Product Reviews

A business wouldn't last long if it didn't keep a tight hold on the purse strings, and Dell's new Latitude D600 could become a huge deciding factor in IT budgeting. Rather than kitting out your mobile workers with both a PC and a notebook, why not just give them a D600? Because Dell's new Latitude will do everything. With a 1.6GHz Pentium-M, it's more than fast enough, and the new docking options bridge the desktop gap even further.

Take the new £63 D/View notebook stand (see issue 104, p36), which elevates the D600's screen to the usual height of a desktop monitor - just plug in an external keyboard and mouse and, hey presto, one desktop PC. All that could stop you now is expandability, but Dell has provided a solution with its £127 D/Port docking station. This includes a full-size PCI slot, space for another optical drive, five USB 2 ports, two PS/2 ports and an S/PDIF output.

All you're missing out on is an AGP slot, but the supplied 32MB ATi Radeon Mobility 9000 graphics chip will be enough for current 3D games. Besides, this is a business notebook, and it's also the fastest one we've ever seen in 2D. The overall benchmark score of 1.47 shows exceptional speed for a laptop - all thanks to Intel's new 1.6GHz Pentium-M.

You'll also be pleased to know that the D600 comes with all the bits needed to get the Centrino badge, so you've got an Intel 855PM motherboard chipset and the appropriate Intel WLAN adaptor. Dell is thoughtfully offering a no-cost upgrade to 802.11b/g too, so you've got the best of both worlds.

Of course, Centrino isn't just about performance - it also has a dramatic impact on battery life. And while the Dell's 230-minute rundown under light use isn't the best we've seen, it's still very good.

Another important part of any notebook's design is build quality. We were particularly interested in this after the Dell Inspiron

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8500's disappointing debut (see issue 104, p55), but, thankfully, the D600 has a vastly superior design, which takes advantage of Dell's new Tri-Metal chassis, comprising aluminium, steel and magnesium alloy.

The internal frame is made from magnesium alloy, while the bulk of the exterior is made from painted ABS plastic. It adds up to a sturdy unit, with my only concern being slightly too much flexibility on the screen, which is protected by an aluminium backplate.

The keyboard is certainly solid enough, with the keys sensibly sized so you can type quickly and accurately. It dips slightly if you start to hammer them, but it's fine in general use. Also, unlike the Sony VAIO PCG-Z1SP (see issue 104, p61), the D600 democratically comes with both a touchpad and trackpoint, so you've got a pointing device for whichever way you prefer working.

With its semi-metallic grey finish, the D600 even looks great. And with a relatively slimline height of 33mm and respectable weight of 2.45kg, it's also viable to carry it around with you, especially when you factor in the nylon carry case that's included as standard.

In fact, the only slight disappointment with the D600 is the screen, which has notably poor viewing angles, and it proved very difficult - almost impossible, in fact - to achieve an even contrast across the screen. The 14.1in diagonal is also slightly too small for the SXGA+ resolution to be comfortable, and there's unfortunately no option to downgrade it to an XGA screen unless you downgrade the processor.

But that's the only criticism of what's otherwise a great notebook, particularly if you buy the docking station, which provides a lot of expandability for minimal extra cost. You could leave the five USB 2 ports permanently connected, and maybe add a FireWire adaptor through the PCI slot. With this in mind, the D600's standard two USB 2 ports and lack of FireWire doesn't seem an issue. It's not as if you're really going to use them on the move; you'd be far more likely to use Bluetooth, which is also handily integrated.

To top it all off, the D600 also comes with a smart card security system underneath the PC Card slot, and a three-year, next-business-day, on-site warranty. With this, the exceptional performance, superb docking options and great feature set in mind, the buying decision is all too straightforward. If you want the best business notebook, buy the Latitude D600. Use E-value code 200-L04REV to order.