Dell Latitude D420
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Review Date: 24th July' 2006

The D420 is Dell's latest entry into the ultra-portable market, offering the compatibility and features of the older D410 with the form factor and portability of the Latitude X1. The result is a modern ultra-portable Latitude notebook that's compatible with existing latitude D-series options like the docking port or power adapters for example.

With the optional 9-cell battery pack the D420 weighs in at 3.5 pounds, still ultra-portable, and that battery offers over 7 hours of continuous operation. You can of course have 0.5 pounds off the weight by sticking to the standard 4-cell battery, at the expense of battery life that is.

As with the latitude X1, the D420 lacks an integrated optical drive to allow for its small size and light weight, not to mention saving more battery power. You can however get the optional MediaBay which the D420 can be slotted into and offers an optical drive or better yet you can opt for an external D-bay optical drive. Things like this make the D420's D-series compatibility clearly important; the latitude X1 had to rely on a specific external optical drive that took up 2 of the USB ports to connect the notebook.

Initially, Dell is only offering the latitude D420 with Intel Core Solo processors but by the end of this summer Core Duo options will also be available, Dell promises.

The D420 is quite sturdy with the now popular on Dell notebooks magnesium alloy body. The keyboard is full-sized and the D420 comes with two pointer control options, both a touch-pad and pointer stick. Each with its own set of mouse buttons.

In terms of wireless connectivity the D420 offers everything you could hope for. There's the standard WiFi 802.11a/g with Dell's now common WiFi-Catcher which allows you to see if there are available hotspots without the need to boot up the notebook. You also get 3G broadband options from Cingular or Verizon in the US or from Vodafone in supported European countries like the UK for example. As a nice added feature the D420 comes ready with IEEE 802.11n support for when this new WiFi standard gets popular.

On the security side, Dell offers the D420 with the Trusted Platform Module security technology and a Smartcard reader. Additionally, customers can also get the optional finger-print reader for that added peace of mind.

Overall the Dell latitude D420 is a welcomed combined upgrade to both the D410 and the latitude X1. Offering you the best of both with modern performance.