Dell Unleashes Latitude E Series Business Laptops

Now that Advanced Micro Devices unveiled its extensive platform collection for notebooks and desktops, it shouldn't be long before PC suppliers start showing off devices based on them. On the other hand, it would also be natural for some Intel-based systems to come out at the same time, to provide some competition. This is exactly what Dell has enabled through its introduction of the latest Latitude E Series business laptops.

The three models that the company brought out are known as the E4310, E5410 and E5510. They have screen sizes of 13.3 inches, 14.1 inches and 15.6 inches, respectively, and utilize Intel Core i3 or Core i5 central processing units. Customers get to choose the amount of memory and storage, though they will have to settle for the Intel integrated GMA HD when it comes to graphics.

The E4130 is based on a Core i5 520M/540M CPU and uses LED-backlit LCD screens with a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768. The amount of RAM can reach 8GB and storage options include not only HDDs of up to 500GB, but also solid state drives of 128GB or 256GB. There is also a DVD/Blu-ray drive, a 34mm ExpressCard slot, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet and a 7-in-1 card reader. Finally, the 1.1-inch thick machine is fueled by a 3- or 6-cell battery.

"Today's workforce has become more globally dispersed and highly mobile with the expectation of 24/7 access to critical data and applications," Steven Lalla, vice president and general manager, Client Product Group, Dell, said. "We are committed to providing innovative and flexible virtualization solutions that help customers reduce costs, increase security and improve manageability. This approach to flexible computing also has the ability to enable choice and flexibility to help boost productivity within our customers' workforce."

The E4310 has a starting price of $1,129 and can be pre-loaded with Ubuntu 9.10, Windows Vista or Windows 7. As for the E5410 and E5510, they are somewhat similar to their sibling, but can also use Core i3 CPUs and, thus, have lower base prices ($759 and $789, respectively).