Communication

As a real deal business notebook the Latitude E5420 can offer everything that can be wished for when it comes to communication technologies. Since we opted for theBasic-Version, the tested device contains neither Bluetooth or an HSDPA module. The corresponding mini PCIe slots (2x) next to the antenna and the SimCard slot are of course available.

As far as wireless technology goes, the E5420 provides WLAN. The WLAN card uses the 802.11 b/g/n standards. Further to this the Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit controller is also on board.

Security

Business notebooks are subjected to a requirement for good security features. While the bigger organisations usually have their own security solutions, smaller establishments are usually happy to have security features and software included with a notebook. Worth mentioning in this respect is the Dell Data Protection Tool, and the backup and restore manager.

Business characteristics, such as Trusted Platform Module, or fingerprint reader, are not acquainted with the E5420. Merely the Kensington Security slot can be used as a preventative measure against theft with a suitable cable. For the importantprotection against the theft of data, the software package Worry-Free Business Security Services (Trendmicro) is included. The price for the licence: 60 Euros. This solution, which is tailored towards small businesses without their own IT department, is supposed to protect against viruses, hacker, spam, spyware, phishing, and theft of data. Via the web-based console, the Latitude for an employee can be administrated from anywhere (Remote Manager).

Accessories

To praise: Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit is contained on a DVD. The user therefore doesn”t have to create recovery discs, as is usually the case with other manufacturers.

Warranty

The standard warranty upon delivery has a duration of 12 months. For an additional sum it is however possible to attain upgrades from Dell, e.g. 3 years Pro Support with next working day on-site repair.

Keyboard

The keys with a crisp pressure point and a long key travel give a very good feedback. The separated arrow keys (+ page up/down) stand out from the keyboard, and can definitely be operated without looking. An alphanumeric keypad is out of the question due to the form factor of the device. Users have the opportunity to use this via key conversion using the Fn keys. The corresponding numbers and calculation symbols are marked in red on the letter keys.

The base of the keys of the Latitude E5420 is generally firm, and provides the user with a firm end stop (not hard). The keys are pleasantly grippy. Merely the keys above the optical drive (;, ”, [) are a little bouncy when pushing them hard.

Touchpad

The use of the touchpad made a good impression on us in every respect. Thequietness, and its large size, as well as easy to use buttons are worlds better than the majority of consumer touchpads. The surface is pleasantly smooth but not slippery.

The Alps multi-touchpad is sufficiently dimensioned with a 9.1 centimeter diameter. It is sensitive right up to the edges. The touchpad only has a vertical scroll bar, which isn”t marked though.

The non-reflective LED panel (type: Samsung LTN156AT02P01) has a resolution of1366 x 768 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The WXGA resolution is the standard for 14 and 13 inch notebooks. The measured black level lies at 1.42 cd/m², which comes with a very bad contrast of 131:1. Blacks are therefore not very dark, but have more of a gray glimmer.

Professionals will opt for the optional resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. Whether thecolor space of the HD+ panel in the E5420 is also just as humble can”t be assessed in this case. The HD+ display in the Latitude E6420 (see the last ICC picture) had a similarly small color space, and we suspect that both of the 14 inch devices have the same panel built in.

The WXGA panel in our tested device is definitely a far stretch from the often used Adobe RGB (t), which is also the case for sRGB (t). For the sake of comparison we have also included a (not very good) display panel from the Vaio EB3Z1E Full HD (t).

The matte surface of a notebook display panel is the first and foremost requirement for relaxed working under sunlight. As much as we turn and twist the Latitude E5420, no reflections are disturbing. The depicted photographs show the display with perfect sunshine. From the front the meager luminance is just about sufficient, from the sides the picture can already become noticeably darker.

The viewing angles show a very narrow range for the Latitude. If the eyes deviate upwards or downwards (vertically), then ghost images already appear after 20 degrees. Towards the right and left (horizontally), we were able to deviate up to 45 degrees from the middle. Beyond this the colors start to invert considerably. Display panels with wide viewing angles are a rarity, and the Latitude E5420 is also not an exception to this.

Where the HDD-Score of the PCMark Vantage is strangely low, HD-Tune also gives a crazy reading (several iterations). The 320 GB hard disc from Western Digital achieves a data rate of merely 28.5 MB/s when reading. CrystalDiskMark in comparison determines 98 MB/s (reading) as correct.

HD-Tune determined an extremely weak burst-rate. This shows how many Megabytes per second can be read out of the HDD cache in the best possible case. A look at the HD-Tune graphic shows a previously not seen ”limit” at just under 30 MB/s. We have included the typical HD-Tune curve from a 7200 rpm Hitachi HDD alongside for comparison. Since the read/write heads read from the inside to the outside, the data rate is lower in the outer area of the rotating disc. The WD3200BEKT-75KA9T0 doesn”t seem to show this effect.

Just under eight hours sounds like a good battery life. These 462 minutes are only reached in an idle state though, while using the lowest brightness setting and with WLAN deactivated. What is more relevant is the WLAN test with 5:44 hours. 14 inch competitor models, such as the HP ProBook 6550b or the Asus P42JC, only manage two or two and a half hours respectively (fitted with a 2010 Intel Core i5).

In light of the high capacity of the battery of 60 Wh, and the low power consumption in an idle state, the battery life is understandable. The brightness of the TFT was set to 100 cd/m² (medium setting) in the WLAN test. It only took a brief charging time oftwo hours before our next test could get underway again.