Dell Latitude D430 is Dell's recent ultra portable present that features Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Intel processors and a host of additional technologies in order to make one of the smallest 12.1" machines that still maintain a good amount of battery life and computing power.
Specifications
The D430 starts out at a not-so-cheap $1,149.
- Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 Processor (1.33GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
- Microsoft Genuine Windows XP Professional
- 12.1" WXGA Display (1280x800)
- 1GB DDR2 533MHz RAM (upgraded to 2GB)
- 80GB 4200RPM Toshiba 1.8" HDD
- External D-Port CD-RW/DVD-ROM Optical Drive
- Intel 3945 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Ethernet, and Modem
- 6-Cell 42Whr Battery
- 3-Year Next Business Day At-Home & Gold Technical Support Warranty
- Dimensions: 11.6" W x 8.25" D x 1" H
- Weight: 3.2lbs (with battery, without optical drive)
Build and Design
The entire body of the laptop is built of strongly packed guts and a solid magnesium alloy frame with sold plastic "plating." The most excellent way to explain it is that the bones and muscles of the D430 are solid metal, while the skin is made of a well-built plastic.
The screen structure is also extraordinary, but not as much as the chassis' structure. As with most laptop screens, the display can be warped a little bit, but not nearly as much as other laptops
Other parts of the notebook are strong as well. The hard drive on the D430 features hardware-based shock protection and the keyboard/mouse pad region has completely no flex so all those computer parts directly underneath your working area are completely safe.
The D430 managed to achieve its incredible thinness by ditching an internal DVD drive and going with an exterior Dell-specific-version-of-USB external USB DVD drive that can run off of the notebook's power mains to minimize the cable requirements. For users that do not require an optical drive very often, this will be completely fine. Users who require it more regularly may find themselves wondering if they'd want to carry around a second piece of equipment.
Processor and Performance
As of this writing, only one single-core version of this processor is obtainable on the D430 - the U2100 which is a single core 1.06GHz processor. It is unlucky that Dell continues to present a 1.06GHz single core, because at one point a 1.2GHz single core was obtainable that performed a little improved at the same price.
While single core processors are mainly an obsolete technology, ultra portable notebooks can still enjoy the benefits of less heat in the laptop.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Dell even managed to fit in a full-size keyboard in the 12" frame. The keyboard feels very firm, and there is no flex anyplace on the keyboard when using it.
The main difference this keyboard has with others is that the Page Up and Page Down buttons are placed above the arrow keys in the lower right corner of the keyboard. This is a excellent thing though, as it makes them much more easy to get to for document and web browsing. The F1-F12 keys up top are still a little too thin for my tastes though, as are the Esc, Home, End, Insert, and Delete keys that are found in the function button row. Dell could almost certainly have made those 17 keys full size had their design department thought a little more creatively.
Operating System and Software
D430 comes with a minimum of additional software and bloat ware to clog the system.
There is no recovery partition on the D430 though, but this is offset by the reality that all recovery CDs will come with the notebook. There are only three: XP CD, Drivers CD, and the Power DVD software CD. Unless you purchase a notebook with the fingerprint reader or need the business security suites that should be all you get with the D430.
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