In the latest phase of an ongoing refresh of its virtual desktop infrastructure portfolio, the Round Rock, Texas-based Dell division of Dell Technologies has introduced two new mobile thin clients, the first such devices in the company’s Latitude mobile computing line.
The dual product launch is designed to help companies that wish to capitalize on the security and management advantages of virtual desktop computing support roaming as well as deskbound users.
“What we’re really trying to do here is make it easy for organizations that wish to do so to move to this virtual desktop model,” says Dan O’Farrell, a senior director of product marketing at Dell. “This is just yet more evidence of our expanding the portfolio to satisfy more user types.”
Designed to deliver extended battery life, both new devices run on Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard 7 64-bit and feature integrated graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive.
Each, however, is tailored to the needs of a specific user base. The Dell Latitude E7270, for example, is a 12.5-inch, 2.77-lb. unit with an HD display, Intel 6th Generation Core i5 processor, and 4-cell battery that’s aimed at people with demanding portability and processing requirements. It lists at $1,299.
“This is a pretty high-end mobile thin client,” O’Farrell says.
The Dell Latitude 3460, which comes with an Intel Celeron 3215U processor and 14-inch HD display, is targeted at general-purpose users and lists at $699.
Buyers who value security as well as mobility can run Dell Data Protection | Threat Defense for Windows Embedded, the machine learning-based security solution Dell rolled out in August, on either new device. A complete set of docking stations, monitors, keyboards, and other peripherals is available as well.
Dell sees both products as a strong fit for users in the finance, healthcare, government, manufacturing, and energy industries who are regularly offsite, as well as “corridor warriors” in those and other verticals who spend most of their time in one building but are rarely at their desk.
VDI has been a point of emphasis for Dell throughout 2016. In May, the company introduced two new desktop thin clients. That was followed late in August by the new hyperconverged Dell Solutions for VMware Virtual SAN Ready Nodes, new support for VMware’s Blast Extreme remote display protocol, and an additional version of Dell’s Precision Appliance for Wyse virtual workstation.
The systems announced today address the mobile computing portion of Dell’s VDI catalog. Notably, neither product carries the Wyse brand. Dell bought Wyse in 2012 and has been manufacturing thin clients under its brand and at its factories ever since. The mobile clients introduced today, by contrast, belong to the company’s Latitude business laptop family and are assembled at Dell’s own production facilities, resulting in lower price points.
“We take advantage of the very latest technology from Dell along with its manufacturing power to come up with a really nice cost model,” O’Farrell says.
Analyst Technavio expects global VDI spending to grow at a CAGR above 27 percent through 2020.
The new Dell Latitudes replace the previous-generation Dell Wyse 7000 series mobile thin clients that Dell canceled earlier this year.
