Dell Latitude D820 review

Stephanie Bruzesse CNET

Published: 05 Apr 2006

Compared to its predecessor, the Dell Latitude D820 looks like it's been on a diet -- and we love the results. This corporate system weighs 227g less than the system it replaces, the D810, making it sleeker and markedly more portable. Yet the Latitude D820 offers everything its predecessor did and more, including a crisp 15.4in. wide screen, an Intel Core Duo processor and cutting-edge options such as integrated 3G HSPDA connectivity and biometric security. In addition, the D820 runs about 30 percent faster than the D810; indeed, it's one of the fastest Core Duo machines we've seen to date. Even its battery life is above average (although not as long as that of another of our favourite corporate notebooks, the Lenovo ThinkPad T60). Any way you slice it, the Latitude D820 is a terrific choice for businesses seeking a powerful, well-rounded portable for occasional travel.

Whereas the Latitude D810 was more of a desktop replacement, the 2.9kg D820 approaches the more portable thin-and-light territory. The D820 is also about 8mm thinner than the D810, putting the D820's overall dimensions at 36cm wide, 26.2cm deep and 3.56cm high. Still, the D820 is the largest system in the Latitude lineup, with the closest runner-up being the 2.8kg Latitude D510. Although the D820 is also slightly larger than the ThinkPad T60 and the HP Compaq nc6320, it's about the same size as the 3kg Acer TravelMate 8204. All in all, the Latitude D820 may not be the lightest business notebook around, but it's not so burdensome that semi-frequent fliers shouldn't consider making it their travel companion.

The Latitude D820 demonstrates best-in-class business notebook design, beginning with its broad, comfortable keyboard that's complemented by a pointing stick and a touchpad, both with their own sets of mouse buttons. If you configure your D820 with biometric security, Dell reduces the size of the mouse buttons to accommodate a fingerprint sensor between them; although we appreciate the sensor option, the accompanying buttons may be too small for big fingers to use comfortably. Three handy buttons for volume up, volume down, and mute lie above the keyboard, while the two mediocre-sounding speakers (typical for a corporate notebook) flank the board on either side.

The system also features a crisp, 15.4in. wide-screen with an ultrafine, 1,920 by 1,200 native resolution that renders graphics in good detail but makes for tiny text. The screen is anchored to the D820's base by very sturdy steel hinges, and the entire internal frame consists of strong magnesium alloy. In addition, the hard drive offers shock protection, which is designed to shield the disk from accidental bumps and drops.

Another area in which the Latitude D820 excels is wireless networking. For starters, the case incorporates a switch on its left edge that functions like a Wi-Fi finder: slide the switch to the right, and the built-in 802.11a/b/g wireless card automatically searches for available networks, alerting you to the presence of those networks by illuminating the LED status light next to the switch. Since this feature works whether the system itself is turned on or off, it will come in extra handy for those who don't want to boot up unless they can get online. Other networking options include (from May) a Dell Wireless 5505 Mobile Broadband 3G HSDPA module that connects to Vodafone's network and integrated, latest-generation Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate).

The Latitude D820 doesn't offer an overabundance of ports, jacks and slots, but its collection should prove capable of handling most office tasks. You get a four-pin FireWire (which was lacking in the D810), VGA, infrared, serial and four USB 2.0 ports (one of which is half USB port and half power jack, letting you run peripherals such as Dell's USB external hard drive); There's also a 56Kbps modem, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone and microphone jacks, plus one slot each for Type II PC Cards, ExpressCards and SmartCards -- the latter can store passwords and other sensitive information. Along those security lines, the D820 also incorporates a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. A more consumer-oriented notebook would incorporate multimedia features such as S-Video, S/PDIF audio, a media card reader and more USB ports, but the D820's selection is appropriate for business users.

We evaluated a high-end version of the Latitude D820 that costs £1,588 (ex. VAT) -- good value for such top-notch components, including a top-of-the-line 2.16GHz Intel T2600 Core Duo processor, 1GB of blazing 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a big 100GB hard drive rotating at 5,400rpm, a swappable DVD burner and a cutting-edge Nvidia Quadro NVS 120M graphics chip that has 256MB of dedicated VRAM and borrows another 256MB from main memory.

In our benchmarks, the Latitude D820's new parts catapulted the system's SysMark 2004 performance 30 percent beyond that of the prior-generation D810. The Latitude D820 can easily handle any business task you throw at it and will likely succeed with most entertainment applications as well. We suspect the D820's high display resolution took a slight toll on the system's battery life, though: the system still lasted a very respectable 4 hours 51 minutes, but the similar-size battery on the ThinkPad T60, which features a lower screen resolution, held out for almost 6 hours. Still, the newly portable Latitude D820 now has enough battery life for decent excursions away from the socket.

The Latitude D820's three-year warranty is the industry standard for a business system, but Dell includes onsite repairs by the next business day -- something that costs extra from other vendors. Dell's comprehensive support Web site is also among the best in the business, offering troubleshooting info, downloads, a customer forum, real-time chatting with a tech-support rep and more.

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