At CES, HP went on about how proud they are of their 24-hour battery life claim against Dell. Well, at Dell we take a slightly different approach - create business laptops with the entire user experience in mind.
Dell commissioned a study from Principled Technologies that compared a Dell Latitude E6400, Lenovo ThinkPad T400 and HP EliteBook 6930p on multiple dimensions. Here are some of the findings:
I'm sure that everyone wants to know how battery life testing went, especially since HP has been less than transparent on how they arrived at the ad slogan of 24 hours. In our third party apples-to-apples test using MobileMark 2007 (MM07), we found that the Latitude E6400 went beyond our claim of 19 hours to 20 hours 9 minutes due to continuous improvements we have put into production. Although HP came in at 21 hours 4 minutes (only a 55-minute difference), additional Latitude E6400 features like eSata, contactless smart card reader and ControlVault out-class the competition. Also, we have an All Day Battery life mode accessed through Dell Control Point software that enables even longer battery life. It is a setting used to extend battery life as needed, but we disabled it for testing in order to comply with MM07 "run rules."
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It strikes me that by you saying 'Laptops with Uncompromised Design - Not Erroneous Ad Slogans', you are committing an equivalent error. I have been a 'faithful' Dell customer for many years, but I have not been able to find a laptop that suits my needs from Dell for over two years. I am a developer who needs 'uncompromised' design in my primary business/development laptop, but I don't want to and can't afford to spend a small fortune for the all the latest, greatest technology that only a die-hard gamer can truly utilize. Therefore, I'm left with significant compromises if I choose Dell. You competitors give me options that Dell does not.
malshep: Thanks for the comment. I understand the nature of your comment, but am curious... are you needing faster graphics options, or more processing power in a laptop that's not built for a gaming audience?
What kind of options make sense for you?
Thanks Lionel for the quick response. Ok, lots of screen real estate (17", high resolution), plenty of CPU (i.e. Core2 Duo T9400) and memory (4+GB), a better than average GPU (image editing, 3D graphics, and video processing are becoming more common place), fast disk (7200), decent disk capacity (I have file servers, NAS, etc. so don't a TB in my laptop). I have not been able to find this type of combination at Dell for some time, unless I want to spend way over $3,000. As a comparison, I can get this combination at HP for around $2,000. To go with Dell and spend around $2,000 or so, I end up having to compromise on one or more of these specs. I can't do that with my livelihood. Thanks.
I noticed that the new Dell Adimo line will have a non-user replacable battery. Not a good move. Apple are pulling the same stunt. Their sales are dropping already. They've slipped back to fourth place for laptop sales. Apples are expensive. This semi-perminent batter nonsense will make Dells more expensive.
Is making your product more expensive a smart move heading deeper and deeper into a recession when Dell is already trying to cut costs and stem losses? Seriously?
malshep: Ah... thanks for the additional clarification. Not sure if it meets all your needs, but the Studio XPS 16 seems like it comes pretty close. We introduced a couple of Studio XPS laptops at CES—one 13" and one 16."
aikiwolfie: I can't say much about Adamo at this point, but rest assured that we are still very committed to being price competitive in both notebooks and desktops. Just this past week, we've introduced the Inspiron 15 notebook, and it has some higher-end options at a competitive price. Here's the details on the Inspiron 15: http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2009/01/15/inspiron-15-laptop-sweet-spot-of-form-function-and-affordability-launches-on-dellcom. And also at CES, we provided a sneak preview of the Mini 10. More to come on that before long, but just in case you missed it, take a look at my post here: http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2009/01/09/mini-10-and-adamo-notebook-ces-2009.aspx.
@malshep: It's good to see we almost have a laptop that meets your needs. Not sure on the 250GB 7200rpm hard drive. Will check on it...
Malshep, try using the base system as a starting point and then a 320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive is there.
jervis961, thanks, found it. Of course, you know how insane this is that I have to do all of this to find out that this option is offered!!!
Yes, I understand. I only knew about it because I was pricing one out myself and wanted a 7200rpm drive. It seems that Dell considers a slower drive an upgrade based on the fact that it holds more information. The sad thing is that you will most likely end up paying more for the notebook now because you had to use the "base" system. Not to rain on your parade or anything but have you read the reviews on the Studio XPS 16? The bottom on the system (right under the touchpad) can reach 115 degrees at times. http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4764
Great job on the Business Latitudes and Precision, they are totally covering Latitudes with Precision and power saving, :)! I can even travel to China without turning my computer off on a non-stop flight, :)!