
The touchpad, on the other hand, felt really nice and dragged smoothly, complemented by a pair of really soft mouse buttons. It has dual-pointing devices-pointing stick and touchpad-though the pointing stick was my least favorite feature on the E6420, as it was too stiff to use for navigation. The combination of a backlit keyboard and traditional-style keys makes for a satisfyingly productive experience, regardless of lighting conditions. It's a matte screen, the kind that doesn't reflect light back at you. Its 1,366-by-768 resolution can be upgraded to 1,600-by-900, which is well worth $80 upgrade. The 14-inch widescreen is intensely bright, but not as rich in colors as the one found in the HP Elitebook 8740w (($1,999 direct, 4 stars). In contrast, ThinkPads sport an all-black frame.

The additional orange lining around the keyboard, however, may seem like color overkill, although I didn't find it to be an eyesore. The interior has a similar color combination: black palm rests and aluminum trim around the keyboard.

The gun-metal gray top is made of brushed aluminum that tapers along the sides, surrounded by a light silver trim, while the base is completely black. But then again, the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 (5.5 lbs) ($1,484 direct, 4 stars) and T420 (review coming shortly) were subjected to similar torture tests and given a similar battery, yet they're half a pound lighter.ĭespite its heft, the E6420 has pleasing aesthetics. This metallic blend withstood a wide range of improvised military torture tests by Dell that include vibrations, extreme temperatures, drops, and moisture, to name a few. Then there's the fact that it's a solidly-made laptop, made from magnesium alloy and topped with an aluminum finish. There's the huge 9-cell battery without which the E6420 wouldn't have its impressive battery life. The E6420's heavy weight can be attributed to several factors. Although powerful, the E6420 is pricey and weighs a whopping 6 pounds, which is very heavy for a 14-inch laptop. This particular configuration runs an Intel Core i5-2540M processor, a 9-cell battery (the biggest available), and integrated graphics.
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For instance, the Dell Latitude E6420 ($1,788 direct), the company's latest 14-inch business laptop, has every feature and component that a power user could possibly dream up, from the full range of Intel Sandy Bridge processors to the gamut of business-oriented features.

Latitude-branded laptops are dedicated to the most demanding businesses and largest enterprises for a reason: They're fully loaded, with a world of options to choose from.
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