Customer reviews for Latitude E4200
Latitude E4200
Latitude E4200
Rating breakdown 47 reviews
5 Stars
19
4 Stars
19
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
1
1 Star
3
(47 reviews) 38
21 out of 3070%of customers recommend this
Customer reviews for Latitude E4200
Review 1 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:JurekN
Title:
Get one while they are going
PostedAugust 26, 2011
Yes, I would recommend this product
This is now an old product but some may be available in the used/refurbished market.
Very light. Lighter than a Netbook and much more usable. Easy to carry around with one hand and wireless modem sticking out of the e-SATA port. All good.
Battery pack is also mercifully small.
Fast with quick boot time.
Good screen. External 1920*1200 resolution.
Used with the E-Port docking station, what more could one want?
Quiet, except for occasional fan noise, which seems to be a common complaint.
Build quality is just fine for such a light machine. I see not excessive flex.
Very light. Lighter than a Netbook and much more usable. Easy to carry around with one hand and wireless modem sticking out of the e-SATA port. All good.
Battery pack is also mercifully small.
Fast with quick boot time.
Good screen. External 1920*1200 resolution.
Used with the E-Port docking station, what more could one want?
Quiet, except for occasional fan noise, which seems to be a common complaint.
Build quality is just fine for such a light machine. I see not excessive flex.
Pros:word excel field work, field cad updates, travel companion
+1point
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Review 2 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:AlanG2Duration of Product Use:Over 6 months
Level of Expertise:Good
Title:
A good, light laptop. Pleased.
PostedApril 8, 2011
Yes, I would recommend this product
I have had my e4200 for 9 months now, bought refurbished off of delloutlet.com, and I have not had any major problems with it.
The GOOD: it weighs absolutely nothing; comfortable keyboard compared with other small laptops; solid state drive is fast as lighting; with Windows 7 it is a speed demon; super quiet; doesn't get super hot; it's a Latitude, which is Dell's most well built line (and that means it can take a beating, which it does from me); and most importantly, this is the most powerful laptop configuration I could find in this size and form factor. They are becoming quite rare in this age of scaled-down netbooks. I needed a feather weight but powerful machine, and this was the best available.
The GOOD: it weighs absolutely nothing; comfortable keyboard compared with other small laptops; solid state drive is fast as lighting; with Windows 7 it is a speed demon; super quiet; doesn't get super hot; it's a Latitude, which is Dell's most well built line (and that means it can take a beating, which it does from me); and most importantly, this is the most powerful laptop configuration I could find in this size and form factor. They are becoming quite rare in this age of scaled-down netbooks. I needed a feather weight but powerful machine, and this was the best available.
The BAD: it weighs nothing because it is made of nothing--the plastic is light and cheap, and my unit actually sags in the middle because it has morphed from heat; speaker(s) are weak; it isn't terribly attractive with the battery sticking out the back and it has lots of sharp edges; the wrist rest is too short and a little uncomfortable, a sacrifice for the size, I guess.
Overall, this laptop isn't perfect but it has ably fulfilled my goals for a super-light yet very powerful machine.
Pros:presentations, communications
+7points
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Review 3 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:Ameet Wong
Title:
Fast and Light
PostedJanuary 21, 2011
Yes, I would recommend this product
Pros
This thing is light and because of the SSD, it's also fast. I have the 128Gb SSD version. Since I have a 32Gb Iphone, I allocate that amount of space for it. It works beautifully.
This thing is light and because of the SSD, it's also fast. I have the 128Gb SSD version. Since I have a 32Gb Iphone, I allocate that amount of space for it. It works beautifully.
Cons
Battery! I wish the batt would last at least about 8 hours. I know that you can add the slice but there goes the profile.
Battery! I wish the batt would last at least about 8 hours. I know that you can add the slice but there goes the profile.
Conclusion
If you travel and already have a monster desktop at home, get it.
If you travel and already have a monster desktop at home, get it.
Pros:Travel, excel programming, watching movies, network troubleshooting
+10points
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Review 4 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:Dorydan(USA)
Duration of Product Use:Over 6 months
Level of Expertise:Good
Title:
E4200 - Get It!
PostedJanuary 7, 2011
Yes, I would recommend this product
I have owned many laptops and never have I had one this good. I have used it for one year - heavy daily business use - Excel, Dragon Dictate, Voip, Word, electronic medical records, etc . It is fast and dependable. Only locks up about once every 3 months (XP), has decent battery life with the small battery, and it is light. Did I say it is light? It is unbelievably light. When I pick up anyone else’s notebook I have to bite my tongue to keep from expressing my disbelief that they still cart around such a dinosaur. I throw it in my back pack, my motorcycle panniers, my brief case, and I slam it down onto the docking station at work every morning and it never complains. Before I bought it, I was concerned the screen might be too small. I am an old geezer and I and wear 1.5 cheater glasses. At work I have a very high resolution 21” screen for viewing Xrays just behind my docking station. Guess what -- for everything except Xrays, I prefer to use the 12” E4200 screen. This machine is so good I can’t believe I don’t see more of them. Dell should advertise it. The keyboard has excellent feel and I love the backlight keys. The speaker absolutely sucks – get speakers or earbuds. Core 2 duo @ 1.40GHz, 3 GB ram, 128GB solid state drive, XP. Oh yea, this thing is light!
+7points
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Review 5 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:pookie(Melbourne AU)
Duration of Product Use:1-2 months
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
A good balance...
PostedMarch 17, 2010
Yes, I would recommend this product
Brought 5 of these to compliment our fleet of 300 E6500's, 100 E4300's and 20 ATG's. Spec'd up to 4GB RAM with a 128 SSD and they fly! Not sure about the noisy fan people mention, I think with the right power scheme for the right task this would go away.
Build quality is good, not a rugged machine by any means, but if you want rugged-ness buy a Toughbook! Also battery life is fantastic, about 6 hours with the standard battery and a SSD. Totally agree about the control point software that Dell ship, it is total ****, but then just rebuild the machine from scratch with Windows 7, and you will be ready to go in no time, and Windows 7 want need you to load many drivers at all. Oh and don't bother with the finger print reader, you need controlpoint to use it as there is no native windows driver for the USH security chip and Windows 7 can't understand it for the native biometric functions.
Overall, a great machine, fast, small and light. Perfect for banging out some doco's/emails in business class or watching a movie.
Pros:work (meetings desk and on the move), play, work and play on the plane
+60points
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Review 6 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:DanBright
Title:
Flimsy material and noisy fan
PostedMarch 5, 2010
No, I do not recommend this product.
Positives:
- Very light
- Nice design
- Battery life relatively good but inconsistent
- Very light
- Nice design
- Battery life relatively good but inconsistent
Negatives:
- Materials are very flimsy. Dell seemed to have sacrificed a lot to make this laptop light. The edges of the screen have cracked for me after less than six months of use. The screen can bend and might break.
- The fan very loud. I mean people stare at you because of the grinding noise. Had to ship it back to the depot but I'm not sure if they can actually fix it.
- Mouse incredibly difficult to use since it's too small and the buttons are unresponsive.
- Materials are very flimsy. Dell seemed to have sacrificed a lot to make this laptop light. The edges of the screen have cracked for me after less than six months of use. The screen can bend and might break.
- The fan very loud. I mean people stare at you because of the grinding noise. Had to ship it back to the depot but I'm not sure if they can actually fix it.
- Mouse incredibly difficult to use since it's too small and the buttons are unresponsive.
+24points
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Review 7 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:DadOfMatilda(Anaheim, CA)
Duration of Product Use:1-2 months
Level of Expertise:Good
Title:
As great a travel companion as it is an officemate
PostedFebruary 8, 2010
Yes, I would recommend this product
Got the E4200 to replace my X1. I'm very happy with my purchase! The computer is very fast and quiet; thanks to the SSD. I also love the way the unit looks. I love the all-black with the sharp angles.
If I were being critical, I'd say there's no point to Dell ControlPoint (the software is more a nuisance than an asset); and that Dell should just spring for the synaptics touchpad driver; because their proprietary touchpad driver is not as good - often delayed.
Bottom line is - I use a lot of Microsoft Office, especially excel, access and outlook. I also VPN to work and use windows remote desktop. I have a Nikon D40 and load my photos on the laptop for editing. I have over 3,000 songs and a few movies on iTunes. I edit videos of my daughters to share with family and friends. I also use sequel query analyzer a lot and print a lot of stuff to PDF using acrobat. all normal work/office stuff. On these, and many more things, the Latitude E4200 performs excellently. Such a reliable companion in the office and on the run.
Pros:work, photos, download and manage music
+55points
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Review 8 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:david3112(Ireland)
Duration of Product Use:Months
Level of Expertise:Good
Title:
Noisy and Unfriendly
PostedAugust 21, 2009
No, I do not recommend this product.
Received my eight dell laptop after ten years loyalty to DELL. I always choose lightest and most expensive spec. E4200 has many good qualities but silence is not one of them. The fan is permanently on, despite friendly DELL staff manually changing the BIOS and motherboard. Neither change fixed the fan being always on. The fan is rather noisy and more so when you become fixated on it after failed fixes.
Also, the Dell ControlPoint (DCP) manager for wireless is very unfriendly. It took me many different set ups to eventually get it to recognise my open wireless connection. Now I get a dialog box asking me to set up a location. The dialog box keeps reappearing now and again no matter what you do i.e. cancel or go through a set up. The DCP can also be very slow and crashes on occasions. It works now and I don't want to go near it again. Setting up a new connection (e.g. airport wireless) gives me the shivers.
Pros:business
+127points
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Review 9 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:Andrew(Syd)
Duration of Product Use:Months
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
Nearly there
PostedAugust 11, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
Unit is really light and meets the mark in this regard.
Some reviewers have complained about plastic feel - while this is true it is no issue at all.
The biggest problem is the size of the mousepad..as it is so small your finger often runs off it! I guess this is the sacrifice for small factor and lightweight! (But frustrating compared to my very large macbook mousepad)
I also disabled the Dell Connection Manager which is terrible compared to Windows' own management of wireless networks. Not sure why Dell insists on developing this and installing it by default. Seems like duplicated effort.
+33points
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Review 10 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:TrapedDellUser
Title:
Latitud Laptop
PostedJuly 22, 2009
No, I do not recommend this product.
All those new latitude laptops look so ugly that it is very shameful to take it out in infront of other laptop computer users. The previous versions looke much better.
-77points
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Review 11 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:unmarc(NYC)
Duration of Product Use:Less than a week
Level of Expertise:Average
Title:
Remarkable Machine
PostedJune 28, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
Love the size, weight, and Speed.
Remember... this weighs ½ lb LESS than most 10" netbooks and yet has 40% more screen Real estate.
Ultra 64 drive is Surprisingly FAST!
This, from someone who just put an Intel X25 80GB SSD on my desktop.
This, from someone who just put an Intel X25 80GB SSD on my desktop.
Would actually Buy a SECOND one if Dell gave me a WEBCAM Option.
Dell?
Perhaps some/even Small bump in Video performance as well even if also integrated. Something just a tad Faster/wider than intel 4500. (5500?)
Come on. Add a few ounces and give us the above two as at least options.
I'LL PAY.
I'LL PAY.
Big hands could also use another ½ inch in height.
The Merger of a Full Business Laptop and a "netbook for adults" who don't want tiny fonts of the 7-10 inchers.
Pros:Travel, Finances, surfing high content auction pages.
+22points
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Review 12 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:BigCheese(San Francisco, ca)
Duration of Product Use:Months
Level of Expertise:Average
Title:
Goodbye netbook.
PostedMay 21, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
I purchased a Dell xps 1330 and was basically happy with buying American and the product. I bought a 'netbook' which was 'fine' at around $550 when they came out. Time was too precious, it was so slow that I felt like part of me was dying each time I waited and realized life is short to WAIT for EVERYTHING. That simply ended fter purchasing the Latitude e4200; my life got better as I use email and info retrieval from the net many times a day and this blazes doors off any net-book made hands down, that is it. Make sure to get the 64 Ultra and the backlit keyboard, with top wifi option (Intel). It is the fastest, zippiest computer I now own for surfing. No joke, better than my entire family's high powered systems. Unless you are crunching numbers/video you will be impressed. Great service, my favorite of ten laptops so far, it goes everywhere. Could complain about maybe something, but really this is a beautiful and well designed unit- no regrets. Thanks Dell (really, not a joke).
Pros:Connecting with Friends, Travel, information retrieval
+14points
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Review 13 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Reviewed by:LTCBOB(FT LEE, VA)
Duration of Product Use:Less than a week
Level of Expertise:Good
Title:
LIGHT-WEIGHT TRAVELING COMPANION
PostedMay 20, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
PROS
VERY LIGHT-WEIGHT FORM FACTOR
NEAR FULL-SIZE KEYBOARD
SLICK, WELL-BALANCED DESIGN FOR A BUSINESS MACHINE
FAST SSD (LESS THAN 30 SECOND BOOT TIME)
RUGGED EXTERIOR CASE
NEAR FULL-SIZE KEYBOARD
SLICK, WELL-BALANCED DESIGN FOR A BUSINESS MACHINE
FAST SSD (LESS THAN 30 SECOND BOOT TIME)
RUGGED EXTERIOR CASE
CONS
NO TRACK STICK (A LATITUDE FIRST?)
NO INTERNAL MODEM OPTION
A BIT MORE THAN NORMAL "LATITUDE E SERIES" KEYBOARD FLEX
NO INTERNAL MODEM OPTION
A BIT MORE THAN NORMAL "LATITUDE E SERIES" KEYBOARD FLEX
Pros:Travel
+6points
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Review 14 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
3
/
5
Features
5
/
5
Value
3
/
5
Reviewed by:SmallConsultant(Muncie, IN)
Duration of Product Use:Less than a month
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
Good, but many detractions
PostedApril 22, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
Needs a webcam and a larger trackpad.
Pros:I really like the small form factor and the screen. It is an excellent amalgamation of current technologies into a small form factor. Other pluses include the lack of flashy lights and the amazsing backlit keybaord. Really, the keyboard is top-notch.
Cons:I hope you have small hands becuase this computer has an infuriatingly small wrist-rest section. Really, Dell? Could you have pushed the keys back another half-inch and made this thing perfect? How about a webcam while you are at it? The modern businessman uses Skype all the time.
+16points
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Review 15 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
1
/
5
Features
4
/
5
Value
2
/
5
Reviewed by:redsnapper(New York, NY)
Duration of Product Use:Less than a month
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
Too much money for too little quality
PostedApril 16, 2009
No, I do not recommend this product.
I am a long-term Dell customer and reseller. I have been faithful, but sadly, this one makes it hard for me to support. When you spend a significant amount of money, you expect it to be top quality all around. Perfomance is fine. Exterior quality is atrocious. Fortunately, a complete care warranty will have me replacing the shell twice a year, how wasteful and unfortunate is that?!
Pros:Lightweight
Good monitor quality
Speedy hard drive
Doesn't overheat at all
Cons:SCRATCHES, SCRATCHES, SCRATCES: I am super careful with my laptops and to discover these blemishes upon taking it out of my bag 2 days into my ownership sickened me.
The bottom feels flimsy b/c the cover doesn't fit right. In fact, the entire laptop is just the poorest quality that I have ever seen come from Dell.
+20points
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Review 16 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
5
/
5
Features
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
Reviewed by:Beasil(San Clemente, CA)
Duration of Product Use:Less than a month
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
4200 review
PostedApril 13, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
If you liked the D20 or D30 (I had both) you will LOVE this machine. Get the solid state dr. You will notice it is similar size, yet miuch lighter and performs better as you might have wished with the D series.
Pros:- really light, thin, built well.
- Lightweight materials but no cheap
- Solid state is FAST
- Great design, improvement over D30 which is hard to do or so i thought.
Cons:- Mouse feezes occassionally
- Intel Storage manager hangs on boot, not sure why it even displays. Does this on my 4300 as well. Have updated drives and still no success, but seems to be minor will wait for another driver update at some point they will figure it out.
- No backlight keyboard option
+3points
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Review 17 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
5
/
5
Features
5
/
5
Value
3
/
5
Reviewed by:pika2000Duration of Product Use:Less than a month
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
Excellent super-light laptop
PostedMarch 15, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
Dell needs to streamline the installation of drivers and software. Pack them up into 1 simple package or something. Mine came with XP pre-loaded. I reformatted it and installed Vista Business. It took me 2 days trying to figure out which drivers/software I needed, download the updated drivers and software from Dell's site, and re-installing them one by one. It's so confusing that even Dell put out a document on which one to install first in a specific order.
Can't wait for Windows 7 to come out. XP is not optimized for SSD, Vista is too bloated.
Can't wait for Windows 7 to come out. XP is not optimized for SSD, Vista is too bloated.
Pros:-Extremely light, even with the 6-cell battery. When I took it out of the box, I was amazed on how light it is.
-SSD. Not having to worry about hard-drive crashing when using the machine on-the-go.
-Excellent build-quality. It's a beauty!
-More ports/connectivity than you can think of. Firewire, USB, e-sata, gigabit ethernet, SD card slot, you name it. All of those while the machine is still slim and light. Take that Macbook Air.
Cons:-Very pricey for new ones. Buy refurbished!
-No built-in webcam. (I know, it's a business laptop)
-Too many drivers and software to be installed after doing a fresh install of Vista
-Battery life doesn't seem to be good, even with 6 cell. Maybe it's Vista's fault.
+30points
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Review 18 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
2
/
5
Features
4
/
5
Value
2
/
5
Reviewed by:dadudePostedMarch 11, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
Higher resolution screen would be nice. Also 2 memory slots would make it cheaper/easier to get 4gb.
I experienced many disconnects with the intel 5300 wifi- it has a power saving mode that can be disabled and works much much better in full power mode.
Pros:Very light weight. Nice featues, including SSD, backlit keyboard.
Cons:I have a D420. Newer and lighter, but not same quality. Acustic standards much lower: Fan is on the noisy side. Audio speaker is better, headphones worse, microphone is much worse - not really useable for skype. Easily scratched. No trackpoint only touchpad. No modem.
The windows xp drivers are work in progress.
+7points
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Review 19 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
4
/
5
Features
2
/
5
Value
4
/
5
Reviewed by:aMereGeek
Title:
dell loosens functionality standards
PostedJanuary 22, 2009
No, I do not recommend this product.
how could you Dell??
and Dell asks me would I recommend this product to my friends? NO! because they are fast typists just like me.
Pros:great laptop, but!
Cons:I've had thee different Latitudes, presently D430,
anyone of you who is a fast typist(think yourself why would you be if you ain't one yet)
so, if you tap the keys on your latitude fast, you know why this laptop is so good here,
don't rush to buy the new one! I almost did it, new models, at least 12.1" lack the track stick!!
what a bummer!
-61points
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Review 20 for Latitude E4200
Overall Rating
Quality
4
/
5
Features
3
/
5
Value
3
/
5
Reviewed by:mosaiconline(nottingham,UK)
Duration of Product Use:Months
Level of Expertise:Expert
Title:
Very fast but...
PostedJanuary 4, 2009
Yes, I would recommend this product
We need more power scottie. (Without the bulk and weight)
Pros:Very fast if you choose the ultra sd option. I chose xp pro as vista offers me nothing extra.
Cons:I found the battery life very disappointing with the 4 cell standard version. If you lower the screen ambient light setting to low you may get 1.5 hours battery life (thats all I get). No bluetooth as standard.
+36points
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