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.

The requirements of the business world are ever changing. Challenging business setups require supportive solutions that can meet every requirement. Time and mobility are always at a premium. Technological solutions should meet these advanced requirements and maintain essential compatibility with other business solutions.

Dell offers a variety of Latitude business laptops that can satisfy your every business requirement. Although Dell has had many principal models of business laptops, Dell Latitude D610 is a compact answer to all business needs while taking advantage of Intel's new Sonoma. It offers Windows XP Professional Operating System and has a parallel and standard IDE. This 56kb modem has 10/100/1000 Ethernet card connection. It is not a very flashy laptop, but does look attractive.

Dell Latitude D610 is an improvisation with few changeovers in components and features over its earlier model, the Latitude D600. This laptop offers easy portability and high mobility. It is not very heavy and you can carry it easily on your frequent business trips. Battery life is for four hours and thereby offers sufficient support.

The Looks on the Exterior

Dell Latitude D610 has a solid look. It is thicker and definitely has a more durable look than its predecessor Latitude D600 has. The exterior has a gray matte finish, similar to metallic graphite or silver colored finish. Touchpad and keyboards have lighter colored accents. Dell Latitude D610 sports a sober look, perfectly suited for businesses. Dell offers a three-year warranty period. You can place your order for Dell Latitude D610 through telephone or online.

Dell Latitude D610 notebook weighs approximately 6.3 pounds. It essentially weighs only 4.85 pounds with travel-lite module. With DVD drive, it weighs 5.4 pounds. Dimensions are 12.44in. x 10.3in. x 1.5in. when closed or 1.1 inch if open. All weight and size specifications are average. It supports 512Mb RAM Memory and a maximum memory of 2 GB. Hard drive size is 30 GB and hard drive speed is 5400 RPM. A dust cover for the underneath docking port and the ports at the back is necessary. It supports Pentium M Intel Processor with 2.0 GHz processor speed.

Ratings: 5/5

The Inner Blueprint (Aesthetics)

Dell Latitude D610 has two main buttons: volume and power buttons. There are separate indicator lights for scroll lock, num lock, caps lock, Wifi and Bluetooth. Power, battery status, and HDD activity indicator lights are on the right hand side of the LCD screen. There are no physical switches for Wifi. You use function keys to turn it off or on.

Ventilation system of Dell Latitude 610 is sufficient. It has a large vent at the bottom left and an exhaust on the back left. Fan is perennially on at a low-level. However, fan is not very noisy. Even if it gets into high gear, the fan does not make a huge noise.

Dell Latitude D610 does not get as heated up as its earlier model. The earlier model, Latitude D600, had specific overheating problems. The palm rest got heated extensively. This problem is hardly noticeable in D610. There is negligible heating around the left palm rest. This heating does not prove difficult or pose any problem even if you operate the notebook from your lap.

If you attach any USB device, there is considerable electrical feedback noise. This noise does not normally exceed the normal din of an office environment. However, if you work in very quiet surroundings, this din is definitely audible.

Ratings: 4/5

Keyboard and Touchpad

Keys on the keyboard are firm and almost noiseless. Layout of all keys on the board is functional and facilitates easy working. Backspace key at extreme right proves helpful. Track pad and pointing stick are well designed. Button placements are perfect and there is no dead space on the track pad. It would have been better if Delete key were at the edge rather than being in between the F12 and the End keys. Yet, this does not cause any hindrance or prove difficult while working.

Ratings: 5/5

Screen

Dell Latitude D610 has a 14.1-in SXGA+ non-glossy screen. There are no wavy patterns or ghost spots on the screen. The screen looks very bright and clear. Viewing angle requires little adjustments. However, this does not cause any major problems. Screen hinges are perfect and of solid quality. There is no shaking or shivering of the screen even if you vibrate the laptop back and forth. It operates through a single button screen release.

Ratings: 3/5

Sound and Audio

Audio system is standard as that available across any other laptop. Speaker quality is definitely lacking. If you plug in headphones to listen to music while working, you can hear a constant hissing sound. This sound magnifies according to any other responses like moving or minimizing windows, resizing them, or when you access touchpad or pointer stick. The sound alleviates only when you access the hard drive. Similarly, this hissing sound is absent if you use external speakers or the built-in speakers.

Rating: 1/5

I/O Ports

I/O port arrangement in Dell Latitude D610 is very functional. It has four USB ports. If you attach mouse and audio to two of them, you still have two more left free. Only the audio jacks and PC card slot are on the left while everything else is at the back. The release latch for the modular bay is on the side of the laptop. This makes it easy to change drives with Ethernet, power cord, mouse, and other accessories.

Rating: 5/5

Processor

Dell Latitude D610 integrates ‘Sonoma’ version of Intel Centrino. Responses and performances are excellent. You can keep open many different windows and work with all of them. You will not experience any problems of overloading or any one application overshadowing the other even while working on graphics. There are no instances of your laptop turning unresponsive. DVD drive functions excellently and at superb speed. Encoding music is easy and fast.

Rating: 5/5

Wireless and Networking

Wireless connection does not have any separate on or off switch. Controlling is through the function keys. Indicator light remains on as long as the wireless is on. There is no blinking of lights. Networking through wireless is fast and good. This laptop offers an integrated smart-card reader. This reader with in-built hardware allows you to create and store encryption keys. Security features are appreciable.

Rating: 5/5

Support and Service

Dell Support is available through 24x7 telephone and e-mail. The company web site has separate support sections for small business, home users, and big enterprises. You can design your own-password protected support pages. Dell also offers customer forums. You can chat and establish contact with other Dell users.

Responses at the support and service system of Dell are fast and prompt. They offer correct and fast solutions. However, if they are unable to fix a problem or if the problem persists even after repeated attempts, the support service answers vaguely. They ignore direct questions and answer in a typical manner. This may not solve your specific problem.

Rating: 2.5/5

Overall Conclusions

Dell Latitude D610 is a perfect buy and best suits people on the move. It offers high portability and quick responses of all business applications. It is a perfect combination of excellent technological solution within an easy and flexible frame. Overall build quality, input devices, security systems, durability, and functioning are excellent.

The only major problem lies in the hissing sound of headphones. Although you can overcome this shortcoming by using any external USB audio device or a PC card, it becomes problematic to carry around and fix such external devices while you are outside. Overcoming this technical problem can make Dell Latitude D610 an extremely user-friendly and functional laptop.

Pros:

• Solid build quality with good input devices
• Portability
• Quick responses
• Four USB ports
• Good value for money

• Significant hissing noise through headphone
• Electrical buzzing sound while connecting and using USB devices
• Fan is always on
• Physical switch for wireless is necessary
• Does not fall under the thin laptop category
• Latching is little stiff
• Support service requires improvement