Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet With 11.6-Inch Display Launched

If you are a solider in a war zone, hiking through the mountains or trekking through the snow, then you will need a tablet that can withstand harsh conditions. Dell basically took out the screen and made it into a tablet.

The recently-unveiled Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet is a ideal example of how tablet makers are trying to diversify their tablet offering in an attempt to create more specialized devices. Furthermore, the tablet is guaranteed to work at temperatures as low as -20 degrees F or as high as 145 degrees F. The company is marketing the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet as the ideal device for the military, industrial work, adventurers, or emergency response crews.

The 11.6-inch display runs a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, but although the PPI density isn’t really impressive by consumer device standards, the slab is not likely to be used for the creation of graphic designs or to watch high-resolution movies.

Coming in the footsteps of the intimidating Latitude 12 Extreme, a flip-hinge convertible notebook, the Dell Rugged Tablet keeps the same thickness and aggressive looks without the flip-hinge and the keyboard. It also has multi-touch capabilities that work even when the user is wearing gloves. It comes with QuadcCool thermal management for both extreme hot and cold environments, and it’s powered by an Intel Core M processor.

Other specs include 802.11ac Wi-Fi, optional mobile broadband and Global Positioning System, up to 512GB of solid-state storage, and Intel business features vPro and TPM 1.2. Available dual batteries are claimed to provide up to 12 hours of battery life.

A United Kingdom price is yet to be revealed but expect it to be in the region of $3,500 (£2,250) or more in the States.

Dell has a range of accessories for the Rugged Tablet, including a digital pen, a full-sized keyboard cover, and vehicle and desk docks that connect via a “pogo-pin” interface. The Rugged Tablet will hit shelves at the end of July.