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Dell has introduced three new rugged notebooks aimed at enterprise workers who require machines that can withstand tough environmental and physical conditions, including water, dirt, drops and drastic temperature changes.
The machines, the Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme, the Latitude 5424 Rugged and the Latitude 5420 Rugged, are the company’s latest entries in its 12-year history of building rugged machines for industries from oil and gas to manufacturing, emergency services, warehousing and more.
The Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme, which starts at $3,499, supersedes an earlier Latitude Rugged 7414 model, while the Latitude 5424 Rugged, which starts at $1,499, supersedes an earlier Latitude Rugged 5414 model. The Latitude 5420 Rugged, which starts at $1,399, is a new addition to the company’s lineup that’s essentially a thinner and lighter version of the 5424 Rugged machines for users who need a more compact device.
All three notebooks feature a 14-inch Full HD WVA display (1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio) with optional glove-capable touch-screen capabilities, a choice of 8th generation Intel Core i5, i7 quad-core processors, vPro 7th generation Intel Core i3 dual-core processors or 6th generation Intel Core i5 dual-core processors, as well as a choice of 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory.
Several Graphics Processing Options
Other options for all three rugged notebooks include several graphics processing options, including integrated Intel HD 520, 620 and UHD 620 or AMD Radeon 540 and RX540 chips. The notebooks can be configured with PCIe NVMe solid-state drives in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB capacities, or with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCIe NVMe self-encrypting drives.
Optional 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVD+/-RW or Blu-ray RW drives can be configured for the Latitude 7424 or 5424 models. The Latitude 5420 can use optional DVD or Blu-ray drives only as external devices. The devices also can be ordered with an optional integrated FHD video web or IR camera with a privacy shutter.
All three models can be configured with Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Microsoft Windows 10 Pro or, only for 6th generation processors, with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.
The three models all include a three-cell 51Whr lithium-ion battery and offer an optional second 3-cell lithium-ion battery for hot-swapping, as well as 10/100/1000 gigabit Ethernet and Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8265 (802.11ac) 2×2 with Bluetooth 4.1, Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8265 (802.11ac) 2×2 without Bluetooth, or with a Qualcomm QCA61x4A 802.11ac Dual Band (2×2) wireless adapter plus Bluetooth 4.1. Optional broadband capabilities are also available, including Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE for use with multiple carriers.
Several Ports to Choose From
The machines also include a range of ports, such as USB 3.0 Type A, USB 3.0 Type C, a native RS-232 serial port, an RJ-45 gigabit Ethernet network connector, an HDMI port and a universal audio jack. Optional connectors include an RJ-45 gigabit Ethernet network connector a second serial, VGA, display port or Fischer USB port.
Slots for SD cards and SIM cards are included, while optional PCMCIA or Express Card 54mm slots can be included.
Security options include a fingerprint reader as well as a contactless and contacted SmartCard reader as well as TPM 2.0.
The Latitude 7424 notebook is 13.95 inches long, 10.04 inches wide, 2.02 inches thick and starts at 7.6 pounds depending on configuration, while the 5424 model is 13.66 inches long, 9.62 inches wide, 1.74 inches thick and starts at 5.5l pounds. The 5420 is 13.66 inches long, 9.62 inches wide, 1.29 inches thick and starts at 4.9 pounds.
The Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme model meets MIL-STD-810G standards for durability and drops from six feet, as well as IP-65 standards against dust and water. The model 5424 and 5420 machines meet MIL-STD-810G standards for drops from 36 inches, as well as IP-52 standards for dust and water protection.
“The world’s toughest jobs require some of the toughest training, and that very same discipline has yielded the next generation of Dell’s Rugged notebooks,” wrote Damon Muzny, a Dell spokesman, in a post on the Dell blog. “No two Rugged PC customers are the same, but they do have something in common: the need to combine end-to-end security with Dell Latitude reliability and manageability, wherever they’re working and whatever they’re doing.”