Dell Latitude D600 Laptop Review

Bottom-Line: The combination of light weight, outstanding display, Pentium and Centrino technologies, coupled with the integrated wireless NIC make the Dell Latitude D600 sit head and shoulders above the rest. 

Right from the beginning I could tell I was going to like my new Latitude D600; it is small and light weight which makes it easy to carry day after day, as I will be required to do.  In my new job work never stops, and working from home is expected.  It helps to carry a notebook that will not put a dent in my shoulder or an ache in my back. 

Make no mistake Latitude D600 is not a full feathered desktop replacement; the unit has limited processing power, and only sports (2) USB 2.0 ports, (1) PC Card slot and (1) 9-pin mini-din (keyboard/mouse) connection.  True most modern pointing devices have standard USB connections, but plug one in and you are down to one USB connection.  But for my use the Latitude D600 will do just fine.

Most of the laptop's connections are aligned along the back of the unit and include (2) aforementioned USB connections; (1) 9-pin mini-din (keyboard/mouse) connection; (1) RJ-11 modem port; (1) RJ-45 Ethernet port; (1) printer port; (1) SVGA port and; (1) serial port.  The power receptacle sits to the right of the serial port.

Lift the top and you are greeted to minimalism at it finest.  The matt black keyboard is well laid out with bright white keys that are easy to read.  The lone control panel houses the power switch, speaker volume controls and speaker mute switch.  LED indicators for cap/num lock can also be found here. 

A now familiar nib/eraser head mouse control occupies the middle of the keyboard, and a touch pad is built into the wrist rest portion of the unit, along with large push buttons that act as left and right mouse controls. 

The 14.1" SXGA Active Matrix LCD display also houses the antenna for the integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g Ethernet chip (an Intel Centrino configuration).                  

My Viewpoint  

As I stated above, I like the Latitude D600.  The unit is light weight, sturdy and performs quite well for a notebook with only a 1.6GHz processor under the hood.  But the Pentium (4) M is known for its performance scores, besting some fully grown Pentium 4 processors operating at twice their clock speeds.

The best feature of the Latitude D600 is the SXGA display.  The 14.1 inch screen is bright, crisp and clear.  It is by far one of the best, if not the best LCD display I have ever used.  With SXGA the screen can obtain a maximum resolution of 1400 x 1050, which is far too small for this size display, but hey its nice to know its there if need be.    

I have mixed feelings in general about touch-pads.  While I like the feel and silky movement the touch-pad provides, a mouse is more fluid in motion and provide more control over the cursor.  But the touchpad on the Latitude D600 is unlike those installed on other models I have heretofore used; there is no film to wear away under continued use. The pad is made of a material I can't quite identify; it's not medal, but it doesn't feel like plastic either.  But the cursor moves rather nicely when the pad is utilized. But like most touch pads the slightest touch can have un-intended consequences.  So I shut the touchpad off.

The Latitude D600 measures 1.2 inches thick, 12.4 inches wide, and 10.1 inches deep, and it weighs in at an easy-to-carry 5.5 pounds.  The unit fits easily into the standard sized carrying case; the power supply is thicker than the notebook!       

Conclusions

I have used other thin and light weight notebook computers; the Latitude D600 is the best of breed thus far.  The combination of light weight, outstanding display, Pentium and Centrino technologies, coupled with the integrated wireless NIC make the Dell Latitude D600 sit head and shoulders above the rest.