For anyone who read our recent laptop business use case breakdown and wondered if the same reasoning applied to tablets, the answer is ‘yes and no’.
Yes, many businesses are looking to upgrade their tablet selection because of the increase in mobile and work from home users over the last two years. Certain users just need thin clients to do their work, and tablets in particular are useful as inexpensive, lightweight alternatives when a full laptop simply isn’t justified or necessary.
But at the same time, the business roles filled by tablets can be far more highly specialized. They include everything from warehousing, to point of sale, to mobile telecommunications, and key roles in between.
This makes the 2021 Dell tablets a much more logical choice as a topic of discussion. Because they embrace this high level of specialisation, and even offer tablet / laptop hybrids, their product line is far more useful to illustrate the roles that would make good use of tablets.
So without further ado, VitrX presents an article that explores the stand out Dell tablets, and explains the best business applications for each featured model.
Why Upgrade Your Business Tablets?
In the last article, we went into depth about the new work from home environment and how businesses are transitioning into hybrid workplaces. Businesses who compete at this level will hire the best talent, and those who are rigid about returning to the ‘old ways’ will only get the die hard loyal workers, and the lower end of the new hire pool. It’s always better to be proactive, flexible, and attractive to potential hires… particularly when remote working has been shown to increase productivity and decrease costs across the board in just about every industry.
This means the desktop budget needs to be reassigned. And while the bulk of those funds will go to laptops, at least some of it should go towards productivity oriented tablets. We’ll explain what roles work best with tablets when we discuss the individual Dell models.
VitrX can help with the purchase of individual tablets or bulk corporate rollouts. Contact them for more details.
The Standout Dell Tablets
Dell’s tablet and hybrid tablet / laptop line is already well broken out, so there’s no need to jump to the extremes as examples. They’ve done the job for us by creating new product lines for each business use case.
So here are some of the best examples of Dell tablets that can be put to work either on premises, or travelling with the workforce.
The Dell Rugged Latitude 7220 Tablet
Most people associate tablets with ‘cheap and cheerful’. But some businesses need highly specialised, nearly indestructible (within reasonable tolerances) tablets that are suitable for busy, high impact environments. That’s where the Dell Rugged Tablets enter the picture.
These tablets are appropriate for those who work in extreme environments, as well as warehouse and worksite usage. Surveyors, nature photographers and filmographers, and emergency services personnel will also find these appropriate to their environments.
The limits of these beasts are described by the manufacturer as: “Drop-tested from 4 feet, temperature-tested from -28°C to 62°C, and is IP-65 rated, for maximum protection against dust, dirt, and water ingress.”
Needless to say, these are pricier than the average tablet, in excess of £1,700 for the base model of the Latitude 7220. For that you get:
● Hazardous Locations Certification – ATEX and IECEx certification for Zone 2 and Zone 22 environments.
● Energy Star qualification.
● Two cell Expresscharge Lithium Ion battery.
● Intel i3-8145U Processor – 2 Core, 4MB Cache, 2.1GHz
● 8 GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
● 128GB PCIe solid state drive – no moving parts for storage
● 11 inch outdoor-readable glove-capable touchscreen with Gorilla Glass
These aren’t for everyone. But if you have certain people going through multiple tablets a year because of the nature of their work, the Dell Rugged tablet is an option. There are full hybrid tablet / laptop models available in the 13 inch form factor as well.
The Dell Chromebook 11 3100 2in1 Tablet / Laptop
On the pricing side, this is the best ‘cheap and cheerful’ option for businesses. The base model, even with one year of accidental damage protection, is under £300 before VAT. This is the perfect web client for any employee who doesn’t need a full Windows laptop, and does most of their work via web interfaces and mobile apps.
The Dell Chromebook 11 3100 is appropriate for people who primarily use webmail and Google Docs to do their job. This can range from reception personnel, to copywriters, to inspectors, to educators, to liaisons, and many non-technical roles as well. They make great hotdesk and loaner units as well, if the user simply needs to check mail, take notes, conduct and attend meetings, and the like.
Some of the features include:
● Intel Celeron N4020 processor – dual core, up to 2.8GHz, 4M Cache
● 4GB 2400MHz memory
● 11.6″ HD touchscreen with Gorilla Glass, camera, and microphone.
● 1 year Collect and Return Service warranty, and a £14 accidental damage warranty for 1
year as well.
● Physical shock, spill, and tamper resistant keyboard.
● Chassis with rubberized edges to minimize impacts from drops and bumps.
● Operates in flat, tent, tablet, or laptop modes.
These amazingly affordable, durable Dell tablets are well positioned to become the ‘everyday’ tablet for most modern businesses.
The Dell Latitude 7320 Detachable
Briefly, because there are only a couple of use cases for this model, we should mention the 7320 Detachable tablet. It’s the only hybrid detachable in Dell’s product line, but it is fully customisable. It’s aimed at the executive and artistic roles almost exclusively, with the base model starting just under £1,500.
The vital statistics of the Dell Latitude 7320’s memory, processor, and solid state drive are highly variable depending on the upgrades selected. But universally present is the brushed aluminum body. It features a brighter screen than most other models, measuring 500 nits. It also has full mobile security features, including SmartCard reader, fingerprint reader, ExpressSign-in, NFC, and TPM.
This is a fairly niche option, but it’s a good example of just how specialized some of the Dell tablets can be.
Conclusion
If you would like to inquire about Dell business and educational tablets, simply contact VitrX to arrange a planning session so that your business can be serviced by the right line of Dell