Latitude E4200 first impressions w/ photos

Just got my replacement, no faint-pink lines on the screen and the fan actually turns off occasionally on this one. A definite improvement.

My first two systems had strange pink stripes on the screen about 1.5" wide and 1.5" apart. Very faint but distracting when looking at a white or light gray background (like most web pages, Outlook, Word, etc.).

As to what's wrong with the screens in general, they're VERY low contrast. I've got a 6 year old HP notebook at home that I paid $1200 for at the time that has a MUCH nicer screen than any of the E-series I've come across (though, admittedly, my experience is limited to the E4200 & E6400 systems). In fact, even the screens from the outgoing D-series were nicer. I've got a D820, D630, and D630 ATG here in the office for temp use and they all get pulled first over the faster E-series systems because the screens are so much nicer.

 

After having this laptop for 4 month, I am still liking it very much. It is lighter than Netbooks and faster at the same time. People still get surprised when they lift the laptop. G2410 Green LED monitor on a E flat panel stand works very well. It has space age look to it.


I love how an ultra-portable laptop converts to a full featured 24" workstation within a second. I really prefer Latitude family for the docking ability on top of everything else.

 

What is weird to me is I have a mini 9 a xps 1330 glossy screen
a pink 530 glossy screen and this latitude E4200 screen is
great..

 

Ditto, I was going to just play with it and send it back, after reviewing it.
Now I am keeping it. Wonderful machine in my opinion!!

 

The Mini 9 has good contrast but poor viewing angles. I'm not familiar with the xps 1330.

 

BTW I'm wondering why you are getting an adamo? Luxury ultraportables are even more overpriced than the regular ultraportables. On top of that, the adamo weights 4lbs! Why is it considered an ultraportable when the e4200 weights only 2.2 lbs? It may be thinner by a bit (0.65" vs 0.79") but c'mon, its not even worth the money upgrade if you ask me.

 

Because, even after getting my 3rd E4200 I still don't like it all that much. It just feels cheap.

As to the weight, that was never an issue for me. Thickness was the reason I bought the E4200 as I wanted something I could toss in a briefcase and still have the room to get other things in there as well. The fact that the Adamo weighs more and is made from a solid piece of aluminum almost guarantees that the build quality is higher than the E4200.

 

I wouldn't bet on it, Jason, but I hope you are right about the Adamo quality. I don't blame you for spending so much money and getting ticked off at not getting its worth for the E4200.

 

I don't understand people who spent real money on the E4200. I scored a refurb E4200 for $888 shipped after tax, and it is loaded (C2D @ 1.4 GHz, 128GB SSD, 3GB RAM, 6-cell, Intel 5300 WiFi, BT, fingerprint, 3-year warranty), and I added a backlit keyboard from eBay ($66 shipped) separately.

The disparity between this computer's "real price" and the price they're letting them go for on Dell Outlet is mind blowing.

• The E4200 is a really bad value in the context of "high-end ultraportables." For less money, Lenovo's selling the X200s with a higher-res screen, two RAM slots, a much better processor (SL9400 vs. Latitude E4200's SU9400), and a full 2.5" SATA slot allowing for a choice between an enormous hard drive or the market's largest (256GB+) and/or fastest SSDs.
  
  
• The E4200 is a really awesome value in the context of a "super netbook" when purchased as a refurb. It fills a market that the netbooks aren't serving: I wanted a netbook with a higher-res screen (check), a decent warranty (check), a modest Core 2 Duo instead of junky Atom chips (check), gigabit ethernet (check), a docking station (check), digital video out (check), and a feature that's terribly hard to find in any segment of the market -- a backlit keyboard (check).

Some of these features are coming to netbooks: we've already seen a few models with gigabit ethernet and digital video out, and the Dell Mini 10 is packing a decent resolution @ 1366x768. But for some of that stuff, we're looking at a long, long wait. We might elect a new U.S. president before we see a dockable netbook with a backlit keyboard performing at or beyond SU9400 levels -- and when/if it does happen, who says they'll be able to do it under 900 bucks? Latitude E4200 is the netbook of the future, delivered today.

Purchasing a Dell Adamo (or brand new E4200) right now is beyond ridiculous. I don't know how Dell can charge $2,000+ for SU9300/SU9400-based machines with Intel video and keep a straight face. They are robbing you blind. The current MacBook Air, butt of many jokes as it may be, serves up a much better value proposition in this (ridiculous) market segment: an SL9400 @ 1.86 GHz paired with a GeForce 9400M is actually a borderline-reasonable computer.

When Apple's notoriously-overpriced fringe fashion PC is a better value, you have to know you're being taken for a pretty bad ride.

 

You said it man. It's a value proposition thing when purchased from the outlet. You even beat my price for close to $1200 delivered (though with taxes) and three year onsite warranty. That's an excellent deal.

To be fair, Jason got his E4200 when they were new and none could be found on the outlet. In other words, he took one on the chin for all of us It looks like he got a decent one this time around though. We don't always have the luxury of time. One should purchase what they need, when they need it unless they can afford to wait. And in many cases, they would be waiting forever.