Dell Latitude Z series

Got my Z the other day and after going through the initial Windows setup, I installed all my apps and copied all my data to it. I had also ordered the Norton Internet Security software which I thought had installed properly. After spending the better part of 4 hours installing all my apps and copying data to it, I found that IE would no longer connect to the internet. Neither would Safari. Strangely, Firefox worked.

I finally narrowed it down to Norton and attempted to do an uninstall - which appeared to work, but after an hour or two, still no luck. Decided to start over.

So I ran the Dell Recovery & Restore option to restore to the original factory setup and went through the whole process again making sure that Norton installed properly right off the bat.

After installing everything I'm happy to report that everything is working fine.

A couple of basic observations... I really like the matte LCD. Keyboard will take a little getting used to. Seems to be a little more spread out - key spacing is not what I'm used to. I don't like the mini keys they used for the function keys and some of the nav keys. With as much space as there is on the base of the unit, these should have been full size. Trying to hit the delete key takes a little concentration.

It is big. I laid it on top of my 17" MBP and it is almost exactly the same dimensions except for the weight and the thickness. Definitely lighter and thinner.

Surprised at the speed (1.6 ghz). Thought it might be a little slower. This could be partially due to the SSD drive. I got the 128 gig.

Love the weight. Now if I can get 6-8 hours battery life, that will be great!

Still lots to explore so I'll report back after I've had some time to play with it.

 

I am looking at purchasing a Z, and I have a couple of questions for the group.

1) I noticed that the only version of 7 that is available is the 32 bit version. I would want to oder the Z with 4GB of ram, but not all of the 4GB will be seen on a 32 bit OS. Has anyone tried Windows 7 64 bit on the Z?
2) Are the SSD's accessible? I plan on buying with the 256GB SSD option, but might want to add an additional 256GB SSD later. Would this be possible?
3) Does is feel as big as it looks? I have a 5.5lb MacBook pro, and I know that the Z physical size is greater (depth, length and width), but with the slim height and low weight, does it feel portable enough?
4) Any regrets?

 

1. 64-bit will be no problem.

2. From what I've read, you can't upgrade the HDD. It's a proprietary format made by Samsung (check out samsungssd.com, the form factor is "slim" which is smaller than 1.8"). Hopefully someone on NBR can confirm though... *cough* jjfcpa plz write a review

3. This is more a subjective question as everyone is different. That and I've never carried the Latitude Z.

 

1. I ordered mine with the 32bit version of Windows 7. We have a couple people in our office that are running the 64bit version of Windows 7 and have run into a couple of compatibility issues. For example, Cisco has not released a 64 bit version of it's VPN client software. Not sure when or if they will anytime soon.

While you can't access more than about 3.5 gigs of RAM with the 32 bit, based on the processor in the Z and the added benefit of the SSD hard drive, not sure you would see much bang with the 64 bit version of Win7. Not sure if you can put any more than 4 gigs of RAM in Z either.

2. That's what I heard, the hard drive is not user upgradeable. I bought the 128 gig primary and 128 gig secondary drives.

3. Yes, it's big. But unlike the MBP 17", it doesn't feel that big. The slimmer size and lighter weight really makes this feel comparable to a MBP 15"... I've got one of those too. Very comfortable on your lap and good ergonomics. I heard the fan come on the other night, but it's so quiet that you really need to be in a silent room to hear it.

4. It's really oozes class. I've got absolutely no regrets with my purchase. I still need to check out the longevity of the battery. I've got the 4 cell battery but an 8 cell on the way.

I had some very special needs. I needed a laptop that would provide at least 1440 X 900 resolution (the Z is 1600 X 900), battery life approaching 8 hours, and as light a weight as possible.

I've got a 17" MBP and it comes up short on battery life and is a beast to carry around.

The 15" MBP comes up short on battery life.

The Z is the first laptop that meets my minimum specs and at the end of the month when I go to Las Vegas for a week to attend a seminar, I'll know for sure if it is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Thanks John. I also have a 15" MacBook Pro, so it's good to know that this larger laptop feels like it. One more quick question for you. What SSD is Dell shipping out with the Z? Good luck in Vegas! I'll be there in January for CES.
I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the Z, but I was waiting for the Windows 7 drivers to come out for the wireless docking and broadband. The only way I can order it with these two options now is to downgrad to XP. Not a big deal I guess, I just wanted to start with a factory fresh install of. Come to think of it, it might be better to format and start fres, so the installed OS doesa not matter as long as it ships with the 7 CD. I'll bet the Vista drivers work just fine for the broadband and wireless dock.

 

This thread was well worth the time reading. Human psychology at work.

I'm glad you are enjoying your Lat Z. It sure does ooze class.

 

Check the link in my post above. The SSD is made by Samsung.

jjfcpa can you post up the SSD model number either from HDTune or click on C:\ -> Properties?

 

jjfcpa

I am thinking about getting this computer and have a question about the SSD drives. Is it possible to run them in RAID-0? Do you have them in RAID-0? If you do how fast are they? Thanks!


Jose

 

Here's a good video review of some of the extras that the Latitude Z offers:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/1818...charges_wirelessly.html?tk=nl_llx_h_cbstories

I've played around on this for a bit now and love all the extras Dell put in this machine.

 

I still think the shortcuts on the bezel are completely useless really....with win7 they're already on your taskbar and in Vista and XP you could just add shortcuts to your quicklaunch. and why would you need to close/minimize apps to get to your desktop like you mentioned? There's been a button for that for uite some time