Dell Latitude E4300
Rental/day 102.56yuan Rental/week 273.50yuan Rental/month 341.88yuan +17% VAT	Processor	Core2 SP9400, 2.4GHz
	Memory	2GB DDR3 1066
	Hard drive	250GB SATA7200
	Media drive	DVD-RW
	Screen	13.3'LED 1280*800
	Network interface	1000M/802.11BGN
	I/O	3xUSB 2.0，VGA-Out，E-SATA，IEEE1394，Express Card slot
	Battery	6 cell
	Weight	1500g

Businessultraportables are revered for what they bring to the table. They are priced ata premium and are expected to meet significant criteria. Since business travelaccelerates wear and tear, durability is one of the main objectives. Severalhours of battery life is no longer enough; a business ultraportable has to lastall day, whether through a single battery or multiple ones. Ample connectivityfeatures and future-proofed parts are equally important. The Dell LatitudeE4300 ($2,789 direct) assumes a place among the elite of corporate laptops,venturing down paths that were uncommon in the Latitude line until now. (Thismodel doesn't even have a true predecessor.) For the first time, a 13-inchwidescreen, color options (blue, black, or red), and an illuminated keyboardare part of its arsenal. And when used in tandem, the two high-capacitybatteries yielded over 8 hours of battery life.

Who would havethought that the colors blue or red would grace the cover of a Dell businesslaptop? In the past, Latitudes refused to stray beyond their conservative colorboundaries of silver and dark gray. My blue configuration is a welcome additionin this new age of casually dressed business professionals and executives. Formore traditionalist "suits," an anodized black aluminum lid is lessconspicuous, yet sleek. The HP EliteBook 2530p, on the otherhand, has an aluminum finish, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is all-outconservative, with a matte black lid. Because the E4300 has a 13-inchwidescreen, its 3.9-pound chassis is slightly heavier than that of either 2530por the X200 (both of which have 12-inch screens and weigh 3.7 pounds). At 3.2pounds, the 13-inch Sony VAIO VGN-Z590 is the lightestin this class.

The E4300 is asdurable as the 2530p because the lid, which guards against scratches, is backedby a magnesium-alloy skeleton. It's rugged enough to withstand shocks andvibrations without actually receiving any military certifications, such asthose met by the fully rugged GETAC B300. The E4300'sinterior—the palm-rest area and keyboard—is pitch black. Though it feels likeplastic, the material used in the palm-rest area is smooth and pleasant to workon. The 2530p, meanwhile, accents its palm-rest area with the same aluminummaterial found on its lid—a nice contrast with the black keyboard. The E4300'skeyboard is full size and incredibly responsive. Underneath it are LEDs,arguably the best part of the keyboard. They're ideal for dimly lit boardroommeetings and red-eye flights. In fact, a backlit keyboard is something that theX200, the Z590, and the 2530p should look into as well. The only negativeaspect of the typing experience on the E4300 is the stiff pointing stick, butyou can always use the touchpad.

The 13-inchwidescreen is a first for the Latitude line, finding that perfect balance: abig-enough screen that's still reasonably lightweight. The 12-inch screens ofthe 2530p and the X200 have considerably less viewing space, and their weightadvantages over the E4300 are insignificant. The 1,280-by-800 resolution is an understandablepick for a screen of this size (anything higher would make text unreadable),and Dell isn't offering a higher-resolution option. Another plus for the E4300:When it was placed next to the 2530p and the X200, its brightness levels seemedto be higher.

In features, notmuch separates the E4300 from the 2530p. Both have built-in dual-layer DVDburners, which are better than an external solution like the Lenovo X200'shefty docking station. On the other hand, the Sony Z590 integrates a Blu-ray/DVDburner combo drive. The E4300's two USB ports are meager on a 13-inch laptop,especially as there is no specialty port like HDMI or DisplayPorttechnology—digital video-out connections. By comparison, the Sony Z590's HDMIport makes its two USB ports forgivable, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X301 hasthree USB ports and a DisplayPort.

Like the 2530p,the E4300 comes with a FireWire port and a mind-numbing selection of harddrives. A 128GB Samsung solid-state drive—extremely pricey at $460 but in linewith the whole rugged theme—is configured with this unit. There's a faster buteven more expensive ($609) 64GB ultra-performance option. Companies with tightbudgets will be happy with the 160GB, 5,400-rpm spinning hard drive option. Aswith all business ultraportables, staying connected is critical, so the E4300is equipped with the latest Intel Wi-Fi chip and Bluetooth. A built-in cellularmodem (a $95 option) can be bundled with a variety of service providers,including AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. If you're not ready to drop $60 to $80a month for mobile broadband, you can leave the (WWAN capable) slot empty untilthe situation calls for it.

The E4300 takesa similar approach to the Sony Z590 and the Lenovo X200 in that in reflectingthe idea that performance is as important as battery life. The 2.4-GHz, IntelCore 2 Duo SP9400 processor has the benefit of speed, yet it runs cool enoughto extend battery life. The HP 2530p, on the other hand, uses a low-voltageprocessor and sacrifices its performance edge for battery longevity. The 2GB ofmemory loaded on the E4300 is considered modest these days, but it's upgradableto 8GB. If you plan to run a 64-bit operating system, I would consider bumpingit up to 4GB ($110). The E4300 doesn't offer a discrete graphics option,although the Latitude E6400, its biggersibling, can be equipped with workstation graphics for heavier 3D workloads.The Sony Z590 is a little more exotic in that it integrates dual graphics—bothintegrated and discrete chipsets. That way, you can use the nVidia chipset forcasual 3D workloads or maximize battery life by switching to an integratedchipset.

As expected, theE4300's PCMark Vantage score surpassed the 2530p's by 9 percent, reaffirmingthe speed benefits of the Dell's processor. Video-encoding and CineBench R10scores similarly favored the Dell. Against the Sony Z590, however, the E4300scored 6 percent lower on those tests despite using the same processor. (TheSony Z590's larger, 4GB memory configuration and dual SSDs arranged in a RAID 0array give it a clear advantage over the E4300.)

The E4300'sbattery score is impressive if you use both the standard battery (60 Wh) andthe extended slice ($199), both of which drained in 8 hours 24 minutes,according to MobileMark 2007. Otherwise, the standard battery alone trailed theSony by 13 minutes and the HP 2530p by over 3 hours.

The DellLatitude E4300 is a remarkable business ultraportable that offers the benefitsof both speed and battery life—provided you get the extended battery. Itsweight and screen size sit between the E4200 (review coming shortly) and theE6400, and it's the best option of the three, in my opinion. The 13-inchwidescreen is the sweet spot and a first in the Latitude line, and theilluminated keyboard and color options are excellent aesthetic touches. It'snot as innovative and forward thinking as the Editors' Choice Sony VGN-Z590,but it has a tremendous upside potential.