With the Latitude D400, Dell manages to keep the snazzy industrial design it rolled out with its Latitude D600, while shaving off some weight; the Latitude D400 weighs in at an easy-to-tote 3.9 pounds. Of course, lighter notebooks always involve some trade-offs. This ultraportable, like others in its class, has no built-in secondary storage drive, meaning that you may have to carry around an external optical drive (we tested the system with an external DVD/CD-R/W combo drive). Once you add the external drive and a power supply, you're looking at a travel weight of just less than 6 pounds. While the Latitude D400 is a pleasure to carry around, nonetheless, it is heavier than a comparably outfitted IBM ThinkPad X31 (though the X31 is slower and more expensive). The Dell's dimensions, however, are standard for a business-class ultraportable: 11.3 inches wide, 9.5 inches deep, and 1 inch thick.

To add external drives, the Latitude D400 uses Dell's D/Bay, which is a powered USB 2.0 module. While this makes connecting an optical drive a snap because it eliminates the need for an additional power supply, it does mean that you'll use up one of your two USB 2.0 ports in the process. As you would expect, the new system is also compatible with existing D-series docking stations, including the useful D/View notebook stand, which, when used in conjunction with a port replicator, allows you to keep your notebook display at eye level when you're using it in the office.

Like other Latitude models, the Latitude D400 includes both a pointing stick located in the center of the full-size, superfirm, comfortable keyboard and a touchpad in the wrist rest. Including both a touchpad and a pointing stick gives users a nice range of input options.

Features of Dell Latitude D400 series

Dell has managed to pack an impressive assortment of features into the Latitude D400. For starters, this system is available with 1.3GHz, 1.4GHz, and 1.7GHz Pentium M processors.

Because of its compact size, the Latitude D400 is available only with a 12.1-inch display. We found the screen, especially at its native 1,024x768 resolution, to be bright and crisp, especially for an ultraportable notebook. You can also configure the system with up to 64MB of video memory.

Though Dell's standard configuration for the Latitude D400 is a Centrino setup--meaning it includes an Intel Pentium M processor, the 855 chipset, and Intel's own 802.11b Pro/wireless card--you can upgrade to one of Dell's TrueMobile cards, which come in two flavors: 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g. The Latitude D400 also includes an integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, as well as a 56Kbps V.92 modem.