Does Dell haev anything like E4300 but with better screen?

I broke my XPS M1330 at work and one of the laptops the computer dept is suggesting as a replacement is the Dell E4300.

I played around with one that my colleague has. The size of 4lbs is okay, the performance seems okay for my usage pattern. However, there's a major show-stopper: the screen. I'm none too impressed by the screen, in terms of contrast and black levels. This review confirmed my impression:
( Notebookcheck: Review Dell Latitude E4300 Laptop ). And it seems this laptop does not offer any screen upgrade option.

Also resolution was okay, but I wouldnt mind a bit more, although that is not a deal breaker like the other two issues.

So is there any Latitude or corporate Dell unit that would basically be an E4300 with a better screen? Thanks.

 

I would have to say that the E4300 has a great screen, at full brightness, it might be a bit too bright, but with the brightness lowered, it's an excellent matte screen. Your M1330 has a glossy screen, and the E4300 has matte, so it definately won't be what you've been used to.

 

M1330 is only one of many laptops I have had, nor do I particularly like glossy. But I did not like what I saw in the E4300 screen. It had poor contrast, poor black level and mediocre colour. The question is whether Dell has any other corporate laptops of that size (13") with a better screen than the E4300 has.

 

There are Vostro models, though their screen probably isn't better. The Vostro line is a low end business laptop. You can see if those have any better screens.

 

If the E4300's screen brightness is up all the way, yes, it can be overbright and thus have poor colors. Under normal office use, there should be no reason to have it on 100%, so see if lowering the brightness improves things a little.

 

I dont think you understand. I examined the screen, played round with brightness contrast and what have you - its crap in my opinion.

So I'm not here to discuss the screen on the E4300. If anyone likes it, hey enjoy. I've seen a lot better in my time. So the question at hand in the thread is not a salvage job on the E4300 screen mediocrity, but rather a question as to whether Dell offers a better screen on any other of their 13" laptops. If yes, then I'll look at it. Otherwise, I'm probably down to asking the IT dept to give me something from their alternate supplier i.e. a 13" Macbook, albeit at the cost of an extra half a pound in weight, which frankly I'd prefer not to do, as lightness is one of my primary criteria.

 

You need to remember that Dell uses more than one OEM for the LCD. There are some that are better, and some that are worse. I happened to have gotten one of the better ones, but yes, there are some that aren't so great. Check out the E4300 owner's thread and you'll see what I mean. I got mine pretty recently, so it's possible that they have stopped using the crappy ones.

 

I doubt that this issue, as the two of my colleagues with the E4300 got theirs a week ago and a month ago respectively. Besides if I wanted to play roulette then I'd go to a casino.

 

You would probably be getting an E4310 if you ordered now. I haven't seen one yet, but I would wager that it is the same screen.

Unless you are dead set on a 13", I would personally go with the E6410 with the WXGA+ Ultrasharp screen.

If you are set on a 13", you are pretty much limited to the E4300/4310, the Latitude 13, and the Vostro V13.

You might take a look at the E4200 if you value portability over processing/ video power. I've used one and I really like it. One caveat is that you don't want to run XP on it. XP and solid state drives don't get along very well.

 

The short answer is no. With any luck, the new XPS 13 will be out by Q3 to be available for the back to school market if you can wait that long. Do you have a temporary replacement? Can you live with it for awhile. That should solve your display issues.

If not, I think your out of luck in the 13" models. My company has a Dell account and I have been unable to find a 13" that I am satisfied with. I would buy an XPS 13 in a heartbeat. As it is, I will probably order an HP Envy 14 when it is available in June.

Bronsky