Changes in Latitude

 This week, professionals have a beautiful new aluminum design option for select configurations of our 13 and 14-inch 7000 series Latitude notebooks. The look is sharp, and looks matter, but there is a deeper tale about the changes in Latitude in the last year or so. And there’s an even bigger change on the way… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

If you spend any time with Dell, you’ll quickly pick up on the culture. Success is celebrated, but our focus on the customer means we’re never really satisfied. The Dell Technologies mission is to deliver end-to-end solutions; to offer customers a one-stop shop where finger-pointing between different parts of their technology infrastructure becomes a thing of the past. But that doesn’t let us off the hook to deliver outstanding individual products for your business.

Take a look at what’s been going on with Latitude during the past year. You’ll find that relentless focus on customer experience and many key under-the-skin improvements.

Because productivity slows when you can’t connect, we introduced a unique Active Steering Antenna (ASA) to Latitude 7490 to deliver stronger, more reliable WiFi connectivity. Intelligent Wireless, as we call it, automatically chooses and maintains the best WiFi connection without you having to micromanage settings. This minimizes lag, reduces drops and improves throughput by about 40 percent.

Because it’s hard to be on-the-go if you’re out of juice, we offered the option of a Super Low Power (SLP) display on Latitude 7490 series laptops to extend life away from the plug. The display is one of the biggest sources of battery drain, and our SLP display is 50 percent more efficient than standard FHD panels without compromising performance. Now, that sounds like magic, but it’s really just hard work.

To make Latitude a smarter mobility solution that’s easier and more comfortable to use, customers now enjoy intelligently-controlled system performance which regulates both processing power and thermal output. How? Your Latitude pays attention to what mode you’re working in (if it’s a 2-in-1) and automatically optimizes performance based on your work patterns and chosen settings. Using it in your lap? Latitude can detect that and manage lower system temps for comfort. We have four customizable thermal presets to choose from (Optimized, Cool, Quiet or Ultra Performance). IT can manage those settings or set and hide them from the user if desired.

Dell is placing a premium on enhancing speed-to-productivity with biometrics like fingerprint readers and facial recognition combined with smart card readers and the best components for the quickest possible boot and log-on. And there is more innovation coming on that front, but I’m getting ahead again.

Dell’s displays are known for their image quality and they make your Latitude a better tool, but did you know our business-focused audio enhancements also help you work better? We have speakers and audio software designed by a Grammy-winning acoustics team that enable better voice recognition for Cortana on far-field voice pickup. You’ll also experience clearer sound in loud, open work spaces with minimized feedback and typing noise while on conference calls.

Have to work long hours? Latitude is right there with you. Our keyboards are designed and tested to deliver better comfort, less fatigue and greater input accuracy.

Having touched on all that recent innovation, we’re never satisfied. This week, we nod to those customers looking for external beauty as well with a stunning new aluminum design option for the Latitude 7390 and Latitude 7490.

And, indeed there is more to come. For now please enjoy the run-up to the holidays. Let’s plan to revisit Latitude soon after that, maybe around CES in January?

About the Author: Damon Muzny

Damon Muzny has been part of the Dell Communications team since 2011 when he came aboard to lead the Consumer Product Reviews Program. For six years he served as the key interface for technical journalists who review Dell XPS and Inspiron products. Changing rolls in January of 2018, Damon is now part of the commercial PR team supporting Dell’s Latitude, OptiPlex, Rugged and Cloud Client Computing product groups. Damon still builds his own gaming PCs and maintains a DIY approach to life on most other fronts as well. Before joining Dell, Damon ran AMD’s New Product Reviews Program for a decade, handling technical press and product reviews for desktop, workstation and server platforms to include Athlon, Duron, Phenom and Opteron. Prior to stepping into tech in the year 2000, Damon served in Military Intelligence for the U.S. Army, and he holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree with a concentration in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.