When will Dell update Latitude line?

Hey guys, been looking at the Latitude D630 for a few days. I need a laptop to run Linux and occasionally Windows for when I need to do mobile app development. Something that can get 4+ hours with high brightness while using Eclipse.

The D630 seems pretty solid. Reviews have been good, price isn't bad and it falls under the good Dell support line. But I'm wondering when they may refresh the model?

I'm really looking for them to add DVI (I know, rare in business/mobile units) for when I dock it (if I end up doing that).

And I've been looking, but I don't see much as far as deals go for the unit (discounts). Does Dell offer deals similar to their consumer line?

Thanks!

*Edit*

BTW, any chance that it can support two finger scrolling and a two finger right click like the MBP?

 

Don't think they will be updating the D630 anytime soon since it was just released mid-late 2007. I have a friend who recently bought the D630 ATG and he loves it ... he has been using it for the past 2-3 months. I think it is expensive, but so be it with his line of work. Definitely can't go wrong with the D630 (non-ATG) IMO. Not sure about the discounts, but it shouldn't be difficult to find some coupons for the D630 by now... although newer systems are harder to find discounts for.

 

Since the Latitude docking station has a DVI port on it, I can't see Dell putting one on the laptop anytime soon.

 

Thanks. I wasn't looking at the ATG line. Thats a bit out of the price range. I was really hoping for a 13" business notebook from someone, but I don't really see them that have great tech support (I like Dells business line support) and are around 1500 well equipped.
I looked at the 1330, but seems to have some quality issues from what I see on here, plus the price is somewhat high. And I'm not a fan of the XPS/Inspiron line. Knew too many people who have had those sort of laptops and they haven't help up well, while the Lats tend to be pretty darn rugged.

And whats the deal with the optional 90w power supply? I'll be putting two batteries in (probably 9 and 6 cell) so I take it that the machine will be able to charge them faster?

ahh... didn't know they had the DVI port on the dock! awesome

 

90w brick will charge the batteries faster than the standard 65w.

 

I know DELL is supposed to release the Vostro 1200 which is a 12 inches business notebook, could be good. I'm waiting for the North America lauch, I think they are only available in Japan for now. But the D630 is a great laptop also and should be Linux friendly. Don't expect a refresh for now, just maybe a small upgrade to Penryn, look at this article. Much better battery life with the new Penryn cpu ... http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3195&p=2

 

oh, to answer the question in the topic title... since the latitude line is for business, they hold back on upgrading and leave older options available so large businesses can have everyone using the same technology.

The top end tech gets first put into the gaming notebooks (XPS), which eventually makes it's way into the Precision line. And some of that ends up in the latitudes, but most of that tech comes from the inspirons and vostros.

 

Dell has been doing things a little differently lately so maybe things will change with the Latitudes. I submitted an idea on their IdeaStorm site and so far they seem interested.

Here is a link to the idea "Put some attitude into the Latitude".

 

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3195&p=2

Anand expects 5 to 10% increase in battery life for the same clock speed (apparently in laptops with an integrated GPU).

 

Some great info. Thanks guys. :-D

 

Your MBP should be able to run all that stuff... but yes, the D630 should get better battery life, at least with one of the extended battery options.

Last refresh was with Santa Rosa... I'd guess the next one would be with Montevina. (They'll offer Penryn processors in the interim, of course, as soon as they become available... but I'm not even counting that as an update... it's just a few new processor options.)

As mentioned above, the dock has DVI. However, I'm pleasantly surprised by the picture quality on an external LCD monitor when using the VGA output built in to the laptop.

They don't offer coupons, but they do offer deals. Right now there's a $400 off of $1699 deal. They change it every week though. Sometimes it's $450 off of $1900, sometimes $500 off of $2000. Some say the best prices are attained by calling and negotiating. Also, when you consider that Dell's Latitude prices include a 3-year warranty... they're a pretty good deal, I think.

I believe Apple has a patent on that two-finger stuff, so I wouldn't expect to see it anywhere else anytime soon. However, I prefer the D630's one-finger scrolling anyway (and second physical touchpad button). I'm sure anybody can get used to anything pretty easily. Using a USB or Bluetooth mouse is also an option, of course. And there's also the pointing stick... which I haven't gotten used to yet (and probably never will).

 

how odd, i had the exact same question. I think this info is all I need to pull the trigger soon. Thanks guys. Can anyone comment on the fan noise level in the d630? I plan to get integrated graphics to keep the heat low.

 

I just got my D630 today... I have the integrated graphics too. The fan noise is a constant whir. The fan is never that loud, but it's audible and it seems to always be running. Since it sounds like this is important to you, IwantAquietLaptop, I'd bet you can find something quieter elsewhere. (On the upside, I got the 7200rpm hard drive, and it's surprisingly quiet.)

 

thanks for the info, this is very dissapointing to hear though!

 

http://asia.cnet.com/ces/08/0,3800010114,62036204,00.htm

"Dell expects to begin shipping the Latitude D630 with the T9300 and the T9500 in February (the T8100 and T8300 won't be listed online but will be available by request). The T9300 and the T9500 will replace the T7700 and T7800 chips currently offered on the Latitude D630 for the same prices. Dell said that Penryn updates to its consumer Inspiron and XPS laptops will soon follow. "

I don't know if the latitude will be any different other than the chip, but I have also been wondering about when the latitudes with a new design would be coming out. Before I read the above article I had read that the latitude line is refreshed more often (every 8 or 9 months maybe?) than the other dell lines. Many dell observers had expected a new latitude pretty soon (first quarter 08) since I think the D630 was released around May 07.

Just read this also, which gives a good comparison of the two chips in the D630:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._offer_marginal_battery_and_speed_boosts.html

 

If you're talking about a redesign of the line, I'd say it will come mid year 2008, or 2nd quarter. This is because the design has been around since the D620 from a couple years ago, and Dell usually redesigns laptops after 2 generations of CPU or chipsets, and the D620/630 design has used the intel 945, now the 965 - so when Montevina (not just Penryn itself) comes up I expect a redesign to accomodate the new chipset.