Dell Latitude E7240 review: Excellent 12.5-inch Ultrabook for business people

Dell Latitude E7240 is a neat and powerful 12.5-inch Ultrabook with many configuration options, including Windows 7 or 8, touch screen or non-touch. Powered by a fourth-generation Intel Core (Haswell) processor, you can expect a good combination of performance and battery life with the Dell E7240.

Design

Latitude E7240 is designed with a metal frame on the top and a metal band around the bottom edge, helping to protect the corners from being hit. The other parts are made from hard, thick plastic, giving the overall feel quite solid.

However, there's a trade-off in weight: The E7240 weighs 1.36kg, which is quite heavy for a 12.5-inch Ultrabook.

The Dell E7240 is quite heavy for a 12.5-inch Ultrabook

E7240 is a slightly thick computer (the back edge is up to 2cm thick). Inside, the screen border is quite wide and the keys of the E7240 are old-style instead of chiclet keys that look more modern, giving a disappointing typing experience. In return, the keys of the E7240 are very large, with a full-sized number sequence, plus a row of keys Fn(half the height). EnterLarge keys are easy to find while typing. The shortcuts on the arrow keys allow you to activate the keyboard backlight, cycle through 4 brightness levels, and control the screen brightness.

There is a small on / off switch located between the keys Fnand the hinge of the screen. There are also small buttons to control the volume and mute in this area.

A white LED indicates that CapsLockthe status icons are turned on and illuminated in the narrow control panel above the screen. There is also a white light circle around the power jack to remind you that the Latitude E7240 is charging. A similar status light set on the back of the lid shows the drive activity, power status, and charging status when the Ultrabook is closed.

The touchpad is slightly concave and very responsive. The physical buttons below are huge and emit a clear click when pressed. It's a far cry from the buttons built into many laptops, but handy and useful. There is a fingerprint scanner in the lower right corner of the wrist pad and an HD webcam above the screen.

The 12.5-inch screen has a matte surface, so there's no problem with the light reflected from the windows - for example, when working on a train or plane. There are 2 screen options offered: Non-touch screen with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution or touch screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Key features of the Dell E7240

The Latitude E7240 is powered by a fourth-generation Intel Core (Haswell) processor, with options for either Core i5 or Core i7. The device tested in the article is the most advanced model with Core i7-4600U 2.1 - 3.3GHz and 8GB RAM, priced at 31,750,000 VND. The basic model (with a price of VND 20,150,000) has a Core i5-4200U 1.6 - 2.6GHz and 4GB of RAM. The GPU in all models is Intel's integrated HD Graphics 4400.

The model tested in this article has a 256GB SSD. There is no mechanical hard drive option for Latitude E7240 and 256GB which is the largest storage capacity offered. All but the most advanced models have 128GB SSDs.

The Latitude E7240 is powered by a fourth-generation Intel Core (Haswell) processor

Windows 8 Pro and Windows 7 Professional options are available on this notebook, but only the basic preconfigured model comes with Windows 8 Pro.

Very strong wireless connectivity options, including WiFi (802.11a / b / g / n / ac with support of Intel's Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 chipset), Bluetooth 4.0 LE and Mobile Broadband (HSPA +). There is a microSIM card slot under the battery. You can also configure Near Field Communications (NFC).

The ports and slots on the Dell Latitude E7240 are very cleverly placed.

The back houses the power connector, plus Ethernet (RJ-45), HDMI and 2 USB 3.0 ports. The left side houses a toggle switch for wireless signals and a smart card slot. The right side has an SD card slot, a third USB 3.0 port, a headphone / microphone combo jack, and a Mini-DisplayPort. These are more extensive ports than what is commonly found on Ultrabooks and are very welcome.

Efficiency

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) of the Latitude E7240 is 6.5, which is impressive, as you would expect with a top Intel processor laptop and 8GB of RAM. The remaining scores are all over 7, with 7.2 for the processor, 7.6 for memory and up to 7.9 for the main hard drive.

The Dell Latitude E7240 is a rugged Ultrabook, with impressive performance and great audio output

The battery provided with the review model is a 4-cell, 42Wh type located on the underside of the chassis. You will have no problems during a working day with this battery.

The sound quality is especially good. Large volume and bass distortion at high volume are minimal for a laptop. Presentations related to music content can easily be streamed to a small audience using the Latitude E7240.

Conclude

The Dell Latitude E7240 is a solid and well-connected Ultrabook, with impressive performance and great audio output.

Unfortunately, it has a poor keyboard and lacks configuration options for the operating system, storage type and capacity, screen resolution, as well as touch support.