By Brandon Hill — Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 07:00 AM EDT
Many of today’s consumer-centric laptops, tablets, and convertibles are adorned in sleek aluminum chassis’ that are thin and good looking, but can’t withstand a drop from more than a foot or two without incurring some major damage. For those that need a more robust system that can stand up to abuse, Dell has unveiled its new Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme tablet.
Dell claims that it is the world’s most powerful and lightweight tablet in its class, and it has been designed to adhere to MIL-STD-810G/H testing for protection. It is also IP65 rated for dust/dirt and water intrusion when out in the field. The rugged exterior has been proven to protect the tablet from drops of 4 feet with no damage, and it can survive in extremely harsh environments ranging from -20 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
When it comes to hardware specs, Dell has outfitted the Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme with a 11.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) display that carries a 1000 nits brightness rating. The display features anti-glare and anti-smudge coatings and can be operated with gloved hands.
Processing duties are handled by 8th†generation Intel Whiskey Lake CPUs, ranging from a Core i3-8145U in base systems, to a mid-range Core i5-8365U, to the flagship Core i7-8665U. 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR3-2133 memory can be installed, along with up to a 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD. Intel-based Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 solutions are available, and you have the option of adding in a Qualcomm Snapdragon X20-based 4G LTE modem for on-the-go connectivity.†The Latitude 7220 Rugged also offers access to the dedicated FirstNet network for first responders. This includes FirstNet Core, FirstNet First Priority and FirstNet Band 14 spectrum.
When it comes to power, the Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme can be equipped with both a primary and secondary battery; both of which are 34 Whr 2-cell lithium-ion units. Both are user-replaceable and hot swappable, which is crucial out in the field.
The Dell Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme is available for purchase today with a starting price of $1,899.
