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Dell’s new rugged tablet is a clunky giant that runs Windows 7

Dell’s new rugged tablet is a clunky giant that runs Windows 7

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Dell is introducing a new version of its Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet today that retains basically everything you’d imagine when picturing a rugged tablet: it’s still heavy, still bulky, and yeah, it still runs Windows 7.

The new model is called the Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet. It has an 11.6-inch 1080p display and can be configured with either 6th or 7th generation Intel processors (Intel’s brand new 8th generation processors aren’t an option), 8GB or 16GB of RAM, anywhere from 128GB to 1TB of solid state storage, and up to two separate 34Wh batteries.

Dell is offering the tablet with Windows 7 since it’s meant to be used in work environments (like law enforcement or construction) that may be relying on older software that hasn’t been updated for Windows 10 yet. The tablet technically comes with Windows 10 and is downgraded to Windows 7, so IT departments should be able to upgrade them later on if they decide to switch over to newer systems. (They can also be ordered with Windows 10, without the downgrade.)

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Still, it’s kind of fantastic to see a new brand new product running an operating system that has been twice succeeded — with Windows 8 coming out in 2012 — mainly because the end result feels so stereotypically gaudy.

Even though the Latitude 7212 is huge, it’s actually an improvement over its predecessor. At its absolute lightest (tablet only, with a single battery), the device weighs 2.82 lbs — about the weight of a MacBook Air. But its predecessor weighed 3.57 pounds at its lightest, so this is a pretty significant improvement, especially since the device’s size isn’t changing at all. It’s size, though, is still pretty big, at nearly one inch thick.

The tablet will be available starting today with a base price of $1,899. Dell is also offering a rugged dock, rugged keyboard cover, rugged battery charger, rugged shoulder strap, rugged “extreme handle,” and a rugged IO module to complete your rugged lifestyle.