10. Rigged For Networking

Our review unit was wired for 802.11b using the MiniPCI slot, however, we were not provided with a MiniPCI 802.11b wireless card for our testing, so we cannot really give you any idea of how well the internal built-in antenna might perform.

The front of our test unit is where the C-Family Media Device Bay is located. Dell offers a variety of devices that can be placed into the C-Bay, including: 250 MB Iomega Zip drive; 2nd Hard Drive Bay; 24X/10X CD-ROM; 8X DVD; 8X4X24X CDRW; CDRW/DVD, which is 8X/8X/8X/24X; and, of course, it can also hold a second battery to double your battery life. The C-Bay in our test unit was compatible with C-Family Media Device family members, so if your IT shop already has a large stock of C-Family Media Devices, this is good news for you.

Next to the C-Bay, you will find a space for the 66 watt hour battery that is required by our test unit. Like past battery designs from Dell, the battery has the same form factor as previous Latitude battery designs. The battery includes a battery test indicator which has five lights to indicate the current charge level.

On the left side of our test unit is the Dell fixed optical bay. This bay can be pre-configured with a variety of options from Dell including: 24X/10X CD-ROM drive, which is standard; optional 8X DVD; optional 8X4X24X CDRW; and even the optional CDRW/DVD, which is 8X/8X/8X/24X. (Dell is also offering a CDRW/DVD 16X/10X/8X/24X drive that can be installed in select units.) This device is bolted to the unit, so although it could be exchanged, it is not recommended by Dell.

As you can see in this picture, it is possible to remove the fixed optical drive from the fixed optical bay in our test unit, but it isn't something that Dell would suggest. It uses a standard notebook style optical device, however.

In addition, on the left side you will find an integrated PC-Tel Modem 2304WT V.92 software modem. For network connectivity, we found the integrated 3Com 3C920 10/100 Fast Ethernet based NIC. Also, you will find the S-Video Out, which can be converted to RCA style composite out with the use of the supplied converter cable. The unit also has a connection for the standard locking Kennisington style devices. You will find a small speaker on both the left and the right side of the unit, to provide a full and rich sound.