Dell Latitude 12 5000 E5250 review

Dell's latest portable is a business machine designed for productivity and mobile power – it's got one of Intel's latest Broadwell processors inside a chassis that's light and slim enough to sling into a bag.
That's not the end to this machine's versatility, either. Numerous specifications are available, the internals can be accessed, and it's littered with ports and sockets.

Design

This is a pure business machine, so it won't win many style points. The lid is coated with dark, matte metal with a lighter hinge made of anodised aluminium, and the interior is finished with the same material around the screen and sunken keyboard. It doesn't turn heads, but build quality is beyond reproach – the wrist-rest doesn't flex, the screen barely moves, and the base is strong.

The Dell Latitude isn't as svelte as some competitors

That's all good news for a business machine, but the lack of design nous does mean the Dell isn't as svelte as rivals, with a weight of 3.4 pounds (1.56kg) inside a 0.9-inch (23mm) body. The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12 weighs 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) and is 0.7-inches (18mm) thin, and the Dell XPS 13 looks better, weighs just 2.57 pounds (1.17kg), and is only 0.59-inches (15mm) from top to bottom.

You get a SmartCard reader on the left edge of this machine

At least the Latitude isn't short on features. The top surface has a fingerprint reader and a row of handy status lights, and the back edge houses two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI output and a Gigabit Ethernet socket. That's not the end of the port selection – the left-hand edge hosts a headphone output and SmartCard reader, and the right-hand side serves up an SDXC card slot, another USB port and a mini DisplayPort output.

Only the small Return key is a niggle here
We have no major issues with this machine's ergonomics. The backlit, spill-proof keyboard is sunken to afford each button more travel, and they're all excellent – comfortable and consistent, with an action that settles at a nice point between soft and firm. The single-height Return key is a niggle, but that's our only qualm with this keyboard, which has more than enough quality for serious typing. The trackpad is just as good – wide, and with a pair of sensible, snappy discrete buttons.
That's not the end to the Dell's versatility. We've reviewed the cheapest Latitude 12 5000 specification, which can be had for £600 (around $930, or AU$1,165). Spend £662 (around $1,030, or AU$1,290) and you'll get a machine with a Core i5-5300U processor but the same components elsewhere, and fork out £895 (around $1,390, or AU$1,740) and you'll double the memory and replace the 500GB hard disk with a 256GB SSD. Larger batteries and touchscreens are available, too, but they also cost more.

The quality keyboard is also backlit

The specifications can be customised with a variety of extras. Data protection can be added for one, three or five years, and a number of docking stations will give you a variety of additional ports. BIOS updates can be installed remotely, and the Dell Client Command Suite can make it easier to manage a large deployment of machines.

On the inside

The Latitude's specification is sensible rather than barnstorming. The Core i3-5010U is a dual-core, low-power part from Intel's latest Broadwell range, which means it's designed to balance performance with efficiency. It's paired with 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard disk – standard for this kind of system.
Connectivity is covered by dual-band 802.11ac wireless and a mobile broadband card, and there's Gigabit Ethernet. TPM 1.2 and NFC are both installed.

The memory and hard drive are easy to upgrade

The base panel is tricky to remove, but the internals are accessible. The networking chips can both be removed, the memory stick and hard disk are easy to swap, and a second memory slot can be used to double the machine's RAM. The 38Wh battery can also be accessed.
Little impresses about the screen – it's matte, so it won't be disturbed by bright office lights, but its 1,366 x 768 resolution puts paid to serious work, making it tricky to open large applications or have two windows open side-by-side.
Here is the Dell Latitude 12 5000 spec sheet as provided to TechRadar:

CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Core i3-5010U (dual-core, 3MB cache)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
RAM: 4GB DDR3 (1,600MHz)
Screen: 1,366 x 768 13.3-inch WLED display
Storage: 500GB hard disk
Ports: USB 3.0 x 3, mini DisplayPort, SDXC card reader, HDMI, audio jack, Smart Card slot
Connectivity: 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, mobile broadband
Camera: Widescreen HD (720p)
Weight: 3.4 pounds (1.56kg)
Size: 12.2 (310mm) x 8.3 (213mm) x 0.9 (23mm) inches (W x D x H)

PCMark 8 Home: 2613
PCMark 8 Home battery life balanced 50% screen: 2 hours 6 minutes
PCMark 8 Home battery life power saver 25% screen: 2 hours 14 minutes
PCMark 8 Home battery life high performance 100% screen: 2 hours 4 minutes
PCMark 8 Work battery life balanced 50% screen: 2 hours 23 minutes
3DMark: Cloud Gate: 3740; Sky Diver: 2382; Fire Strike: 528
Cinebench R11.5: CPU: 2.41; Graphics: 16.18fps
Cinebench R15: CPU: 210cb; Graphics: 20.47fps

The Dell doesn't have bad hardware inside, but it's unable to compete with its rivals in most tests – the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12 and Dell XPS 13 both have Core i5 processors, twice as much memory and SSD storage.

Performance is solid but the CPU lacks grunt

In CineBench's processor test the Dell scores 210 points, which was behind rivals – the Lenovo topped out at 263 points, and the Dell XPS managed 258 points. The Latitude fought back with a score of 2,613 in PCMark 8's Home test, which was ahead of both rivals – but not by much.
The Latitude fell behind in gaming tests, despite all three machines mentioned having the same Intel Graphics HD 5500 core. The Dell could only manage a score of 528 points in the 3DMark Fire Strike test – but both rivals rose beyond 700 points in the same test.
The Core i3 chip doesn't match its rivals in most benchmarks, then, which makes those machines more suitable for tougher work tasks. However, if you need a laptop for general purpose work and web browsing, the Latitude has ample power.

Battery life is disappointing

The Latitude lagged behind its rivals in battery life, too. In PCMark 8's Home test with the screen at 50% brightness the Dell lasted for two hours and twenty-three minutes – around an hour behind the Lenovo, and two hours behind the Dell XPS. If you need a notebook that'll last all day, look elsewhere.

Screen

The Dell's matte finish is good, but its resolution of 1,366 x 768 hampers serious work efforts – and falls behind its rivals, which have 1080p or 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreens. That's not the Dell's only problem.

The measured brightness level of 166cd/m2 is just about good enough for day-to-day use, but the black level of 0.63cd/m2 is much worse, and results in a poor contrast ratio of 263:1. Those results impact on usage – the poor black level means dark shades appear grey and insipid, and the poor contrast means that colours lack punch and vivacity throughout.
Those dull colours aren't accurate, either. The measured colour temperature of 7,169K is on the cool side of the 6,500K ideal figure, and the screen's average Delta E of 9.84 is miles short of a good result.
The Dell's screen is low resolution and lacks quality, which means it's only suitable for low-end work tasks – anything that demands more screen space or colour accuracy will flounder.

Dell's latest laptop ticks the right boxes when it comes to business features, but its rivals swap these hard-nosed additions for slimmer, lighter designs, better components and slicker screens. Any buying decision depends on your needs, and whether you'll benefit from office features or consumer-driven advantages in other departments.

We liked

Dell's latest laptop is, quite literally, a solid business machine: its smart, understated frame exhibits great build quality, and the impressive keyboard and trackpad highlight sound ergonomics. Its edges are covered with ports, and it's got a sensible specification that includes TPM, a mobile broadband slot and dual-band wireless.
The Intel Core i3 processor is decent, too, thanks to the Broadwell architecture – it's got enough grunt to handle work tasks. The 500GB hard disk offers ample room for file storage, and all of this is wrapped in a package that's slimmer and lighter than many business portables.

We disliked

The Dell might be slim, light, and offer reasonable power, but both of its main rivals are thinner, have more grunt and weigh less. Dell's XPS 13 looks slicker, and the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12 can be used as a tablet.
The Latitude has poorer battery life than its competitors, too, and its screen suffers with a worse resolution and a lack of quality.

Final verdict

The Dell offers reasonable power in a sturdy, well-made body, but its key rivals are better in every area – and they're no more expensive, either, if you opt for comparable specifications. The Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell XPS offer more bang for your buck in conventional laptop categories, so we'd only stick with the Latitude if you specifically need its various business features.

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