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Hands on with Dell's Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet: in pictures
This tough tablet can be bumped, scraped, and dropped, and even survive spills and dust. It's also secure through-and-through, with a trusted secure module chip and a fingerprint reader.
Built like a tank, works like a tablet
The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet doesn't try to be slim or svelte, but it is designed to be tough. The tablet has an 11.6-inch touchscreen display with Gorilla Glass 3, and rubberized edges to protect from bumps and scrapes.
A series of protected ports
The tablet has just one USB 3.0 port, and a mini-HDMI port for video output.
Front-facing webcam for video calls
The tablet lands with a full-HD webcam with a privacy shutter, giving users that extra level of privacy against eavesdropping.
Stylus helps with jotting notes
The stylus is great for taking notes and high-precision work on the 10-point multi-touch display, but the coiled wire that keeps it attached to the device is a little flimsy.
Expandable, removable storage
The tablet comes with the usual frills you might expect, such as a standard headphone port and a micro-SD card reader for expandable storage.
Rear-facing camera with flash
On the rear of the tablet is an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash. It also comes with a privacy-shutter to prevent eavesdropping..
A rear kickstand for desks, work surfaces
The kickstand at the back of the tablet is sturdy and strong, but it only has one clickable setting. The angle can be adjusted slightly but not by a considerable amount.
Fingerprint reader for extra security
The fingerprint sensor on the back works well, but is sometimes difficult to find without fumbling around. Other security features includes a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 for helping to maintain data integrity.
Batteries can be popped out, swapped
The batteries can be popped out and changed in a flash. A neat feature is that each battery has a charge meter, making it easy to see how much charge is left on each battery.
A sharp, high-resolution touch-screen display
The display is high-definition and sharp, boasting a 1366x768 resolution. The screen has a capacitive 10-point multi-touch screen, which can even be used through thick gloves.
Trackpad is a useful addition, but buggy
Using the keyboard trackpad is frustrating at times because it's slow and inaccurate, but it's a small price to pay for an accessory product.
Backlit keys help in low-light
The keyboard accessory is backlit, allowing for use in low-light.
Rubberized edges to protect keyboard, tablet from bumps,
Even the keyboard has rubberized edges, helping the device stay safe from drops and spills -- and worse.
A sturdy frame, but heavy in weight
The tablet might be tough, but it's certainly heavy. It weighs 3.6 pounds, making the tablet slightly heavier than the average bag of sugar.
A pricey tablet for dicey work
The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet isn't cheap: it starts at $1,999 for the low-end 128GB storage model.