Back in August 2008, we brought you photos of a brand new line of Dell laptop called the E series. One of our favourite laptops in this category was the E4200, mostly because it came in a variety of colours, including pink. That's not all it has going for it, though, its 12-inch screen means it's small, it weighs less than 1Kg and it'll come with all manner of cool ways to connect to the Internet: 3G, WiMax, 802.11n Wi-Fi. It's available for roughly £1,200, depending on where you look.
Upsides
Like most small laptops, the E4200 has a certain cuteness about it. It's not as dinky and huggable as a netbook, but its chassis measures a petite 291mm by 204mm by 20mm and has a starting weight of just 1Kg with the 4-cell battery. It's not totally baby-fied, though -- the lid has a brushed metal finish, which makes it appear slightly more grown-up than some of its rivals.
The E4200 has awesome wireless capabilities. Dell says it'll ship with 3G in the UK or WiMAX in the United States, plus it'll have high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi so you can connect to the Internet just about any way you please. Significantly, the laptop will also have optional GPS and a Bluetooth 2.1 module. This, theoretically, allows you to pair a device by holding it next to the laptop, although said device will also need to be Bluetooth 2.1 compatible.
The E4200 is one of the first Dells to feature Dell Latitude ON. This is a quick-boot graphical user interface that gives you access to critical features like a Web browser, Microsoft Exchange data, images and more. As with Asus' Express Gate system, it launches in a matter of seconds and makes a great alternative to booting Windows Vista.
Downsides
Dell will ship the E4200 with a limited number of hard drive options. The standard model ships with a 64GB solid state hard drive, although a much larger 128GB SSD drive is also available. As much as we like SSDs, it would have been nice to have the choice of a traditional, mechanical drive -- particularly as they're larger and cost less than SSDs.
One should never expect great performance from small laptops, and that applies to the E4200. It'll ship with a variety of Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage processors, which are designed to prolong battery life, not run Half-Life 2. The integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD is pretty anaemic in comparison to so-called discrete graphics cards, too. It'll play high-definition 720p video, but 3D graphics is definitely not its forte.
While the E4200 has excellent wireless connectivity, its wired connectivity isn't all it could have been. It has just two USB ports, which is a bit rubbish considering many smaller laptops have at least three. It's not the end of the world, though: one of the USB ports doubles as an E-SATA port, while the other is compatible with PowerShare technology. This means it'll charge your USB devices -- a mobile phone, for example. -- over USB, even if the laptop is switched off. You also get a D-Sub video port, optional Displayport connector, and 4-pin Firewire.
Outlook
We're very excited by the Latitude E4200. It's attractive, has outstanding wireless capabilities and has a definite air of 'cool' about it, which is an unusual trait in a business laptop.
Edited by Marian Smith
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HOS 18 December 2008
Good: It's going to be superb when all the features are available
Bad: Confusing online website options lead me to buying a product that was missing major features
Comment: The Dell Latitude E4200 notebook is one of the most outstanding pieces of computer engineering I have seen. It's small size and diminutive weight are ideal for the mobile user. In addition, all day battery life, a fast dual core processor and excellent internet connection makes it a perfect compact office machine. The design and build of the E4200 is second to none with beautiful finishes and attention to details. The screen is clear, easy to use and bright enough to see easily in bright sunlight, due to its high contrast and brilliance. In low lighting conditions it can automatically dim to give softer and eye-strain free viewing. The Keyboard is perfect for touch typing, both in size and tactile feedback. It is also very quite to use and displays none of that spongy feeling often noticed in cheap notebooks. Using the Dell E4200 is a real pleasuse. It's lightweight at 1 Kg and totally silent due to the solid state disc drive. This feature also makes it pretty safe to handle the machine freely without any fear of crashing a spinning disc drive. When I first saw the battery compartment sticking out of the back, I was a bit surprised as it was not very elegant to look at. However when you use the notebook on your lap, the battery provides an obvious and secure handle to grab if you want to move around and type with the other hand. It's actually a very useful feature to have the battery block behind the screen in this way and one that a mobile user will quickly appreciate. I was very pleased with the connectivity of the Latitude E4200, especially having an express card 34. This is idea for running programs on as well as storing data. There is not a profusion of usb ports, but this is a strictly mobile build so one is not expected to be running several peripherals. The ability to dock, run firewire, ssd cards, usb and express card is just fine. I suspect in time the Dell E4200 will become a classic notebook. It's much better than a netbook both in performance and usability. You can type all day on this and not get fatigued and yet it is a true portable unit, weighing much less than some netbooks. Do I love my Dell? yes, but... there are some serious problems!
The part above was absolutely honest and so is this; This machine is severly flawed with incompetent marketing of its features. Having spent many hours perusing the promotion material and specifications, I decided on the latitude because of the backlit keyboard and instant on features. These are especially valuable because they add to the green credentilas that I wanted. Having waited 3 months for the delivery of my machine, a Dell cancelled order with no explanation, thene a price rise to re-order, I finally received my machine. On inspection, there was no instant-on blacktop only an ugly screen saying it was not installed and there was no backlit keyboard. In addition, no operating instructions. Phoning Tech support confirmed that there was no Instant on as they have had production snags (but I was never informed on this) According to support "There is no backlit keyboard on this model and there never could be as the motherboard can't support it" sales also confirnmed there is no backlit keyboard option this in a separate call.
I bought my E4200 from the Dell euro site www1.euro.dell.com/ and the download specs clearly state instant on reader and a backlit keyboard as an option. However, when configuring my machine online, there is an option for the reader but no option to select a backlit keyboard. It is reasonable to deduce that NO option for an item means it is 'included as standard ' unless withdrawn from the specification list. This is a serious error in the Dell website marketing, that I feel misslead me into a purchase that did not fulfill my expectations. It also appears that on Dell.com the option for a backlit keyboard IS available in the customise options build. This was also confirmed to me in a chat session with a Dell.com online representative. So we ha
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