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I accepted the challenge

I decided to take Jason’s and Ed’s challenge of a comparable laptop to their (soon to be someone else’s) Thinkpads.

I have a Dell Latitude D820 and below I compared it’s features to the Thinkpad.

First, Ed had posted pictures of some nice features his Thinkpad:

Fingerprint Reader

  I agree with Ed, this is a great way for logging in or unlocking your computer. You can use any finger (during setup you register them all) to authenticate with.

I like how Dell embedded it in the touchpad area, and not to interfere with the palm wrest area like some other manufacturers had.
 

 

Built-In EVDO Modem

 Another feature he showed was an antenna on the side of the Thinkpad for a built-in EVDO modem. Just in case, for those of you who don’t know what that is, EVDO is a high speed wireless data network that many cell phone companies provide (like Verizon and Sprint).

The D820 doesn’t have an external antenna. Like the WLAN antenna, it’s routed up into the frame of the display.  I haven’t had any problems with signal strength, it seems to get the same signal strength as my cell phone does.

Durability of the Laptop

 Lastly, Ed had a picture of Jason standing on his Thinkpad and later Jason posted asking “Can your laptop do this?”, with the same picture wondering if any other laptop could do handle a 210lb person standing on it.

Well, I decided to take the challenge and take a picture of me (225lbs) standing on my D820 (hey, I’ve got the complete care warranty on it. no worries!). I wasn’t about to put any weight in the middle obviously, since there’s no support there except the LCD, keyboard and system board. So, I aimed to stand like Jason did on the Thinkpad. I did slowly apply may weight and not just step onto it like a (very low) step stool. It held just fine without any creaks or groans, or any cracks in the case.

Dell has a durability video that showed hit tests, drop tests (carpet & hard floor), spill tests (coffee into the keyboard) and finally standing on it (guy was bracing himself though, which took some pounds off of it). It’s using the previous model before the D820, the D810.

To say that I’m pleased with my laptop would be an understatement. It’s the best one I’ve ever had. It’s a good weight, durable, powerful, great battery time, etc. I’d highly recommend it. At least until the D830 comes out. Â

I forgot one more thing. Jason and Ed and mentioned that they got comments from their staff that their Thinkpads were good, but didn’t look cool. We’ll I think the D820 looks fairly stylish.

 

 

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