Hands on: Dell Latitude E6430S review

Unsnappily-named lightweight workhorse

What is a hands on review?
Latitude E6430S
What a name! The Latitude E6430S

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Despite its continued efforts in the consumer market, Dell is still a box-shifter at heart and has refreshed its entire line of Latitude laptops.

This model caught our eye, the Latitude E6430S. It's a 14-inch notebook with a 1,366 x 768 resolution display. It's actually closer to a 13-inch in terms of chassis size.

Latitude E6430S

Indeed, while it's not an Intel Ultrabook, it might as well be - it has several Ultrabook features including Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect as well as an SSD.

Latitude E6430S

The unit boasts a new Ivy Bridge-spec Intel Core processor plus USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 as well as Windows 7. Surprisingly, the base E6430S only has 2GB of RAM, though we'd expect many buyers to upgrade this.

Latitude E6430S

Latitude E6430S

The body has been designed for strength and there's a Strikezone shock absorber with fall sensor. The hard drive is also isolated with rubber. The keyboard is robust and is a typically comfortable Dell effort.

Latitude E6430S

As you'd expect, there's also Intel Vpro system management plus Dell's own tools for system admins including remote wiper.

Latitude E6430S

There's also an optional extra battery pack – adding the nine cell pack can whack the battery life up to a remarkable 32.7 hours according to Dell figures. Fast charging also means the standard three cell battery can be at more than 80 per cent capacity in less than an hour.

Latitude E6430S

Dell has also announced refreshed Latitude E6320, E6330, E6430, E6530, E5430 and E5530 laptop too.

Latitude E6430S

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Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.

What is a hands on review?

Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.