Dell has announced two new rugged laptops designed to crunch the numbers in tough climates. The Latitude 5430 and 7330 laptops both feature various reinforcements for field researchers, warehouses, and first responders.
Latitude 5430
The Latitude 5430 is a semi-rugged laptop that offers IP65 water and dust resistance. As with Dell’s previous ruggedized devices, it’s gone through the MIL-STD-810H tests and can safely operate between -29°C and 63°C.
For indoor lighting scenarios such as in warehouses and vehicles, users can opt for the 13.3-inch 400-nit 1080p touchscreen display. Those who work outdoors can opt for the 1,100 nit panel option to fend off glare.
The laptop is powered by Intel’s 11th-gen Core i5 or i7 mobile processor, up to 64GB of non-ECC memory, and up to 2TB of storage. It relies on the integrated Intel Xe Graphics in the base model, but users can configure it with an Nvidia Quadro T500 discrete GPU with 4GB of GDDR6.
The device contains two battery bays supporting hot-swappable packs. The battery packs come in two types: a 3-cell pack that supports ExpressCharge and a 3-cell pack that prioritizes long life cycles. Dell says that the device lasts 25 hours with two full batteries.
Other features unique to ruggedized laptops include an optional internal sealed RGB keyboard, optional mobile broadband, steel-reinforced cable lock, optional fingerprint reader, contactless/contacted SmartCard reader, and optional 4G or 5G modem for mobile speeds of up to 3Gbps.
Latitude 7330
The Dell Latitude 7330 kicks up the ruggedness up a notch with its IP-65 water and dust resistance. It has also gone through the same MIL-STD-810H tests as the Latitude 5430.
The 13.3-inch display only comes in 1080p, but it boasts an incredible 1,400 nits peak brightness for working in bright environments, such as on a snowy mountain top. Moreover, it supports 100 per cent sRGB colour gamut.
Internally, it comes with Intel’s 11th gen Core i5 or i7 mobile processor, up to 32GB of non-ECC memory, and up to 2TB of storage. There’s no discrete graphics option so the device relies solely on the Intel Xe integrated graphics.
Other features are identical to the Latitude 5430. The Latitude 7330 also comes with dual hot-swappable batteries, optional backlit keyboards, and a 4G or 5G modem.
Add-ons
Because they’re designed for extreme environments and various industrial settings, Dell complements the devices with a variety of optional attachments including vehicle docks, rigid handle, shoulder straps, and nylon straps. The laptops are also compatible with various Thunderbolt and USB-C docks.
