The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet is both tough and powerful

The recently-unveiled Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet is a perfect example of how tablet makers are trying to diversify their tablet offering in an attempt to create more specialized devices. As if the name of the slab weren't self-explanatory, the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet an extreme tablet designed for people who need to rely on their tablet in harsh environments.

The 11.6-inch display runs a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, but although the PPI density isn't really impressive by consumer device standards, the slab is not likely to be used for the creation of graphic designs or to watch high-resolution movies. Instead of equipping the rugged Latitude 12 with a sharp display, Dell made sure that the display works with gloves and can be used in bright sunlight.

Dell says that the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet, the latest in the company's series of rugged devices, is able to handle roughly everything you can throw at it, such as liquid spills, dust, sand, mud, and even drops from over four feet high. Furthermore, the tablet is guaranteed to work at temperatures as low as -20 degrees F or as high as 145 degrees F. The company is marketing the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet as the perfect device for the military, industrial work, adventurers, or emergency response crews.

Although the tablet can really take a beating and still work properly, this doesn't mean that it's not a powerful slab. The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet comes with Intel Core-X CPUs from the Broadwell generation, up to 512GB of SSD storage, Windows 8.1, as well as a battery that is said to keep the light on for about 12 hours. Dell is also offering a range of optional accessories, such as a keyboard cover and rugged pogo pin docks for vehicles and desks.

At the moment, Dell has yet to announce specific availability or pricing for the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet, but we're going to assume that the slab won't come cheap. Looking no further than Dell's own product portfolio, we should note that the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged laptop comes with price tags starting north of $3,000.