Dell Latitude D420

As standard, the D420 comes with a six-cell battery. The battery provided 1hr 50mins of power in our intensive-use test, and an impressive four hours in our light-use test. You can also buy a nine-cell battery (£80 exc VAT from www.dell.co.uk), which extends a little beyond the front of the chassis and pushes the weight up to 1.7kg. This provided a magnificent 6hrs 43mins under light use, and 3hrs 11mins with the D420 running at full whack. With judicious swapping of batteries, you could get through a whole day, and easily both directions of the average commute.

The D420 is very much a business laptop, and the sober looks, high-end features and accompanying price reflect that, as does the excellent three-year on-site next-business-day warranty. It doesn't quite get on the A List as our primary business laptop, as most people would do better compromising on weight and going for the D620 with its 14.1in screen and swifter performance. For those in the market for an ultraportable, the Sony VAIO VGN-TX2XP is still the better choice for consumers, but if you're a business user who's tired of lugging around a full-sized notebook this is the choice to make. Great battery life, low weight and the capability to be connected virtually anywhere makes the D420 a superb purchase.

Author: Dave Stevenson