Dell Announces New Latitudes, Precision Workstation Notebooks Discussion

Dell announced an entirely redesigned line of business Latitude and Precision Mobile Workstation notebooks starting at $859.

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• Dell Latitude E6410 Review

 

Are we back in 2003??

 

Er, is that a typo or is Dell regressing naming wise?

 

Edit:

Dell also announced its Precision M4600 and M6600 mobile workstations but has not released any further details.

 

While the subjective looks range from fugly to awesome (I like the new looks), Dell has definitely improved it's connectivity design and I'm glad they decided on commonality (esp. batteries btw models). I'm curious to see how they have improved build quality and hope they've also added some good LCD panels.

 

Check this out; looks like HP's taking a step backwards in design too:
HP updates dv6 and dv7 with Envy features - Notebookcheck.net News

What's the deal?

 

New design = new problems. New look = ugly.

New design + new look = new problems + ugly = pass on Dell and go with something else.

 

How is that a step backwards? What exactly would you consider a step forwards in design?

 

Less-sleeker design + bulkiness = outdated looks?

 

I can tell you what I would NOT consider step forward - this. They have Inspiron flavor - which some people find a yucky yucky flavor.

 

Except the whole "looks" part of a laptop is completely subjective. In terms of actual engineering design, I doubt you can say that it is a step backwards as it is not bulkier than current designs nor is it less sleek as the rounded corners give it a smoother fit into bags and overall better connectivity.

 

:laugh:

Priceless.

 

Agreed. I actually think the new HP looks better than the old one. It doesn't look as much like a "Mac wannabe".

 

I could absolutely care less what my business laptops look like.

 

Perhaps the looks were a sacrifice made to case durability. Ever considered that the new latitudes could be the lightest most rugged notebooks yet?

 

I bought my E6510 for personal/semi-work use after loving my work laptop (E6500) and I can safely say that I am very very glad to have bought it before the 6520 became current.

There are reasons why people bought the business laptops for personal use and Dell trying to make the business laptops appeal to the personal crowd is completely defying the logic.

First it was the move to the 16:9 screen and now this. Dell Business line is losing the plot big time.

I am talking about the Latitude line though, not the Precision, those actually seem like a step forward.

I guess thinkpad is the only no nonsense laptop that remains.

 

I think they're trying to up the appeal factor so employers will have less of a battle handing pc's to employees.

We all know the "work pc" stereotype: It's ugly and seemingly always super slow compared to your home pc, so much so that you usually dread using it or bringing it home

Combatting that is a pretty smart move IMO

 

In the Dell subforum, there was a link to a review which stated that the new designs improved the durability and ruggedness to even compete with the legendary Panasonics. If it's even close to the truth, that'd be a pretty tough notebook.

1. 16:9 aspect ratio is due to panel manufacturers switching, not due to any ODM
2. The Thinkpads (and HP Elitebooks) switched to 16:9 before Dell did
3. Thinkpads have dropped in quality significantly in the past several years, while the Latitudes/Precisions have increased (IMHO).

 

Dell's moving to 16:9 ahead of HP's Elitebooks, actually (8740w is 16:10, as was the Dell M6500, but the Dell M6600 is moving to 16:9, and while we suspect the 8760w will too, the M6600 will probably be released first, just like it was with the M6500/8740w). Lenovo's W700/W701 are still 16:10 as well, I believe. The Dell M4500 and the HP 8540w were both 16:9.

 

humm... well they seem to have kept the weight the same - EXCEPT for the fact that they changed it from starting with 6 cell to 4 cell
At least that may mean they actually are much stronger.

I don't mind the looks too much honestly other than the bezel, that seems really thick and ugly. Unless the model pictured is that budget 15" model that they put 14" screens on.

 

They look cheap.

 

Not entirely true, as the Dell Latitude E6410 was still 16:10 while the HP Elitebook 8440p/w moved to 16:9. The Lenovo Thinkpad T410 also remained 16:10.

In the 15" segment, the Latitude E6510, Elitebook 8540p/w, and Thinkpad T510/W510 all moved to 16:9 this generation.

In the 17" segment, you are correct, that only Lenovo's W701 is still 16:10.

 

Elitebook 8740w is still 16:10.

 

Whoops, don't know what I was thinking - thanks for the correction!

 

16:9 shift sucks. BIG TIME. I have a feeling the TBA Macbooks are going to make that switch as well.

But about the looks, I think the 6520 looks butt ugly compared to the 6510.

 

I usually only pay close attention to the 17" machines (I do love my screen space), and lose track of the 15" and below, so I cheerfully admit the corrections. Still and all, the unfortunate fact is that I'm not sure there will be any 16:10 left with Sandy Bridge processors.