Dell today launched both the Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme notebook and the Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme convertible notebook. The Dell Latitude Rugged Extreme solutions are purpose-built to withstand hazards such as dust, moisture, drops, vibration and extreme temperatures. They are tested to military standards including drops up to six feet, as well as ingress protection, emissions and hazardous materials certifications by a third-party testing facility.

The Dell Latitude 12 and 14 Rugged Extreme are made using impact-resistant ultra-polymers and magnesium alloy. Data is protected from the elements with sealed doors and compression gaskets while enabling performance at high temperatures with fourth-generation QuadCool thermal management.

The Latitude Rugged Extreme lineup has also the following features :

• Direct-View outdoor-readable display for productivity in harsh sunlight that reduces glare and reflectivity with less reliance on backlighting (resulting in longer battery life)
• Resistive multi-touch on the Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme for recognizing gestures while wearing thick gloves
• Rugged "flip-hinge" convertible display with the Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme
• Docking commonality across the Dell Rugged Extreme portfolio, regardless of form factor for cost savings over time
• Sealed, customizable "RGB" backlit keyboard enables work in all lighting environments and features an "instant stealth" mode to go incognito
• Up to 16GB of memory and up to 512GB solid state storage
• Full HD webcam with a privacy shutter
• Eight megapixel bottom camera with flash on the Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme
• USB 3.0 and native serial on all Rugged Extreme products with dual serial/RJ-45 on the Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme

The Latitude 12 and 14 Rugged Extreme notebooks offer battery life-up to 8.5 hours and up to 14 hours, respectively. They also feature fourth-generation Intel Core processors, solid state storage and discrete graphics options for the Latitude 14. Both models also offer a suite of wireless capabilities, including available mobile broadband and dedicated GPS.

The new additions also feature simplified system management with remote management capability and available Intel vPro technology, available FIPS 140-2 compliant Trusted Platform Module (TPM1.2), Dell Data Protection Encryption and ControlVault authentication.

The Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme convertible notebook begins at $3,649 and will be available on May 6th. The Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme begins at $3,499 and will be available in mid-May.