I have had a Dell for a few years now, and this year, I decided to upgrade. Based on my experience with Dell, I HAD to buy another one - I would be dissatisfied with any other company's service. After extensive research, I found that this is not only Dell's best laptop, but also the best laptop on the market.

My configuration is:

1.2 Ghz P3
512 MB RAM
30 GB HDD
16 MB ATI RADEON 7500
DVD-ROM
14.1" SXGA+ LCD Screen
Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Office XP SBE

Value
First off, I'd like to say what an incredible deal this was. I bought it online, for just $1,987. If you look at the stuff it came with above, you'll see just how great the price is. Not only that, but it also has a 3-year onsite service warranty (more on that later), and Lifetime 24/7 telephone support. At another company, this computer would have cost at least $3000, but not at Dell.

Laptop Design
I have been continuously disappointed with the design of Dell's notebooks, as I have previously used the Inspiron line. Those are made of cheap plastic, and seem to fall apart easily. This Latitude is the complete opposite. It is thin, light, and seems to be indestructible. My friend has had the 600 for five years, and it is worn down to death (he's a real "road warrior"), but it still works as well as the day he bought it. The laptop weighs a little under 6 pounds when there's a battery, a DVD drive, and a hard drive installed. With the AC adapter, it weighs about 6.5 lbs. I was debating not getting this computer because of that weight (I had found one that was 5.3 lbs), but now I can see that a half pound really doesn't matter. This laptop is the perfect weight. You can carry it anywhere.

Power
This laptop is as good as anything I would get on a desktop in terms of power. It's 1.2 Ghz Pentium III/m is incredibly fast. I do both sound and video editing, and it is as fast as I need it. Also, because it is a "mobile" P3, it runs at a slower speed when it is not plugged into the wall. This saves battery life. The video card is also very powerful. Its 16 MB are more than enough. I know that most computers come with 32 megs or more, but the Radeon 7500 utilizes its RAM so well that you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. And, on top of all that, it has 512 MB ram, which is incredible. It is so much that right now I am: writing this review, ripping a CD, playing a CD, and sending a large file attachment, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. And I see no loss of speed.

About Dell
Dell's service never fails to amaze me. Whatever problem you have, they go out of their way to solve it over the phone. And if they can't get it done there, they schedule an onsite repair, within the next business day. A tech support person who works in the field will give you a call and schedule a time to come and fix the computer. There are no waits, no red tape. The guy just comes and fixes it in front of your eyes. In addition to that, this computer came with a service called CompleteCare, which is an accidental damage protection program. That means that if you spill a drink on your laptop, or drop it, or do something stupid to it, Dell will replace it at no charge. Just a reminder - all this came on the $2000 price tag.

Other good stuff
The battery life is incredible. When watching a DVD, with sound, the battery lasts 3.5 hours. When typing a document, it is much longer.
Software - It shipped with Microsoft Office XP, Small Business Edition. This software suite usually runs for about $200.
OS - Windows XP Home. This is a great, reliable OS. Read my review of it...
Great video quality - DVDs play well with no distortion, and the screen is big enough to enjoy them. The screen has high resolution (1450x1050), which makes reading long documents or spreadsheets really easy.
The keyboard is very good to type on, nice and jumpy, and is very quiet. The mouse is likewise (it has a pointing stick and touchpad), and the buttons are a great improvement over the soft, sticky Inspiron buttons.

The only thing I don't like
Drumroll, please. The one think I don't like is the fact that the removable drive bay is on the front. Personally, I like it on the side. But that is a small price to pay for such an awesome laptop.

Note
I would just like to point out that though this laptop is sold under the "small business" section of the Dell Website, I bought it for my own personal use. You do not have to be part of a small business to purchase one. I preferred this model to the other Inspiron line - though the people on the phone say that you should look at the Inspirons for home use, I believe that the Latitude line is much better, no matter what you use it for.

Conclusion
This is THE laptop to buy. If you are in the market for one, stop your search here. Its combination of price, value, features, service, dependability, and weight is perfect. The most bang for the buck you'll ever find. I'm not going to get another laptop for the next 15 years...this one is just too good!

Thanks for reading.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1987
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30