Dell Technologies launches new slate of laptops primed for IR4.0

• New Latitude laptops addresses workspace and security issues of IR4.0
• Dell Technology Unified Workspace eases IT management

WELL now, it seems that the Latitude line of commercial PCs from Dell Technologies has gone into its 10th generation. For its Big 10, the new Latitude laptops – launched in Malaysia on June 25 – are now reimagined with IT departments in mind, with the aim of improving productivity for businesses that are entering the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0). 

According to Dell EMC country manager for Malaysia KT Ong, the new business solutions from Dell are meant to help customers in four areas of digital transformation: Application Transformation, IT Transformation, Security Transformation and Workforce Transformation.

It’s undoubtedly vital for businesses to have good hardware when embracing digital transformation, but it’s also important that they consider secure devices. “Any data breach will bring down your business. Your reputation will go down and the business can go bust,” notes Ong, adding that security is now the top agenda of a majority of CIOs.

There is also a need to think about the workforce of the near future. Ong says that Generation Z workers are entering the workforce now, and will be bringing changes to work culture and expectations. As such, there’s a need for the hardware to fit the Gen Z working requirements.

“In time, the IT issue will become a talent issue. If you don’t have the system and devices in place for the new workforce, you may lose talents,” Ong says.

New Latitude at work

The new Dell Latitude mobile PC portfolio – which comprises of the Latitude 7000 series, 5000 series and 3000 series – is meant to address those issues.

Some of these inclusions already feel like boons to productivity – the new Latitudes includes ExpressCharge, which provides the PCs up to 80% battery charge in just an hour. There’s also an option for ExpressCharge Boost, which provides 35% charge in 20 minutes.

These notebooks also have enterprise-class security, including the option to include fingerprint readers built into the power button as well as Windows Hello-capable IR cameras for facial recognition.

Users can also opt for Dell SafeScreen, camera privacy shutters and FIPS 201 contacted Smart Card Reader or contactless Smart Card Reader with Safe ID.

What more, these laptops also support Dell’s recently-announced SafeBIOS utility, which gives customers visibility towards BIOS changes by verifying the firmware’s integrity in the cloud. This is especially neat, considering that there are now exploits that specifically target the BIOS.

The new Latitudes have the option to run on the 8th Gen Intel Core vPro processors and Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) solutions, the latter which gives employees faster connectivity.

All shapes and sizes

Leading the way of the new Latitudes are the Latitude 7000 series notebooks. These come in 13 and 14-inch form factors, encased in machined aluminium or carbon fibre materials. The design features a variable-torque, drop-hinge design that lets users lift the display up with just one finger.

The SafeScreen tech can be turned on to narrow the screen’s field of view for security (and privacy) while working in public.

The Latitude 7000 series includes the Latitude 7200 2-in-1, which sports a slimmer, lighter design. At 12-inches, it’s Dell’s smallest in the Latitude range.

All of the 7000 series laptops can be equipped with up to 32GB of memory, with select configurations providing up to 20 hours of battery. The Latitude 7200 2-in-1 prices from US$1.596.70 (RM6,615), while pricing of the Latitude 7400 starts from US$1,303.90 (RM5,402).

The Latitude 5000 series, on the other hand, come in 13, 14 and 15-inch form factors, fitted in a carbon fibre reinforced chassis. In this series is the Latitude 5300 2-in-1, which weighs at merely 1.43kg. It features a 360-degrees hinge-convertible touchscreen display, and can be configured to up to 1TB in storage and 32GB in memory.

The price for it starts at US$1,330.70 (RM5,513), while the Latitude 5400 starts at US$1,008.46 (RM4,178).

Those with a budget to care for can opt for the Latitude 3000 series, which comes in 13, 14 and 15-inch variations. Pricing for them starts at RM3,212.

If mobile workstations are more of your thing, then the Precision 3540 and 3541 mobile workstations will be more appropriate. These are powerful devices with weights starting at just over 1.8kg, and can be customised to include the latest 8th Gen Intel Core Processors and AMD Radeon Pro or NVIDIA Quadro GPUs.

Price for the Precision 3540 starts from US$1,279 (RM5,292), though pricing for the Precision 3541 will be released at a later date.

Unifying the workspace

Dell additionally introduced the Dell Technologies Unified Workspace, a platform for IT managers within an establishment to better manage the workspace.

“IT departments today still struggle with basic tasks like PC deployment, help desk requests, and monitoring and troubleshooting, and are often unable to focus on transformative initiatives for employee experience,” Ong says.

“What they need is a solution that gives employees a frustration-free, ready-to-work experience, while enabling IT with automated, open and intelligent solutions for unified management.”

The Unified Workspace allows IT departments to streamline complex yet critical tasks with capabilities that provide visibility, insights and automation. It integrates solutions across Dell’s devices and services, including VMWare and Secureworks, to monitor, deploy and secure Dell devices.

This includes the Dell SafeBIOS feature, which is an off-host BIOS verification utility to ensure that the BIOS within the company’s computers have not been tampered with.