations. You can choose from Microsoft XP Professional or Home edition. Power DVD allows playing of video and DVD. There is no antivirus software.

Rating: 3/5

Support and Service

Dell offers exclusive toll-free telephonic technical support available 24x7 for the life of your laptop. You also receive next business day onsite service in case of any problem. Web support is separate for corporate users and home users of Dell Latitude D410. There are separate web sites for both users. Help is available in the form of FAQs, downloads, and others. Further, there are regular forums by Dell’s own technical representative to discuss and explain facts.

Rating: 5/5

Overall Conclusions

Dell Latitude D410 is a well-designed laptop with appreciable build quality and good performance levels. It has a standard three-year warranty. This laptop offers competitive pricing and good usability. Overall, it is an attractive option for an ultraportable laptop.

The Latitude range of laptops from Dell offer necessary consistency in products. There are not many frequent changes in technologies. All related products are available easily. It is however not very light and portable. It weighs around four pounds, which could prove cumbersome and heavy while carrying around.

The trusted platform module chip proves to be a storage locker for your data. It offers easy docking of smart card carrying secret information like passwords.

Although Dell Latitude D410 is not a perfect blend of all possible options, yet, it offers good working. It is definitely worth its cost.

Pros:

• Good usability functions
• Exclusive look
• Appreciable battery life
• Solid build
• Numerous port and bay options

Cons:

• Absence of built-in optical drive
• No slot for media card reader
• Becomes hot if you work keeping laptop on your lap
• Heavier