This is just so sad…  I’ve started getting "laptop fever" again.  Sigh.  There’s clearly something wrong with me.

Rumour has it that Apple will have new laptops coming out next month.  I’m waiting anxiously to see what they release.  My guess is all screens will be at least a full 1080 (HD) resolution with a BlueRay drive option.  Otherwise all bets are off.  There are certainly plenty of rumours circulating.

Currently Dell has a new line of Latitudes out.  I need to touch and see a Dell Latitude E6400.  On paper it is my dream machine:

• 14.1" LED screen @ 1440×900 resolution
• Smaller and lighter than my MacBook Pro
• 5+ hours on the standard 6 cell battery
• Backlit keyboard and ambient light sensor
• USB PowerShare port that lets you charge devices even when the laptop is off
• Wi-Fi Catcher for finding wireless signals even when laptop is off
• TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
• Fingerprint reader

I have always found Dell’s Latitude keyboards to be really nice.  Unfortunately the trackpads often suck and the trackpad on the E6400 is small.  That could be the one thing that kills this dream.  It has a trackpoint as well (like the Thinkpad eraser head).  I’ve never been a fan of the trackpoint but the people I know who really learn how to use them swear by them.  Many people are loyal Thinkpad users because of that little eraser head.  Maybe I should actually try to learn to use one.

Here’s some linkage about the e6400:

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/dell-latitude-e6400/4505-3121_7-33200149.html

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-dell-latitude-e6400

[For the handful of people who will ever read this far into this post:  Dell also has a Precision m2400 that seems to be pretty near identical to the e6400.  Anyone know the difference between the e6400 and the m2400?]

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