Dell Latitude E6400 review

Pay extra and you can even opt for Dell's remote laptop tracking and recovery service. With tariffs starting at £15 for one year, and stretching to £55 for five years, many businesses may see the extra outlay as a tempting extra. Pay a little more, however, and remote data destruction can be added to the list, allowing businesses to destroy sensitive data the instant a stolen laptop goes online. UK Home Office take note.

In terms of specifications, our review unit struck a sensible middle ground. An Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 running at 2.26GHz is matched with 2GB of memory and a 160GB hard disk. It's a combination which scored a capable 1.15 in our benchmarks. But, of course, the beauty of the Dell sales model is its flexibility. Drop down to a slower processor, and you'll save a good few quid in the process. If you're thinking of buying these in bulk, a bit of careful spec trimming here and there will pay handsome dividends.

Battery life

The final feather in the E6400's sharply tailored cap is stamina. With the standard six cell 5,400mAh battery, light usage saw the Dell last just over five hours. Upping the ante to heavy usage saw that drop down to a still-reasonable 1hr 39mins. If long-life is an essential trait, the £105 cost for a larger nine cell 8,500mAh battery is well worth spending.

There's no doubt that the E6400 is an unmitigated success. Where 15.4in laptops turn any bag into an albatross hung round the average business worker's neck, the E6400 strikes a great compromise between weight, ergonomics and durability.

The daunting price is bound to take the wind out of those with smaller budgets, but with a three year next business day warranty attached to such a fine product, it's one of those times when the price is worth paying. There's an incentive to act quickly too; if you can get your orders in before the 28th October, Dell are making the E6400 even more of a temptation by taking £174 off the asking price.

Author: Sasha Muller