Dell Latitude, OptiPlex Lines Get Intel Ivy Bridge Makeover
On May 31, Dell announced new Latitude and OptiPlex business laptops and desktops that speak to the consumerization of IT trend. That is to say, a demand for business-use devices that are powerful and feature rich—here, Dell has incorporated Intel’s new laptop part - Ivy Bridge processors—but also as well-designed and pleasant to use as the devices one buys for personal use.
Dell’s newest machines were inspired, says David Lord, Dell’s director of marketing, by desires to improve productivity, give people access to the data they need, and to make no sacrifices on the device side, while “making devices folks really want to use.”
Lord adds: “It’s pretty exciting. The 6430s is the thinnest and lightest 14-inch commercial notebook out there.”
The Dell Latitude E6430s features a 14-inch display in a 13.3-inch chassis. And while super portable at 3.75 pounds and dimensions of 13.2 by 1.06 by 8.8 inches, it’s built around a Tri-metal casing with an anodized aluminum display back, magnesium alloy wrapped corners, steel hinges, a powder-coated base, a spill-resistant laptop keyboard and an LCD coating to protect from spills. A StrikeZone shock absorber, Fast Response Free-Fall sensor and rubber hard drive isolation are further measures to keep the realities of mobility from slowing down workers.
“We have a little [metal] shell we carry around, to give people a sense for the rigidity, the structure [of these machines],” Lord told eWEEK. “We’re really proud of the Latitude’s durability.”
Another source of pride should be the nearly 33 hours of battery life that it’s possible to get with the optional nine-cell battery and a battery slice. This gets paired up with laptop part such as Intel’s third-generation processors, 2GB of memory, integrated graphics, an optional 128GB solid-state drive and a Dell’s ExpressCharge technology, which charges the battery 80 percent in an hour.
Also on board are Intel’s vPro and Active management Technology 8.x and Dell’s vPro extension, which support remote BIOS management and remote hard drive wiping. There are USB 3.0 ports, optional Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Bluetooth connectivity, and money-saving conveniences like common accessories, such as laptop keyboard docks and AC adapters that can be shared across the E line of laptops, and optical drives, hard drives and batteries that can be shared between select machines.
The OptiPlex 9010 is Dell’s first commercial all-in-one (AiO), says Lord. It features a 23-inch WLED display with anti-glare coating and resolution of 1920 by 1080. It has a Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mount and a wireless keyboard and mouse that can be tucked beneath the display for space savings. The chassis measures 15.2 by 22.6 by 2.7 inches.
Users can choose up to two laptop part - small-outline dual-in-line memory module (SODIMM) slots and up to 16GB of double data rate type 3 (DDR3) synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM); there are four USB 3.0 ports; an 8-in-1 media card reader; options of a 3.5-inch hard drive with up to 1TB or 2.5-inch drives that are a 500GB hybrid, with a 320GB 7,200 rpm Federal Information Processing Standard Self-Encrypting Drive (FIPS SED) and a 128GB solid-state drive. Also optional is a 1.3MP Webcam with a sliding door (so you know it’s off).
And of course, there are Dell’s integrated solutions—Dell data protection and encryption, desktop virtualization solutions, and cloud solutions that can be paired with pay-as-you-go options that scale to the needs of a business.