The Latitude C610, an update of another
lightweight Dell business laptop, the C600, enjoys better battery life--almost
4 hours on one charge. And Dell corrected an annoying limitation of the C600:
You can order the C610 with both standard modem and network connections and a
wireless Mini-PCI radio built in. (Before, you had to choose between built-in
traditional connections or built-in wireless, and add the other feature via a
PC Card.)
Like its predecessor, the C610 caters to companies seeking a light
portable suitable for sharing. It boasts a removable hard drive, both
eraserhead and touchpad pointing devices, and a modular bay on the front that
can hold any of a range of devices, including a travel module that drops the
notebook's weight to 5.3 pounds (4.9 pounds if you order a unit with a
four-cell battery instead of our review unit's eight-cell). The color icons
that identify the rear connections make attaching peripherals
easier. We have only a couple of minor beefs. Aside
from an S-Video port you can use to attach the notebook to a TV, the C610
offers few multimedia bells and whistles. The stereo speakers sound only so-so,
and there are no dedicated audio controls for playing music
CDs. The C610 wears a slender dark case with a
no-nonsense design. At this price, you get a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive
that uses the same modular bay as the floppy drive. You can use both at once by
attaching the floppy drive externally to the parallel port, using the included
cable. Other bay options include a second 20GB hard drive, a Zip 250 drive, or
a supplemental battery for stretching the C610's already impressive run time.
It's easy to reach parts, especially the hard drive, which slides out of the
notebook's side with the removal of one screw.
The C610's keyboard is quieter than the old C600's, and its
eraserhead mouse buttons are more comfortable than the hard-to-press concave
buttons on Dell's new all-in-one, the C810. Unlike most laptops these days,
which bristle with quick-launch buttons, the C610 offers just one for jumping
to your favorite Web site or application.
The C610's PC WorldBench 4 score of 99 is in line with the scores
achieved by the other three notebooks we've tested with a 1-GHz Pentium III-M
processor (733 MHz under battery power) and 256MB of RAM. The C610 should satisfy corporate buyers, as it
offers just about everything a company needs in a highly flexible portable. It
gives you built-in wireless readiness along with more-traditional networking
connections; both eraserhead and touchpad pointing devices; and the ability to
rotate multiple add-in devices, including a second battery.
Buying Information
Dell Latitude C610 PC WorldBench 4 score of 99, 1-GHz/733-MHz
Pentium III-M CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 512KB L2 cache, Windows XP Professional,
14.1-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Radeon Mobility graphics with 16MB of DDR
SDRAM, 20GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive,
built-in V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad and eraserhead pointing
devices, 7.8 pounds (including external floppy drive, AC adapter, and phone
cord). Three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty, free 24-hour
unlimited toll-free technical support. $ 2208 PC WorldBench 4 score of 99, 1-GHz/733-MHz
Pentium III-M CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 512KB L2 cache, Windows XP Professional,
14.1-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Radeon Mobility graphics with 16MB of DDR
SDRAM, 20GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive,
built-in V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad and eraserhead pointing
devices, 7.8 pounds (including external floppy drive, AC adapter, and phone
cord). Three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty, free 24-hour
unlimited toll-free technical support.
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