Why are you only hearing about this now? Because the Texas-based PC titan chose to simply list the beefed-up, slimmed down notebooks on its website, without so much as a heads-up. Which is somewhat understandable, given that the Latitude 3000, 5000, and 7000 are no matches for the glamour and muscle of the XPS 13.
But they’re worth a quick look, boarding the Intel Broadwell bandwagon for extra speed and better battery life. The 7000 Series is perhaps the most appealing of the bunch, a 14-incher with a top configuration containing a fifth-generation Intel Core i5-5300U processor, eight gigabytes of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 1080p display.
Running your choice of Windows 7 Professional or 8.1, the highest-end Latitude 14 7000 costs $1,619, and tips the scales at 3.43 pounds. The cheapest you can find it for is $999 with a Core i3 Broadwell power, four gigabytes of RAM, and a 500GB hybrid HDD, but that particular model doesn’t ship until January 20.
That’s also the ETA for the entry-level and top-of-the-line Latitude 12 7000, the former going for $1,079 with a Core i3 and 128GB SSD inside, and the latter priced at $1,299, packing fifth-gen Core i5 speed. Both weigh in at 2.76 pounds, which is considerably less than their predecessors, thanks to more power-efficient, fanless designs.
Meanwhile, the 5000 Series has been upgraded in 12-, 14-, and 15-inch variants, each coming with a subset of Broadwell loaded models. The most affordable 12-inch here is $829; 14-inch models start at $749, and the cheapest 15-inch is $682. The larger versions aren’t featherweights, however, focusing on military-grade durability rather than easy transportation and whatnot.
Finally, Dell Latitude 3000 laptops are now part of the happy Intel Broadwell family, offering 14- and 15-inch business-class productivity, and configurations ranging from humble Celerons to fast and furious i5s. Prices? Between $450 and $670. The catch? The specs on the whole are humdrum, including 1,366 x 768 displays, no more than four gigabytes of RAM, and 500GB hard drives.
