Dell Latitude D620 review: Dell Latitude D620

Dell Latitude D620
As the middle child in the business-focused Latitude brood, the Dell Latitude D620 is larger than the ultraportable D410 and smaller than the midsize D820. Like its big brother, the D620 has undergone an extensive overhaul, emerging with some sweet new features such as a 14.1-inch wide-aspect display (the prior model was standard aspect), an Intel Core Duo processor, a fingerprint sensor, and an EV-DO wireless WAN card. The system's mobile performance is superior to the D610's, though its battery life remains about the same. In the end, companies that have already standardized on the Latitude D600 series should feel comfortable adding the new D620 to their portable families. But businesses starting from scratch may want to consider other thin-and-light alternatives, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Z60t.

The Latitude D620 tips the scales at the same 5.4-pound weight as the prior-generation D610 and features the same 1.2-inch thickness. The D620's new dual-tone gray color scheme gives it a sleeker look than its predecessor. Since the laptop now features a wide-aspect screen, its dimensions are different: the case runs 13.3 inches wide and 9.4 inches deep--a bit wider and shallower than before. Overall, the Latitude D620's size falls in line with other systems offering 14.1-inch wide-aspect displays, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Z60t and the Toshiba Tecra A6. There are certainly smaller laptops in Dell's Latitude lineup, for example, the Latitude X1, but the D620 is light enough for occasional travel and moving throughout the office.

From a design standpoint, the Latitude D620 is a smaller version of the D820. While the D820's display measures 15.4 inches, the D620 has a clear, sufficiently bright 14.1-inch wide-aspect screen with an average 1,280x800 native resolution. The D620's keyboard is wide enough, but its keys are a bit noisy compared to the D820's. Both laptops feature three handy volume buttons, plus a touch pad and a pointing stick with a corresponding set of mouse buttons--though the D820's stick has a flat top that's easier to manipulate than the D620's rounded eraser head. On the D620, the touch pad's standard mouse buttons are of adequate size, but if you add biometric security to your system, Dell swaps them out for two smaller ones with the fingerprint sensor wedged between them; we wish the buttons were larger. The D620 has a pretty sorry excuse for a speaker on its front edge, which is not uncommon for a business portable. Fortunately, the D620 shares the D820's excellent steel hinges that secure its display to its base, and it offers a similarly sturdy magnesium alloy internal frame as well as a shock-protected hard drive. These design specs are also found in the ThinkPad Z60t, which also provides arrow keys that double as multimedia controls (there are no hardware media controls on the Latitude D620) and two drain holes underneath the keyboard to dispel accidental spills.

Dell has made wireless communications a top priority for the D620. We particularly like its handy Wi-Fi finder feature, which lets you test for nearby Wi-Fi networks by simply sliding a switch on the laptop's left edge. The feature works when you're booted up or powered down, so you don't even have to turn your system on to find a network. Other wireless options include a cutting-edge, Bluetooth + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) card and a nice EV-DO wireless WAN card, all of which were included in our test unit.

The Latitude D620's unremarkable array of ports, jacks, and slots will satisfy standard business connectivity needs. Highlights include infrared, VGA, and four USB 2.0 ports, plus an archaic serial port for businesses that can't let go of legacy peripherals. You also get headphone and microphone jacks; one Type II PC Card slot; and one Smart Card slot that accommodates cards that carry covert information, such as credit card numbers or sensitive passwords. You may secure more of your top-secret info by saving it to the Trusted Platform Module chip that's hardwired to the D620's motherboard. In addition to the WWAN and Wi-Fi mentioned above, the D620 network connections include modem and Ethernet jacks. Though the D620 lacks some features--such as S-Video and S/PDIF audio ports and a media card reader--that are included in most contemporary consumer laptops, it stands up well next to other big-business portables, such as the HP Compaq nc6230 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T60. As with most business laptops, the Latitude D620 doesn't ship with much software beyond Windows XP Pro and Roxio Digital Media for disc-burning tasks.

Our Latitude D620 test configuration, which features a discrete GPU, won't be available until May 15; current models offer similar specs but integrated graphics only. Our test configuration's $2,101 price is reasonable, considering its solid specs: a 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500 processor; 1GB of fast 533MHz memory; a fairly sizable 80GB hard drive spinning at a decent 5,400rpm clip; a swappable, double-layer DVD burner, and a new Nvidia Quadro NVS 120M graphics chip with 128MB of dedicated VRAM and the ability to borrow another 128MB from main memory. A similarly configured Toshiba Tecra A6 currently costs about $100 less but lacks the D620's integrated WWAN card and has slightly inferior warranty terms.

Performance proved to be a strong suit for the Latitude D620 on CNET Labs' benchmarks. The system finished our MobileMark test suite about 14 percent faster than the Latitude D610, and its score was higher than a similarly configured Lenovo ThinkPad T60. The D620 also finished slightly ahead of the ThinkPad T60 on our SysMark test suite; these results will provide more than enough oomph for most business productivity tasks. The Latitude D620 didn't muster the same strength in our battery drain tests, cutting out 12 minutes earlier than the D610 and long before the ThinkPad T60, which had a larger battery. While we didn't test the Latitude D620's high-capacity battery, Dell claims that it lasts for about seven hours.

Dell's baseline warranty lasts for three years--the current standard among corporate laptops--yet its inclusion of next-business-day, onsite service is beyond the business norm. Of course, toll-free, 24/7 tech support is also part of the term. In addition, you can attempt to troubleshoot your own issues using various features on the great Dell support Web site, which provides FAQs, troubleshooting tips, real-time chats with a support representative, and a user forum.

System configurations:

Dell Latitude D610
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon X300 64MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 80GB 5,400rpm

Dell Latitude D620
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500; 1GB PC4300 DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; Nvidia Quadro NVS 110M 256MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 80GB 5,400rpm

Lenovo ThinkPad T60
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500; 1GB PC4300 DDR2 SDRAM 666MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 512MB (256MB shared); Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 100GB 5,400rpm