Business notebooks are supposed to be the top-of-the-line laptops, with the highest build quality and top notch support. My last two notebooks were both high-quality business notebooks, and I have come to expect the best in my notebooks.

With ultraportable machines, there is an even higher emphasis and these laptops must be built as solid as possible. They get carried around more, used more, knocked around more, and have to be built for road warriors. Does the D430 deliver?

Undoubtedly. The D430 may possibly be the most solid notebook I have ever held in my hands despite its feather-light weight. The entire chassis is constructed of magnesium alloy, but some of the laptop's black exterior "plating" I believe is still made of a very solid plastic material. Other parts of the notebook, like the base of the chassis or the inside frame of the LCD screen are solid metal alloy. The notebook chassis is extremely well built and cannot be twisted or pushed around at all. The palm rests are the only part of the base that flexes, but I believe that is because only the battery is found underneath that location. When pushing in and prodding around the rest of the notebook base, it became very clear to me the D430 is very well packed inside and has a very strong frame to support/protect the entire chassis.

When closed, the laptop seems virtually indestructible.

The screen construction is also impressive, but not as much as the chassis' construction. As with most laptop screens, the display can be twisted a little bit ... but not nearly as much as other laptops I have encountered. The bezel has one small weak spot at the inside vertical edges, and when pushing in on the LCD screen from up top I can produce some ripples on the screen. Is either a lot? Would it possibly be enough to damage the screen? No on both counts, but as with any notebook do not act out any of your dreams of dropping bricks directly onto the notebook. When in my backpack or another tight spot, I have not needed to worry about the screen protection. I have included a video illustrating the squeeze effect, but I am pressing VERY hard to produce the ripples.

Other parts of the notebook are sturdy as well. The hard drive on the D430 features hardware-based shock protection (I never saw evidence of a hardware and software based solution like the Fujitsu E8410, HP 8710p, or HP nc8430), and the keyboard/mousepad area has absolutely no flex so all those computer parts directly underneath your working area are perfectly safe.

Coming in at a meager 12" in size, the D430 is definitely a feather-of-a-notebook. When placed in my backpack, I really do not notice the extra weight and it is no trouble to take with me every day. The only bad thing about such a light laptop is that if you leave it behind somewhere, you are not going to notice a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. From experience, I've had to learn to check a little more carefully to make sure the laptop is not left behind.

Another feature that needs mentioning is the DVD drive, or lack thereof. The D430 managed to achieve its incredible thinness by ditching an internal DVD drive and going with an external Dell-specific-version-of-USB external USB DVD drive that can run off of the notebook's power mains to minimize the cable requirements. For users that do not need an optical drive very often, this will be perfectly fine. Users who need it more frequently may find themselves wondering if they'd want to carry around a second piece of equipment. I myself do not find it annoying to be missing a drive whatsoever, as I rarely need to use an optical drive during normal usage. I love having the option to shed some backpack weight and leave the DVD drive at home, but some may not.

As far as appearances go, this is a business notebook. Appropriately so, the D430 features a mostly black and gun-metal gray visual design. When compared to the design of the HP Compaq business notebooks, I would say that (1) the exterior of the Latitudes does not look as sharp but (2) the interior sections of the D430 look more professional and sharper.

The exterior of the D430 (aka the back of the LCD screen and the bottom of the notebook) appears to be almost 100 percent gun-metal gray, which is a design feature that we've seen in Latitudes for a long time. It's getting kind of old, but it still looks nice. But an update would be nicer. The interior of the D430 is really what looks nice and professional. The lines are sharper and the overall appearance is more visually appealing than what I have been using for the last year and a half. Edges are more of a rounded shape, unlike the HP's physically sharper and straight edges.

When closed, the D430 reminds you of a thin workbook or textbook. In fact, the dimensions of the D430 are fairly close to standard 8.5"x11" paper and I regularly carry my D430 inside of a stack of notes and books. For a college student, this is really nice as you can move around with all of that in your hands and not have a problem with any of it. Try moving a 17" notebook with a few paper notebooks on top and see how awkward it is, and then you'll understand why one can appreciate the size of the 12" D430.