Dell Latitude D520
Notebook Reviews > Dell Latitude > D520

Review Date: 23rd July' 2006

Among the latest update to the Latitude lineup of business-centric notebooks you'll find those geared towards performance like the D820 and D620, you'll also find notebooks geared towards ultra portability like the D420 and the latitude X1. But Dell hasn't forgotten about the value-conscious SOHO user, for those there's the latitude D520; a well balanced notebook with enhanced performance and longer battery life than the older D510 it's replacing.

In keeping with the times, the D520 comes with an Intel Core Duo processor in speeds of 1.66GHz or 1.83GHz. This dual core processor along with the 512 MB (upgradeable to 4GB) of DDR2 memory boosts the performance of the D520 and allows it to handle all the needs of the modern business user.

Sadly the D520's 15" screen is in the standard 4:3 aspect ratio even though it has become expected nowadays to have wide screens in almost all types of notebooks; but let's not forget this is a budget notebook and a 15" screen is not bad at all. And in the spirit of being business-centric and budget oriented, Dell offers the latitude D520 with the standard built-in Intel Graphics Media Accelerator graphics chip which can share up to 224MB of memory from the main system RAM. While this may not be suitable for game playing this of course is not why one would buy the D520. It is worth mentioning that despite the mediocre graphics system the D520 is indeed Vista capable.

Battery life on the D520 is quite respectable at around 5 hours, give or take a few minutes depending on the level of use. Even during DVD playback tests, which are quite power consuming, the D520 managed to last 3.5 hours which is more than enough to finish a full movie (even an exceptionally long one) without being interrupted by a low battery warning. While on the subject of the battery it is worth mentioning that the D520 has Dell's now common battery level indicator which allows you to know your battery charge level without the need to boot up the notebook.

Connectivity features in the D520 include the usual standards such as an integrated Ethernet port, a dial-up modem, 802.11a/g WiFi and also built-in Bluetooth support.

While the D520 may not have the bells and whistles featured in the other latitude notebooks it surely delivers on its promise, a well-balanced business oriented notebook with great value and good battery life.