Shoulda skipped the dell and gone with the t500 :(

Was messing with my x200s today tweaking some settings (rarely ever use it as its a server now) and I instantly missed the trackpoint. My dell precision is a great machine and I LOVE the keyboard (almost better then my think pads) but the trackpoint and touchpad are TERRIBLE! I mean so terrible I never use them and always have to have a mouse handy or its all keyboard...

Sorry had to vent...

 

The Dell touchpad isn't so bad IMO. The trackpoint needs to be finely tuned for it to work fine (alot more than ThinkPad).

 

I agree the Trackpoint (or shall I say the Trackstick in Dell's terminology) is pretty shocking. I found it unresponsive and the buttons too shallow to find it comfortable at all. I had a Latitude E6410 and overall it wasn't a bad machine but it seemed like Dell tacked on the Trackstick as an afterthought, I had to give it away after a few months because I couldn't tolerate it in the end.

 

Mine is brand new and still VERY jerky and inaccurate. No matter how I configure it it still is so terrible I cannot use it without wanting to put my first through the screen (which btw the matte WUXGA screen is the best i have ever used!).

 

I couldnt agree more. The rig overall is GREAT! The keyboard is amazing, performance is good too (for a 4 year old rig) and other then the trackpoint and touchpad its a definite dynamo. But even with brand new hardware, fresh format and all the tweaking I can do its just as you said unresponsive (and VERY jerky). Granted one day Id love to do a quad upgrade on this rig, Im slowly realizing the dual should suffice for the next year or so I have the machine as my main laptop. So Ill save my money and wait for a newer quad or high core laptop.

But yeah I think I should steer clear of my x200s or Ill just frustrate myself more...

 

I mean ya most people don't use the Trackstick very much. Latitude touchpads are crappy (ALPS). My E6400 and E6410 was very unresponsive even with official Alps drivers. I had to up the sensitivity. Synaptics is the only way to go for Touchpads.

 

The touchpad on my Latitude E6400 is the worst I've ever used. I tried using it for two days before giving up and going to an external wireless mouse full time. After three years, I had almost forgotten it even had a touchpad...

The Trackstick isn't much better but works in a pinch. I had a ThinkPad R61 14" for 18 months before my E6400 and the Trackpoint (and touchpad) worked flawlessly. The pointing devices are actually the only complaints I have after three years of heavy, daily usage...but if Lenovo can get it so right, why can't Dell???

 

I agree. I had high hopes for the multitouch touchpad on my e6420. I was disappointed that it couldn't even get two finger scrolling right! I had to turn multitouch off within days of getting the laptop. Sad. Especially since a 600 dollar toshiba my siblings have is also multitouch capable and works just fine.

As far as the Trackstick goes, i've never warmed to them on both my latitudes, and laptops in general. Maybe i need to practice...

I have had to image many a E6400/10...i cringe just thinking about the touchpad. Not only was it lethargic, but if my memory serves me, it was a bit on the small side as well...not fun.

I think it's a matter of cost sadly. Perhaps Alps is able to produce a "comperable" touchpad for cheaper than synaptics. In any case, when one pays for a premium laptop, the touchpad should work well.

 

I purchased my first laptop in 1996 for $2600. It was a Toshiba Satellite 4060CDT (with a ROCKIN' 333Mhz Pentium2 and 128mb RAM). It had an 'integrated pointing device' (IPD) in the keyboard as well as a primitive touchpad. The IPD felt so natural and intuitive that I forgot it even had a touchpad!

I still have that old tank (13.3" but weighs over 8.0lbs)! Even after 15 years, the IPD is easier to use and more precise than the one in my E6400!

After the Toshiba, I went thru a series of ThinkPads and the TrackPoint worked perfectly on all of them. For almost 12 years, I never used the touchpad on any of my laptops- just the pointing stick. Then I got my E6400 and couldn't believe how much their pointing stick sucked! After two keyboard replacements, multiple driver updates and tweaks and lots of swearing, I realized that mine wasn't defective- somehow they managed to screw up every function of something that had been around for more than a decade....something that only DELL or HP could manage to do! =)

I've seen many reviews of the E6400 (and siblings with same keyboard and touchpad design) and they all list the touchpad as their biggest gripe. Several referred to it as being the size of a postage stamp, but that was actually an insult to postage stamps...it's smaller. I don't think I've ever seen a 10" netbook with a touchpad as small?!? Dell also uses the same one on the larger E6500 where it seems even smaller than on my E6400. But I'm glad that it's so small because I use it just like the rest of the wrist rest when I'm typing, so it doesn't get in the way and it's easy to ignore.[/QUOTE]

I'm planning to buy a new E6420 in the next month or two. I have spent some time with one and I was impressed with the touchpad. The TrackStick is improved (from a D to perhaps a B or B+ grade) but Lenovo is still turning out the A+ TrackPoint consistently! Still it is useable on the Dell and a solid notch above the one used in HP EliteBooks.

I have debated for months whether I should get a new E6420 or a ThinkPad T420. But ThinkPads have always failed to impress me in one key area- display quality. The T420 is no different- I prefer the E6420's 1600x900 display to the T420's display with the same resolution. I also prefer Dell's backlit keyboard to Lenovo's ThinkLight...but will admit the ThinkPad's keyboard has the best tactile feel and they feel just as solid after a few years as when they were new.

And the final factor that I plan to be a repeat Dell Latitude owner comes down to price. While retail pricing may be similar between competing models, the secret is to purchase a NEW system from Dell Outlet. They call them PREVIOUSLY ORDERED NEW, but at least once per quarter they will build a 1000 or so units of various specs and dump them into the Outlet inventory! And on the Latitude E6xxx models you get a full 3yr warranty, same as if you had configured it brand new!

When I purchased my E6400, I configured one on the regular Dell site with identical specs- the total price was $1384. I managed to snag the same exact NEW E6400 from the Outlet for $674! And a new E6420 (with 1600x900, i5/i7, 9-cell battery, 4GB RAM, and 500GB 7200rpm hard drive) will be well under $800...

 

Yeah the small size does make it "disappear" more while typing. My wind U100 netbook has it beat though in terms of tinyness...ironically it's a synaptics with multitouch and its gestures work well...the only thing hindering them is a lack of space.

Interesting notes about the earliest touchpads and pointing sticks too! I found a old "zenith computer systems" laptop at work once with a trackball:

http://img.tapatalk.com/47ad95b3-1372-f7ae.jpg

Still worked too, although the ball was a bit rough.

Hah your right, the outlet is Dell's secret weapon. I got my E6420 (i5, 9-cell, 1600x900, 4 gb ram, 250 GB 7200 rpm HDD) as a previously ordered new for 510 bucks. While ThinkPad's are certainly nice laptops, the Latitude was more stylish to me, plus (at least on the somewhat ancient T61's my uni has) i wasnt keen on some details like what appears to be a exposed monitor ribbon cable...once i noticed it, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Thinkpad keyboard is superior i'll give it that, but i agree that the backlit keys are my preference to the ThinkLight.

 

I just nabbed a Previously Ordered New system from the Outlet but it's not quite an E6420....but I couldn't resist for $399.20 shippped!

It's the E5420 and it's pretty basic spec except it has the 1600x900 display upgrade. The current round of Dell Outlet coupons are model specific and none apply to the E6420. I used a 20% off for the E5420. For under $400, I can't go wrong even if I decide to resell it or return it. It doesn't have the 3yr warranty, but I've been lucky enough with my E6400 that I only needed warranty service when it was a few months old, not in years 2 or 3....

The E5420 specs are-

Intel Core i3-2330M
Win7 Pro 64
14" HD+ (1600x900) LED Premium Display
2GB DDR3 RAM (1-DIMM, 1-open slot for upgrade)
250GB 5400rpm hard drive (already have a 320GB 7200rpm to install before I ever turn it on)
Intel 3000 HD graphics
Dell 1501-N wireless (easily upgradeable to an Intel card)
No Webcam (don't have one now, don't need one)
DVD-ROM (haven't need to burn a DVD in years...)
6-cell Battery

I'm surprised by how little differentiation there is between the E5420 and E6420! The E5400 and E6400 were significantly different- the E5400 was made out of heavy-duty plastics and E6400 magnesium alloy. But the E5420 and E6420 are both magnesium alloy, dark gray finish, spill-resistant keyboard and very similar standard features. The E6420 offers higher level options you can't get on the E5420 (NVIDIA graphics, SSD, i7, etc.) But physically they appear almost identical in design, materials and measurements.

Lenovo did the same thing with with the R- and T-series over several years. I ordered a new ThinkPad in 11/07 and planned to get a T61 14". My next door neighbor works for IBM and lets me use her employee discount with Lenovo. She told me that the R61 and T61 14" were the same exact thing but the R61 was $180 cheaper identically equipped! The T61 had a few things like mobile broadband and Blu-Ray player that weren't options on the R61, but that was the only difference. I ordered my R61 with the T9500 processor, NVIDIA Quadro graphics, 1440x900 display and pretty much every other option on the list. I paid $730 vs. $910 for the T61. The R400 and T400 were more of the same. Then the R-series was dropped because it was totally redundant....which

 

Nice! That's a amazing deal right there. I agree with how similar the e5420 and 6420 are, sometimes i had trouble telling the two apart on the dell website. I probably could have gotten away with the 5420 but being a college student having 3 years of coverage is just extra peace of mind.

It's interesting how people's needs change lower as time goes on, looking back i could have easily gotten away with getting just the cd-rw/dvd drive, thanks to USB sticks and such.

Enjoy the new rig!