Dell Latitude

Dell Inc.

Established in 1984, Dell is a leader in the laptop market. They have various lines, with the Latitude line being geared for businesses. It is a better choice for large scale deployment as well, as it is comparatively cheaper. 

Dell Latitude

Latitude is a line of laptops by Dell that are developed for large scale corporate deployment. Designed and manufactured mostly by Compal and Quanta. This series competes in the same segment as the ThinkPad line from Lenovo, Travelmate by Acer and the EliteBooks from HP.

There are also a few options of rugged laptops, with extra protection for a more outdoor work environment such as at oilfields. There is one main competitor of this line; the Toughbooks from Panasonic.  

Dell has made Latitude in a manner that they are more standard across the board. This makes it easier to have components swapped, given these laptops are designed for use by businesses it makes it simpler for maintenance and support. Large corporations need efficiency, this allows for an edge in that direction as Latitude laptops retain identical components and vendors over a single model, unlike Inspiron that may change those bits. Sourcing parts in the Inspiron instance can be a tad more complex.

Dell Latitude laptops are also different regarding the features they have in comparison to the other lines by Dell. Due to the focus on a business environment, they often include security features such as a smartcard or a contactless smartcard. Some models include TPM security, which is an international standard for cryptoprocessors. These are dedicated microcontrollers designed to secure hardware through integrated cryptographic keys. Other possible features include a DisplayPort video out as opposed to HDMI, a lid clasp as opposed to a magnetic latch system and support for legacy standards as many people still use them.

Latitude variants

Within the line, there are different sizes of screen and components. This gives people the option to pick something that is within their budget. The screens range from 12.5 to 13.3, on to 14 or 15.6 inches. With a difference in internal components as well, the major one being the Intel processor in use. RAM and storage variations come later.

Comments

Dell as a company has a good reputation in the market for being simple and reliable. The Latitude line in specific has done well as large businesses find it easy to have this in use at their operation sites. Given the simplicity, it delivers in function, which is an aid to efficient performance.

Dell Latitude laptops are available at a few different price points which depend on the size, components and year of release.