Couple of questions about the Latitude E line

No it's not a pointless issue and you raise a good question. To you an I any laptop can be used for most practical computing purposes. I can use an Inspiron or Vostro or a Latitude to surf the web, create documents, spreadsheets watch movies and play games.

That's not how DeLL markets their computers. They categorize their system by what type of customer they think are willing to buy their machines. For instance take a Latitude D630 or D830. You can create a very nice machine to do all the stuff listed above but DeLL says the people who are more likely to buy a Latitude are those who will look at a T60, T61 etc. So their configurations and pricing reflect that. That's why a matte finish screen is the preferred choice and you pay extra for a glossy screen. Also the construction of the Latitude are pretty close to what you would find with a T61 or a HP business notebook.

Whereas if you look at an Inspiron or an XPS laptop the configurations and pricing as well as construction of materials that make up the laptop are geared to the buyer DeLL considers just a consumer who most likely will not be using their laptops for work when on a plane, or at a hotel room.

I own a T60 and it comes with an overhead keyboard light. It's primary function is when you are in a meeting room where the lights are turned down and you need to type. So features, construction and configurations match a target group of most likely buyers. Call it computer user profiling if you will.

 

The primary differentiator is product lifecycle. Latitudes have very long ones. They are designed so that docking stations, batteries, bay devices and the like are interchangeable across a long time period. This makes it easier for a business to stock inventories of replacement parts without having to worry about a new model requiring all new inventory due to some changed connector every six months.

The tradeoff is that certain tech may not hit the Latitude line as quick as it would an Inspiron or XPS where "give me the latest tech even if it doesn't fit into the 2006 model" isn't an issue.

 

Exactly. This is why a lot of companies are pissed that the E line is coming out. They have been using the D docking stations for years on several different laptop lines and now they need to spend an extra few hundred per laptop to buy new docking stations for each laptop? They arent too happy about that. Also, i know we wouldnt even get optical drives because we already had them from the old laptops. (these again arent compatible with the E series.) BUT the e series should be around for at least the next 5-8 years so businesses can continue to reuise E series docking stations throughout purchasing different laptops they have.

Oh, inspirons cant have docking stations.

 

Yea, I get it now. Makes a lot more sense.
and I can see why business people would use the GPS function
though it wouldn't be bad to have one on campus