Dell launches 12, 14 inch Latitude 7000 series ultrabooks with Haswell

As expected, Dell has introduced a new line of business class ultrabooks as part of its Latitude laptop family. Prices start at $1050 for the new portable notebooks sporting Intel Haswell processors and business-friendly features including sturdy cases, swappable batteries, and 3 years of support.

Unlike most ultrabooks, these models are also meant for enterprise customers that might want to take them apart and service them on site — the owner’s manuals have all sorts of details about opening the case to access the memory, storage, display panel, and other components.

Dell Latitude E7240 12.5″ ultrabook

For $1170 and up, Dell is offering a 3 pound laptop with a 12.5 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display.

At launch, this model only seems to be available with one configuration: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i3-4010U processor, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB solid state drive. The Dell Latitude E7240 has 3 USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, and

It features an 802.11b/g/n WiFi card, a 31Whr battery, measures less than 0.8 inches thick, and features a MIL-STD-810G tested metal chassis.

The laptop comes with Windows 8 Pro, and Dell offers optional accessories including a docking station, a USB modem, or an extended warranty. You can also pay $14 to have Dell pre-install Firefox for some reason. Or you could just install the web browser yourself for free.

Dell says additional options including a 1920 x 1080 pixel touchscreen display, WiMAX, HSPA+ and LTE mobile broadband, and a 42Whr battery will also be available in the future.

Other options include a SmartCard reader and fingerprint scanner.

Additional processor, storage, and memory options may be available down the line.

Dell Latitude E7440 14″ ultrabook

Dell’s largest ultrabook is also a bit cheaper, with a starting price of $1050.

That price covers a 14 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, a Core i3-4010U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. Interestingly, Dell’s product page makes no mention of a solid state storage option — even though a laptop needs at least a small SSD in order to qualify as an “ultrabook” under Intel’s guidelines.

The Dell Latitude E7440 weighs 3.6 pounds and measures 0.8 inches thick. It has a 34Whr battery, although a larger 45Whr battery option should be available later.

The rest of the specs are similar to those for the 12.5 inch model, including 3 USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet and optional security and wireless options.

Dell will also soon offer an option of a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, with or without a touchscreen.

thanks Paul!