DELL LATITUDE 2100 REVIEW

Unlike its predecessors, which were all meant for businesses, the newest addition to the Latitude family of notebooks is aimed it students. And this rugged netbook with its rubber-coated exterior, antimicrobial keyboard and optional solid state drives can indeed survive the use and abuse in a typical classroom.

Dell Latitude 2100 Specifications:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3
Display: 10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 576) Touchscreen LED-backlit display
Processor: Intel Atom N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB)
Graphics: Intel GMA 950
Memory: 1GB

An interesting feature of this netbook is the Network Activity Light which will help teachers monitor who are actually paying attention in the class. The light will remain constantly lit when the netbook is on but no web browser is open. Open a web browser or a chat application and the light will begin to flash.
The Latitude 2100 is available in a variety of colors including School bus gold, Chalkboard black, Schoolhouse red, Blue ribbon, and Ballfield green.
Build quality is quite good.


Screen and Speakers
The 10.1 inch display uses a 1024 x 576 native resolution which is slightly less than the standard 1024 x 600 resolution seen on most 10-inch netbooks. There is an optional touchscreen which is a first for an education netbook. The speaker performance isn’t very impressive.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The antimicrobial keyboard is nice and firm. Keys are slightly small, but that shouldn’t be an issue with young students who want to type school papers or emails. There are dedicated buttons for raising and lowering volume levels. The touchpad offers good sensitivity and is the normal size for a 10 inch netbook.

Input and Output Ports
The port selection is pretty basic, but it will still meet student needs. There are three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, Ethernet, a 3-in-1 media card slot, microphone and headphone jacks. Another cool feature is the inclusion of two security lock slots to which students can attach a handle/strap so that they can carry the netbook between classes.

Performance
This netbook is meant for use by K-12 students and it is more than enough to meet their needs like typing an assignment in MS Word or browsing the web. And with the Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, it is also possible to display a PowerPoint presentation or watch a DVD quality movie. At 6 and half hours the battery life will meet or exceed school needs.
Bottomline
The Dell Latitude 2100 has enough features to make it a prominent item on the shopping lists for most schools. It may be a bit thicker and heavier than most other netbooks, but it does have a lot of features you wouldn’t find in most $400 laptops.



Pros:
Very sturdy
Good battery life
Cons:
Slightly thicker and heavier
Touchscreen without the necessary tablet convertibility