Dell upgrades Latitude laptops with Ivy Bridge
A new slim 14-inch model joins the business-friendly line.
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Along with Lenovo's ThinkPad, the Dell Latitude is the laptop brand we see most often issued by corporate IT departments. While more and more office workers are using consumer-level systems (including MacBooks), there's still a need for laptops and desktops designed around the security and corporate infrastructure concerns of big IT departments.
The Latitude line has just been updated by Dell, most importantly to include the option of the latest third-generation Intel Core i-series CPUs. The new models include:
Latitude E6430s: A 14-inch screen in a body closer to that of a 13-inch laptop, this is an entirely new design for the very competitive ultraportable space. Not billed as an ultrabook, it still has Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect, two ultrabook features. The E6430s is 1.06 inches thick and weighs 3.75 pounds, if outfitted with a solid-state drive (SSD) and a three-cell battery.
Latitude E6230, E6330, E6430, E6530: Dell's standard business laptops, with 12.5-inch, 13.3-inch, 14-inch, and 15.6-inch displays. The main updates here are the new CPU options. There's also a Latitude E6430 ATG version, which has a rugged body for extreme temperatures, vibration, and dust.
Latitude E5430 and E5530: Budget-minded 14-inch and 15.6-inch systems. These have been upgraded to support Intel's vPro systems management.
While these systems are being announced today, Dell says pricing and release date information will be given in the coming weeks.