I have had my Dell Latitude D820 for four years now. I originally ordered it from Dell because it was still available with Windows XP (didn't want Vista), and they were having a great sale. There is plenty of memory and RAM on the hard drive; I have never even come remotely close to filling it. The high screen resolution is awesome. I had to watch some DVDs for a school assignment on it, and I was shocked at how great the picture was. The sound is also very good. I frequently listen to my iTunes library on it and don't feel the need to hook up some external speakers. The Latitude D820 is heavy. I don't want to be toting it around everywhere. But, on the plus side, it is super solid. I am not afraid of any little bump or jostle, or too worried that the screen will break in half. I did have to replace the charger cord for the battery. One day it started making this crazy high-pitched whining sound and would not charge the battery. Ok, no problem, I got a new one. Just the other day, I started getting a message advising me that my battery was nearing the end of it's useable life. I haven't priced a battery yet, but I am thinking that I will replace it in the near future. Overall, I don't think that is a lot of problems to have with a four year old computer. It has served me well, and likely will continue for at least a few more years.

stefanie647

Phoenix, AZ

Previously I did a review on Lenovo T61. Prior to owning the Lenovo T61, I used Dell Latitude D820. Having almost three years of usage, I can recommend this little gem! This laptop is built quite durable. The 1920x1080 (1080p) high resolution on this laptop is certainly a welcome. The screen color and contrast is excellent. Fitting multiple applications on this high res screen is not a problem; I prefer high res for better productivity. The keyboard on this laptop is a little more "clicky" than I like. If the keys are softer and have little more cushions would be nice. The Intel mini-wifi card works very well. I do not have any issues connecting to all wifi and hotspots. The area you rest your hands on do get a little hot after a while. It's probably a little more warm than I like. So I do suggest getting a swivel elevation pad to help dissipate the heat. I've accidentally dropped this laptop on carpeted floor few times, no issues. The Dell battery seems a little weak. It doesn't really last two hours during normal usage. It died less than two years and I have yet to get a replacement battery. Right now sits @ home stationary as a media center running Windows 7. Overall this Latitude D820 is great. I've enjoyed using this for both personal and business purposes.

Lovehannah

Austin, TX

I bought my Dell Lattitude D820 laptop in 1/07 and I can't begin to tell all the problems I've had with it.  I keep a log of my calls to Customer Service and there are too many to count.  I've had several parts replaced and just overall issues with the software.  I paid extra to have longer battery life, but in less than 3 years am about to have to buy a 3rd battery.  This is my second Dell, and I'm not sure I would get a 3rd.  The a/c adapter too easily comes out in back which isn't good if you're trying to preserve battery life. Ok, those are the negatives, here are some positives.  For a 15.4 inch screen notebook, it's not too heavy.  Carries around just fine.  No weird keys, all are self-explanatory.  Screen has good color and brightness, haven't had a problem there.  For the many times I have had to call Customer Service, they have been very helpful and I have rarely had a language barrier, which I've had with other types of Customer Service.  Has four USB ports, which has been quite helplful, as many of the newer laptops only have one or two. 

tiagayepfa

Lutz, FL

This lap top has great features and its sleek design really keeps me up to date. it doesnt have a web cam but of course if i would have wanted one with a webcam i would have ourchased a different one. it was cheaper with out a web cam.  it has wlan so you can take it anywhere but i do think its a bit large and a bit heavy its more of a lap top to keep at home and not to tote around. the keyboard area is definitly finger print prone i have bought a polishing wipe  for that. but as far as the desk top features they are great everything is easy to figure out it is very easy to use but i would definitly recommend a mouse for this computer just because on the rigth side of the touch pad you can slide your finger up or down and that scrolls the whole page and since its not marked exactly where it is i end up accidently moving it it could just be me just havent gotten the hang of it only because of that small feature on the touch pad. overall id say great computer for home use only  

amparo1998

San Diego, CA

I am a college student and I LOVE this laptop. It has great sound for music, movies, and presentations. I love the control of lighting for the screen. The keys hold up GREAT. It is fast and very reliable. It rarely freezes and has a large hard drive to store anything and everything I throw at it. 1 millions stars! It is the best purchase of my life!

adam2886

Joliet, IL

  I use the laptop everyday with multiple programs (MS Word, Excel, SPSS, Outlook, Internet Explorer, and iTunes) open at one time with no delay in any of the programs. For the year and a half of ownership the laptop has performed exceptionally.  As a student I carry it to and from school in a laptop bag and on occasion it has been dropped and slammed with no ill-effects.

speedyfam

Beaverton, OR

***Bottom-Line***: Hands down, the *Dell ***Latitude D820** is a business performance winner that is easy on the wallet and shoulders.  It has been two years since I started my new job as a Senior Systems Analyst running the *Microsoft Exchange 2003* installation for a mid-sized Mid-West financial company.  And when I started the job I was issued a *Dell Latitude D600*** **light weight** **notebook computer.**  **Over the ensuing year my *D600* has served me well, but it has not been without its performance problems, so when the company offered to refresh all of the *D600's* with new larger **Dell Latitude D820 PC Notebook**, I jumped at the chance.  After all who wouldn't want to replace a 14" screen with a bight 15.4" WXGA screen?  Although large than the *Latitude D600*, the **Latitude D820** doesn't feel any heavier, which makes carrying the portable desktop replacement everyday easy on the shoulders and back.  And because the **Latitude D820** is just as slim as the *D600*, it fits rather handily into my existing laptop case.   **The Laptop** The **Latitude D820 **comes very close to being a full fledged, full feathered desktop replacement; the unit houses Intel Centrino T2300 Core Dual processor running at 2.16GHz with 2MB L2 cache, on a 665MHz FSB, with 1.0GB of DDR2 SDRAM.  And while the *D600* only sported (2) USB 2.0 ports, the **Latitude D820 **has 4 including a combo USB/Power port.  The additional USB ports more than make up for the inclusion of only (1) PC Card slot, and no 9-pin mini-din (keyboard/mouse) or printer connections.  Dell did include an ExpressCard/34mm slot, 4-pin mini-Firewire port, and Port Replication port to round out the expandability of this slat gray laptop.  Checking in at some 6.5-pounds the **D820's** overall dimensions are as follows: 1.4 inches thick, 14.2 inches wide, and 10.3 inches deep, making **D820** the largest system in the Latitude lineup; it just doesn't feel like it.  It does feel comfortable typing on the broad full featured keyboard (though I had to have it replaced right out of the box) that is complemented by a pointing stick and a touch pad; both of which have their own sets of mouse buttons.  The feel of the keyboards' keys reminds me of the IBM keyboards of old that felt good on the fingers and felt almost metallic and strong.  And both can be set up to disable themselves automatically when an external pointing device is added to an available USB port.  You can optionally configure the **D820** to use biometric security (fingerprint reader), which reduces the size of the mouse buttons to accommodate the fingerprint sensor between them. The **Latitude D820** features a bright, crisp, 15.4-inch wide screen with an ultra-fine, 1900 x 1200 native resolution that renders great graphics, but makes the text and icons difficult to read; I have my screen set to 1280x768, which proves to be a very workable setting for me.  At the base of the screen, which is anchored by steel hinges, are status LED's for system power, HHD activity, battery charging, Express Card insertion, WiFi on, and Bluetooth.        And speaking of wireless networking, this is an area where the **Latitude D820** excels. Unlike other laptops I have used that integrate wireless into the case-usually in the screen housing-the **D820 **incorporates a switch on the left edge of the laptop that functions turns the wireless adapter off and on: slide the switch forward, and the built-in 802.11 b/g wireless card automatically searches for available networks, displaying those available on the screen and indicating whether the network is 11Mbps or a faster (G) network.  In addition the ports I mentioned above the Latitude **D820 **also features a standard VGA, infrared, serial, 56Kbps modem, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone, and microphone jacks.  Because the **D820** is built for the business user, the unit lacks multimedia features such as S-Video, S/PDIF audio, a media card reader, and more USB ports that might typically be found on consumer/multi-media-oriented laptops. The bottom of the unit houses the usual access panels: a large removable battery, hard drive, and memory; there is one user installable slots left open for the installation of additional memory. At the rear of the **Latitude D820** is a 280-pin port for attaching the laptop to a port replicator, or expansion station.   **My Viewpoint   ** I like my new *Dell* **Latitude D820. ** The unit is light weight, sturdy and performs quite well thanks in larger part to the ultra-fast Intel Core Duo processor (a 2.16-GHz T2300) under the hood.  This makes the D820 markedly and noticeably faster than a single-core system it replaced.  Add to this the D820's battery life, rated at over 5 hours, and excellent 15'4" display and 1GB of memory and you have a real business-class winner in my book.  My unit came standard with 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM, but there is an additional 512MB installed in the only the user up-gradable slot on the bottom of the unit.  The 60GB hard drive delivers sterling performance, although it is only a 5400Rpm drive, it is certainly adequate for the work I will be doing with the unit.            The best feature of the **Latitude D820** is the WXGA display.  The 15.4 inch screen is bright, crisp and clear.  It is not the best LCD display I have ever used, but it is more than adequate for business use, and for playing the occasional DVD.  **Concluding Viewpoint ** Hands down, the *Dell ***Latitude D820** is a performance winner.  I like the increased processing power, the increased batter power, and increased screen real estate.  And the laptop is handsome to look at!  Though I doubt I will ever have cause to use the 4-pin Firewire port, it is nice to know its there just in case, and (4) USB ports has certainly com in handy.       

TheBard

Aurora, IL