Dell Latitude E4300: A Solid but Unexciting Business Laptop

t first glance, you might mistake the Dell Latitude E4300 for an earlier-vintage laptop: Its sharp lines and subtle finish stick out in today's world of glossy gadgets with rounded corners. That's not to say the E4300 isn't a handsome portable, however--it did grow on me. Even better, the matte finish isn't a magnet for fingerprints, dust, and smudges like every iPhone-inspired design on the market. If you don't care about hip style trends that come and go, the vaguely retro E4300 is a pretty sweet all-purpose laptop that can serve you well for general office computing.

Underneath the magnesium-alloy chassis, you'll find a lot of nuances that make the E4300 a well-thought-out piece of equipment. For one thing, the keyboard is a dream to type on. The keys have a pretty long travel, but it's coupled with just the right amount of click at the end. You'll also appreciate the smart key layout. Half-size F1-F12 keys open up room for generous Enter, Shift, Alt, and Ctrl keys. The arrow keys are also arranged in their logical order right next to PgUp and PgDn for easy navigation through documents, spreadsheets, forms, and Web pages. In addition, the key backlighting is just right, not too dim or too bright.

The keyboard isn't the only thing to like here, as the E4300 sports an excellent trackpad with five buttons, scroll margins, and detailed customization software. And if you want an alternative way to move the mouse pointer, Dell has you covered: The low-profile "track stick" centered in the keyboard is easily manipulated by an index finger. It has good feel and response, but no clicking capability.

A few other buttons on the E4300 are worth noting. One, the slick "Latitude On" button, triggers Dell's branded version of the DeviceVM Splashtop technology, which lets you quickly check e-mail, contact, and calendar info without fully booting up the computer; it's an extremely handy feature for the business traveler. On the downside, the keys for volume control and muting are small, awkwardly placed, and very stiff.