E6410 Owner's Thread

Sounds like it. Mine is pretty good, wouldn't say it's better than my previous XPS's touchpad, but it's certainly more than usual. I prefer the trackpoint over the touchpad, though.

Does the pointer jump around erratically or is it just awfully sluggish?

 

The 8440P seems to have dimmer screen options and much higher prices overall. While there is a single sub-$1,000 preconfigured model of the 8440P, it has a downgraded 1 year warranty as opposed to the 3 year warranty of other Elitebooks. The configurable 8440P model start at nearly twice as much as comparable E6410s.

HP really doesn't seem very interested in direct Elitebook sales, preferring to sell through resellers. HP reps will even admit that their product isn't competitive in terms of direct sales.

 

Which display resolution? 1440 x 900? Or 1280 x 800?

How does it compare with earlier panels when used outdoors?

 

I won't even consider the 1280x800 if anything else is available.

 

I find the 1280x800 already bad enough because everything is so tiny on the
screen. Enlarging things doesn't always work because forms end up with their
buttons off the bottom. The 1440 x 900 must be even worse in this respect.

A lot of programs and websites don't take screen resolution into consideration.
Even this forum is weird on a laptop, some text is tiny and other text is huge
whereas on my desktop things are about right.

 

While that's true, that didn't change the fact that your earlier statement "Yup... like every computer on this planet" is wrong.

PS: anyone know what I can do to keep the backlit keyboard stay lit, not just wake up when I hit the key?

 

The System and Devices tab in Dell ControlPoint has (for my E6400) a link to a page of keyboard backlight controls where you can adjust both the brightness (I find about 50% enough) and the timeout (5, 15, 30 seconds, 1 and 5 minutes). However, there's no permanently on, perhaps to reduce power consumption when running on battery.

John

 

I could live with either resolution. But can't tolerate reflective panels given that I do 90% of my work outdoors. I just ordered an E6410 based on comments here re the usability of the screen outdoors. If, as reported, Dell has recently changed to inferior panels I would be tempted to cancel my order.

Anyone with a (new) E6410 care to comment?

 

I've had both the WXGA and WXGA+ displays, and both have a non-reflective, anti-glare finish. I made a point of testing both E6410s outside, in direct sunlight, on a clear, cloudless day, and even the WXGA display was perfectly viewable. I'm sure a Panasonic Toughbook would be even better in direct sunlight, and I'd be inclined to spring for the E6410 ATG if I did "90% of my work outside," but I found the E6410 to be perfectly adequate. I made a point of using maximum brightness with the WXGA, while with the WXGA+ I used the default power consumption settings.

 

I'll agree that a lot of current websites seem to be optimized for the typical screen resolutions of the 1990s. However, default font sizes can be adjusted within the web browser, although it takes more effort than it should in the various Mozilla browsers.

From experience, I'm far happier with 1280 x 800, and I've had no graphic driver error messages, either.

Perhaps 1440 x 900 would be a great default resolution on a 17 inch M6500 or M17x, but it really doesn't offer any clearcut advantages on a 14 inch screen.