If Dell's slim, inexpensive Vostro V13 was meant for small businesses, the Latitude 13, announced today, attempts to offer something very similar to bigger ones (that is, companies that have a dedicated IT staff). Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the screen size (and price) spectrum, Dell further decked out its 17-inch Precision M6500 mobile workstation, adding options such as dual-core Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and an RGB display.
Although the Latitude 13 looks like the 13-inch V13, sharing the same thin chassis, it offers a different set of service options. Whereas the V13, like other Vostros, was designed to help businesses without IT departments help themselves, the Latitude 13 comes tailor-made for IT managers, complete with TPM circuitry and virtualization-ready configurations. Other options include integrated mobile broadband and an external Blu-ray drive. It will only have a six-cell battery option.
In addition to offering dual-core processors with the M6500 to make it more affordable than the quad-core version that's already available, Dell is offering an RGB display with a 100 percent color gamut, a 3.2-megapixel webcam, a 64GB SSD MiniCard, USB 3.0 ports, and support for Gobi 2.0, the software-based mobile broadband solution that can accomodate both GSM and CDMA providers.
Both the Latitude 13 and the M6500 with dual-core processors will be available "in the coming weeks." Pricing for the Latitude 13 and the dual-core versions of the M6500 have not been announced. The quad-core M6500, already announced, starts at $2,749.
