Dell adds Windows 8 to two new Latitudes
The Latitude 10 Tablet and Latitude 6430u ultrabook join the Windows 8 launch wave.
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
It may not generate excitement on a par with the iPhone 5, but Dell has added two new Windows 8 systems to its business-targeted Latitude lineup. While that's not a product line that usually catches our attention, these are definitely on the more adventurous side for Latitudes.
Latitude 6430u ultrabook
This 14-inch Windows 8 ultrabook meets certain MIL-STD-810G standards, which is what we usually see in semi-rugged laptops. To work that kind of rugged design into a 20mm thick ultrabook is noteworthy, especially as most of the ultrabooks we've seen are on the flimsy side.
The 6430u will feature third-gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors, and up to 256GB of solid-state-drive (SSD) storage.
Latitude 10 Tablet
This 10-inch tablet runs the full version of Windows 8, rather than the more tablet-centric Windows RT. That should make this a more capable business machine, and one of only a handful of Windows 8 slate-style tablets we've seen so far. To appeal to security conscious IT departments, the Latitude 10 will be available with a fingerprint reader and a smart card reader.
Powering the tablet will be Intel's upcoming Atom CPU revamp, and SSD storage goes up to 128GB.
Dell doesn't have price information on these systems yet, but says both will be "available for sale with the launch of Windows 8," which sounds like they'll match Microsoft's October 26 launch date.